ESGthon 2026: Meet the New Student ESG Leaders

A sustainable economy requires an innovative perspective from young experts. This was clearly demonstrated during the final of the 2nd edition of the ESGthon for Impact competition, which concluded on May 25 in the Trading Hall of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). The winners of this year's edition are students representing the SGH Warsaw School of Economics and the AGH University of Krakow, who, competing under the team name ES-Grid, delivered the best solution to a strategic challenge set by mBank.

ESGthon for Impact is a unique educational and business initiative on the Polish market, organized by CFA Society Poland and the Warsaw Stock Exchange Foundation (Fundacja GPW), aimed at promoting a sustainable economy and corporate transformation in line with ESG principles. The event's format combines an intensive hackathon with the requirements of professional on-stage presentations before a panel of jurors who serve as ESG experts in their respective organizations daily. More information about the competition can be found here: https://contests.cfapoland.org/esgthon-for-impact.

Real Business Challenges and Competency-Based Teams

Every year, the organizers invite leading companies operating on the Polish market to cooperate and provide real-world strategic challenges. In this year's second edition, corporate cases were shared by brands with both global and national reach: mBank, LOT Polish Airlines, and MODIVO.

What sets ESGthon for Impact apart from other academic competitions is how the teams are formed. Participants do not compete as representatives of their specific universities; instead, they are grouped based on their competencies, taking into account their unique knowledge, analytical skills, and understanding of ESG issues. Therefore, a team's competitive edge is driven by diversity and effective team-building skills, as it is up to the students themselves to determine the composition of their team.

The structure of the competition successfully identified true leaders in sustainable finance: 28 teams qualified for the first stage of the competition, 21 teams competed in a demanding online semi-final, and the top 6 teams faced off during the in-person final in Warsaw.

Insights from the Organizers and Partners

"Our goal at CFA Society Poland has always been to set the highest professional and ethical standards in the financial market. ESGthon for Impact is a direct response to the growing need to integrate hard financial data with non-financial factors. It is deeply rewarding to see young people who can break down such complex problems in just a few hours and propose solutions that companies can truly benefit from," says Magda Oleksiuk, FCCA, Managing Director of CFA Society Poland.

During the grand final in the WSE Trading Hall, the top six teams faced a challenging task. The teams were randomly assigned one of three business case studies, with exactly two competing teams assigned to each challenge. The participants were then given just 3.5 hours to formulate a strategy, define key performance indicators (KPIs), analyze risks, and prepare a business case, culminating in a presentation of their findings to a panel of experts. The business challenges covered issues such as employee turnover, generational challenges within organizations, value chains, and identifying a recommended ESG focus area that would deliver the highest business efficiency for the company over the next three years.

The winner of the 2nd edition of ESGthon for Impact was a cross-competency team representing the SGH Warsaw School of Economics and the AGH University of Krakow. The winners tackled the challenge prepared by mBank, demonstrating remarkable maturity in analyzing workforce risks and their impact on long-term organizational value.

"As a capital market, we are fully aware that the transformation toward sustainable development is not merely a regulatory requirement, but above all, a strategic opportunity. The WSE Foundation is proud to support initiatives like ESGthon for Impact because right here, in the Trading Hall, we can witness how the younger generation shapes the future of the Polish economy, combining rigorous knowledge with a sense of global responsibility," explains Alina Bączar, President of the WSE Foundation.

"As Poland’s development bank, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego consistently supports initiatives that build the competencies of the future. The transition toward a sustainable economy requires not only capital but, most importantly, innovative perspectives and expertise. ESGthon for Impact provides an excellent space where young people prove they can successfully merge social and environmental responsibility with hard business realities. This generation of experts will soon determine the competitiveness of the Polish market," adds Patryk Darowski, CFA, Managing Director of the Sector Risk and ESG Division at Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.

A Word from the Winners

"When we received the mBank case study, we knew we were in for four hours of intense work. The topic of employee turnover and workforce risks has a technical side, but at the same time, it is highly sensitive. However, we quickly discovered that behind the numbers lie fundamental human questions about how to build organizations capable of retaining talent for years to come. Our success is largely due to our diverse team. Combining the financial perspective of the SGH Warsaw School of Economics with the technical approach of the AGH University of Krakow allowed us to develop recommendations that are analytically precise and ready for operational implementation. In our view, this diversity of competencies is the most valuable asset in ESG transformation. When the results were announced, we couldn't believe it for a moment. We are thrilled to have won, but also deeply grateful that such initiatives are organized; they provide genuine support for young people who want to act for sustainable development and implement ESG values," concludes the winning ES-Grid team, comprising Wiktoria Fabian, Jakub Wójtowicz, Jakub Wojdal, and Mikołaj Komorowski.