Director of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Center for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University (GSOM SPbU) Yury Blagov took part in the online conference Sustainable Development and ESG Factors organized by the business newspaper Vedomosti.

  

At the event, experts discussed the creation of a sustainable development ecosystem in Russia, from a practical point of view approached the ESG agenda (an agenda that includes issues of ecology, social development and corporate governance), and also noted the involvement of the authorities in the development of principles for responsible financing.

  

Yury Blagov, during the ESG factors in the development of investment attractiveness of companies and regions session noted that following the ESG agenda the role of responsible investment not only enhances, but also demonstrates the high market potential of corporate social responsibility in general.

  

“As David Vogel rightly pointed out in his legendary book, The Market for Virtue, a truly responsible company must be highly competitive, because it is chosen by the best investors, consumers and workers. Today, when success in achieving the UN SDGs largely depends on the degree of business involvement, this choice is critical. At the same time, interest in ESG indices should not turn into just another fashion, and the management of the relevant factors should be built into the general multi-level system of corporate social performance,” said Yury Blagov.

  

At the end of the discussion, Elena Dubovitskaya, Corporate Governance and Sustainability Leader at PwC Russia, defined ESG as the path between today's world and the world of the future, and the understanding of the need for change as a factor of success both at the corporate and personal level.

  

The discussion was attended by:

• Svetlana Gerasimova, Head of the School of CSR and Sustainable Development, Moscow International Higher Business School MIRBIS; Programme Director, Strategy and Practice of Sustainable Development project office;
• Tatiana Zavyalova, Senior Vice President for ESG, Sberbank;
• Anna Belova, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Independent Director at AFK Sistema;
• Elena Feoktistova, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility, Sustainable Development and Social Entrepreneurship Directorate, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP);
• Vera Kurochkina, Deputy Director, Public Relations at EN + GROUP IPJSC;
• Viktor Drozdov, Head of Investor Relations, Polyus;
• Svetlana Grishankova, Managing Director of RAEX-Europe;
• Rolf Schweri, CEO of Schwery Cade AG;
• Antonina Levashenko, Head of the Russian Center for Competence and Analysis of OECD Standards, RANHIGS.

   

In 2021, the Sustainable Development and ESG Factors conference was held for the second time. Watch the broadcast >>(available in Russian only)