Hungarian companies that have already committed to sustainability are largely keeping their ESG programs on schedule, despite ongoing changes in reporting rules.
A new survey suggests the center of gravity is shifting from voluntary signaling to operational execution. Regulation is now one of the strongest forces pushing ESG deeper into day-to-day management.
Published in late November, the third ESG survey by the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH) and Big Four consultancy KPMG collected 77 responses from the organization’s 155 member companies across 15 industries, including 23 firms listed in the HVG TOP200.
Data collection concluded in October 2025. The sample is not representative of the entire corporate sector in Hungary, but it captures how sustainability front-runners are preparing for the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Hungary’s ESG law, and how those requirements are changing internal priorities.
The survey’s top-line message is continuity. Ninety-five percent of respondents say their goal is to operate sustainably, with ESG activities and reporting viewed primarily as tools to achieve that goal. The motivation, however, is increasingly hard-edged: the survey finds that the pull of regulatory compliance has strengthened markedly, and legal requirements are expected to become the leading driver of ESG integration, alongside owners’ expectations and customer and client needs.
“Despite changes in reporting regulations, most companies are not slowing down: more than half of the leading companies have expanded their ESG capacities and are continuing sustainability developments that are already underway,” says Irén Márta, managing director of BCSDH, regarding companies’ future plans.
“Over the next two years, most companies will continue to develop their ESG activities and reporting according to their planned schedules. Overall, the survey indicates that Hungarian companies are steadily developing more sustainable and transparent operations,” she adds.
That emphasis on capacity is not trivial. In practice, “doing ESG” usually means building repeatable processes: assigning ownership, collecting comparable data across sites, setting controls, documenting decisions, and aligning suppliers with internal policies.
The survey suggests that few large companies or SMEs are using postponement options, and only a minority plan to wait for regulatory decisions before locking in reporting timelines. For many firms, delaying can create its own risks, especially when banks, insurers, customers, or multinational partners are requesting verifiable data sooner than local deadlines.
The Competitive Carrot
If regulation is the stick, competitiveness is the carrot. KPMG Hungary notes that preparedness has risen sharply since 2023, with 87% of surveyed companies reporting they are already ready to meet CSRD and Hungarian ESG Act requirements. Just as importantly, respondents increasingly see ESG as a commercial advantage rather than pure compliance.
“The results show that 87% of the surveyed companies already feel prepared to meet the requirements of the CSRD and the ESG Act, which represents significant progress compared to 2023,” highlights Ágnes Deme, a senior manager at KPMG.
“Among the respondents, recognition of the business benefits of ESG has clearly increased. According to 91% of companies, ESG ratings provide a competitive advantage, and 87% believe that better ESG performance will become an even more decisive business factor by 2027,” she says.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises perceive these advantages even more strongly than large corporations. For respondents, employee engagement and improved management of ESG risks remain key benefits,” Deme adds.
Those perceptions align with how ESG is increasingly used in the market. ESG ratings and performance data can influence financing conditions, procurement eligibility, insurer expectations and the willingness of international partners to commit to longer contracts. For export-oriented firms, sustainability requirements can also arrive indirectly, as customers translate their own reporting obligations into supplier questionnaires, contract clauses and audit demands.
The survey also points to where companies are putting the “benefits” logic into practice. Respondents report more mature goals and active implementation programs in social and governance topics; in the “human value” domain, 55% are in an active implementation phase on working conditions, equal treatment, and employee well-being.
Avoiding Distractions
These are not always labeled as ESG in everyday management, but they can reduce turnover, improve safety outcomes, and lower the likelihood of disputes that can become costly distractions.
On the environmental side, firms still concentrate on carbon emissions, energy use, and waste management, where progress can often be quantified and connected to efficiency gains. But longer-horizon planning is emerging: 31% already plan to set biodiversity targets, and more than 25% intend to develop objectives related to climate adaptation. That shift reflects a recognition that climate impacts are also an operational factor that can affect supply stability, infrastructure resilience, and even workforce safety.
Those adaptation ambitions reflect a risk-and-opportunity mindset. Seventy percent of surveyed companies identify climate change as a threat to operations, while 80% view climate adaptation as a profitable business activity. At the same time, respondents are candid about constraints: 90% agree that the most formidable barrier to the green transition is not technology, but economic viability and a shift in corporate mindset. In other words, the bottleneck is often the business case, governance and incentives, not the availability of tools.
The BCSDH has become a key coordination platform for corporate sustainability in Hungary. Founded in 2007 as the Hungarian partner of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, it now has 155 corporate members. It describes itself as a value-creating forum for senior executives at companies accounting for about 40% of Hungary’s GDP.
Alongside its Time to Transform 2030 agenda, the group runs workstreams focused on climate and biodiversity, the circular economy, and ESG reporting, and it also provides accredited ESG training aimed at practical implementation.
The BCSDH-KPMG survey paints a picture of ESG in Hungary becoming more regulated, more managerial, and more tied to competitiveness. The next test will be whether this capability-building spreads beyond the committed vanguard to the broader economy, where resources are tighter, and the incentives arrive later.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of January 30, 2026.