Impact of ESG on Companies in the Chemical Industry

This bachelor’s thesis focuses on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in the chemical industry. This industry is one of the sectors with a significant impact on the environment and society, which makes the pressure for sustainable behavior and corporate responsibility in this area even more intense. This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on ESG standards in the chemical industry, to summarise the ESG reporting requirements in the European Union, and to find out how a particular company, IMCD, implements ESG requirements and reports its ESG practices in comparison to other companies in the chemical industry. To achieve these objectives, the thesis used qualitative research conducted through semi-structured in-depth interviews with Ing. Martin Chytrý, who works at IMCD. Furthermore, publicly available documents related to the ESG activities of IMCD and other companies in the chemical industry were analyzed. Through the conducted research, I found that IMCD is actively engaged in ESG and applies its efforts in four main areas. The company is also a member of several sustainable initiatives and abides by international standards and requirements of the European Union. Comparisons with competitor companies indicate that IMCD ranks well in ESG performance. All the surveyed companies integrate ESG into their plans but focus on slightly different areas. Compared with the others, IMCD places more emphasis on the ESG compliance of its business partners. The thesis provides a comprehensive view of the implementation of ESG standards in the chemical industry and serves to better understand the companies' approaches to sustainability and ESG reporting in this sector.