DRUŠTVENA STRANA POSLOVANJA Daria Mateljak

Guest Darija MateljakHosted by Boris ŽivkovićMay 3, 2026

Darija Mateljak

About this episode

What you'll hear in this conversation

For decades, corporate social responsibility was largely a matter of choice – a voluntary commitment companies made, often for public relations or a sense of good citizenship. But that era is over. The conversation around sustainability, ESG, and climate change has moved from optional initiatives to a dense, mandatory regulatory framework, reshaping how capital flows and how businesses operate. Darija Mateljak, an executive partner at Houseke Partner, navigates this complex shift daily. She sees the 'rain of regulation' coming from the EU Green Deal and new directives, pushing companies to integrate environmental, social, and governance factors into their core strategies, not just their PR. She explains why the old model, focused purely on profit, is no longer viable. This conversation reveals the forces compelling businesses to adapt, the mechanisms driving capital towards sustainable practices, and why, as Mateljak puts it, 'a stricter approach' was inevitable. You'll consider not just the changing rules, but the fundamental redefinition of what 'responsible business' truly means.

Insights from the conversation

What to take from this episode

The 2011 EU definition of corporate social responsibility was simple: 'the impact of enterprises on the environment and society.' This narrow focus on corporate responsibility has since expanded into a much wider lens on sustainability and governance, driven by new regulation. What was once a clear corporate obligation has become a complex, multi-stakeholder system.

Sustainable development is the 'umbrella term' for all these initiatives, defining our generation's responsibility to leave the world good for the next. This broad ethical mandate frames all the specific environmental, social, and governance rules that follow.

ESG is the regulatory arm of sustainability, requiring companies not just to report on environmental, social, and governance impacts, but to integrate them into core strategies. This shift from general principles to mandated reporting and strategic integration is how policy makers are forcing action.

Asked whose responsibility climate change is, Mateljak states it's now a 'global story' with political legitimacy from the UN to national governments. But the real force driving change, she argues, is the financial sector – because 'policy finally understood that voluntarism no longer works.'

The 'rain of new regulation' — from the EU Taxonomy to new corporate reporting directives — is a direct consequence of the EU realizing that voluntary measures were insufficient. When companies don't self-regulate, the state steps in to redirect capital flows through mandatory standards.

Companies that fail to embrace sustainability seriously will face a triple threat: difficulty accessing capital, pressure from customers, and becoming an undesirable business partner. This multi-pronged pressure creates an incentive structure far beyond simple compliance.

When global leaders at Davos declare that 'capitalism based on bare profit' no longer works, it signals a fundamental re-evaluation of its purpose. This isn't about being 'nice to have,' but a political statement that the definition of profit itself must change to include social and environmental impact.

Citizens' daily choices — from waste management and consumption habits to energy use and product selection — collectively exert 'significant impacts on companies.' Individual actions, when aggregated, become a powerful market signal that influences corporate behavior.

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