Photo: Nornickel
Socially responsible businesses, including Severstal, are trying to promote the sustainability agenda themselves. We understand that if the initiative to standardise business sustainability comes from the outside, it will contribute to the development of this area.
Today, business sustainability is assessed by various ratings, but they use completely different methodology, often unclear and non-transparent. As a result, in one ranking a company may be ranked first, while in another one it may be ranked second-to-last.
Another problem is that some of the ratings are conducted on a fee basis. Naturally, the top places are taken by companies which have paid for their participation. This is not right. There should be a uniform, clear and transparent methodology.
Therefore, the appearance of a single standard for assessing business sustainability is highly desirable. It could systematise existing sustainability ratings and rankings, whose methodology is not always transparent and objective.
After the major Western ratings with a developed and transparent methodology (MSCI, S&P, CDP) left the Russian market, the number of new Russian ratings has increased dramatically, and their systematisation by a single standard would allow for more transparent signals to be sent to companies about which best practices they should follow.
Cover photo: MikeMareen / iStock
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