Photo: JSC NovaWind
Companies that follow the concept of sustainable development and have been implementing ESG practices for the last 5–10 years, examples of which are corporate carbon neutrality goals, support for NGOs, respect for human rights and others, will of course continue to work along these lines in their work.
Much depends on the maturity of ESG practice in a particular company. Those that have initially seen the practical benefits of implementing environmental programmes, have worked with stakeholders to better manage risks and have been able to reduce their payments for the use of resources are on track. However, companies that have recently begun to develop an ESG strategy (e.g. for an IPO) are now finding it much more difficult — above all in terms of setting out the benefits for the company for management. Nevertheless, if business owners or top management see the value of the agenda (both in terms of economics and risk management), work will continue.
In companies in the EU and around the world, where the ESG toolkit has been developed, the agenda continues to be implemented across the board. Key changes concern Russian businesses as they need to develop standards, regulatory restrictions and disclosure rules.
At the same time (and this is already being reported in the Russian media), the ESG agenda is currently going through difficult times. The volume of green loans and bonds issued has increased by 90% over the last year, but most of these products were sold before the spring. Afterwards there has been a dramatic slowdown in the segment. At the same time we see stimulating steps from the Central Bank of Russia. They made it possible, for example, to reduce lending rates for “green” companies. The average lending rate in the market is 17.5%, and for businesses that invest in certain environmental aspects, such as waste management, there is an opportunity to reduce it significantly.
Cover photo: iStock
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