Eng. Dobromir Simidchiev from Hydrolia took part in the event of UBB and Cleantech Bulgaria "Sustainability Academy"

Sustainability is already a part of everyday business solutions, and partnerships – a factor for competitiveness – around this stance the participants of the event "Sustainability Academy: the path to sustainable practices and processes", organized by the United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), part of the KBC Group in Bulgaria and CleanTech Bulgaria. The forum gathered representatives of business, institutions and the expert community in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, BalkanEngineer.com was informed.

The event put a focus on the role of small to medium enterprises and was opened by Diana Dimitrova Kamenova, nominated for Executive Director of SME Banking at UBB, who highlighted the importance of sustainability as part of everyday management of business. She put a focus on the necessity for small and medium enterprises to understand sustainable development as an opportunity for growth, and not as an obstacle, and commented on the long term benefits.

Mariana Hamanova, Executive Director of CleanTech Bulgaria, noted that the "Sustainability Academy", continues to be a successful platform which allows businesses to adapt sustainable practices. She underlined that sustainability is not a trend, but an approach which leads to more effective management of resources, reduced costs and better economic results. The Deputy Mayor of Veliko Tarnovo, Mariela Tsoneva, for her part, added that the sustainable development of the municipality is possible only through active dialogue between institutions, business, non-governmental organizations and citizens.

In the span of the forum, Alexander Peev, General Manager "Sustainable Development" of KBC Group in Bulgaria, put a focus on adaptability as a key resource for overcoming challenges in the modern world. He pointed out that sustainable development means being ready for change and utilizing technological solutions, which ensure stability in a period of uncertainty. The lecture by Dr. Emil Kalchev, Chief Economist of UBB, was also met with great interest, who presented a deep analysis of the macroeconomic situation, the labor market, inflation and taxation levels. He outlined a business environment characterized by dynamism and uncertainty, predicting moderate economic growth of about 2.7% in 2026 and inflation of about 3.9%. According to him, this requires better planning, efficiency and sustainable strategies on the part of companies.

The forum continued with a discussion panel moderated by Mariana Hamanova, featuring business representatives – Dobromir Simidchiev (Hydrolia), Maya Krasteva (Inova Top Green), Mitko Tsonev (Valcrea) and Martin Minkovski (UBB). They presented various aspects of sustainable development, including water resources management, energy efficiency, smart buildings and financial instruments in support of enterprises.

Photo source: UBB, ©Engineer BG via Canva.com