Advantages of the circular economy and its benefits. The answer to this question was not the only one that the participants took from the Invest MORE conference

For the sixth time, the Invest MORE conference was held, organized by the Moravian-Silesian Investment and Development (MSID). This year the conference decided for a motto that moves the world and affects life, development and business: sustainable growth.

The conference, which was moved to this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, focuses on two main areas – the circular economy and corporate social responsibility. In the first half of the conference, the audience learned more about sustainable development and growth in both society and business. The second half focused on the panel discussions whose topic was corporate social responsibility and the circular economy.

Tomáš Kolárik, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the organizing company Moravian-Silesian Investment and Development, commented on the event:

"We see the conference as a key event that allows us to pass on current information to regional entrepreneurs, start-ups and companies in the Moravian-Silesian Region every year. I am very pleased that much like in the past even this year we managed to secure top speakers and participants in panel discussions again. Our goal was not only to give presentation of selected topics, but also to network and pass on practical experience. I believe that the participants received useful and interesting information that they will be able to apply in their business.”

Petr Beneš (co-founder of 6D Academy) and Libor Musil (founder of LIKO-S) spoke at the beginning of the conference. Their presentations put the topic of sustainable growth into the overall context. Petr Beneš looked at how, for instance, technological innovation, climate change or the global pandemic lead the society to fundamentally redefine the values and priorities. Libor Musil showed sustainability in such a seemingly distant and disparate topics such as industrial halls, forest, family and happiness. Participants also listened to a speech by Cyril Klepek, the founder of the digital waste market Cyrkl.

Libor Musil, the chairman of the board LIKO-S, said the following: "What is happening around us is not just the climate change, but a change of the natural environment that we live in. Each of us will have to adapt to continue to live in good health. We will also have to adapt buildings, streets and cities where we live and work. But what's even a bigger challenge, especially for entrepreneurs, is that they have to not only face the consequences of climate change, but also to try and return nature to its former condition. Our experience is that when we do something for nature, it gives back to us 100 times. There is a way to make things right.”

The first panel discussion was entitled "The path to credibility not only for employees" and focused on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Michal Křemen from TietoEVRA or Petr Šipula from Heimstaden talked about this topic with those who were interested. Thanks to practical experience, the discussion provided answers to the questions such as what CSR activities they implement in their company, which of these activities have proved successful to them and which have not, and how they perceive the benefits of these activities, for example in relation to employees and their motivation.

Michal Křemen, HR Consultant at TietoEVRY, commented on the topic: "It is always a pleasure for me when the topic of conversation is the connection between business, positive impact on communities and on employee activity. The discussion panel at this year's InvestMORE was exactly about that. There have been good examples from the real experience of companies, such that are very topical right now when CSR is no longer only about the basics, but also about overall development through education or IT support. Anyone can really get involved according to their abilities. Apart from the good feeling and meaningful work small companies can also appreaciate the fact that CSR resonates very well with young talents on the labor market,” said Křemen.

Another panel discussion focused on the topic "Circular economics and examples of good practice from Czech Republic". Jakub Mastík from Navzdory and Ondřej Kopička z Landcraft, among others, spoke at this panel. There was a debate not only about the benefits of the circular economy, but also about what positive impacts the circular economy has on customers and employees of the company.

Ivo Vondrák, the Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region, discussed the conference as follows: "All conferences moved to computer screens during the most difficult time of the Covid-19 pandemic. I am glad that the epidemiological situation had improved so much that we were able to meet in person again. The issues of sustainability and social responsibility in particular deserve to be discussed in personal meetings. Last week I presented the award ‘Cena hejtmana za společenskou odpovědnost’ to several companies in the region and I can confirm that those companies that are not indifferent to their surroundings often report also exceptional results from the point of view of business,” concluded Vodrák.