Vladimir Skobarev Participates in ESG Conference

FBK’s Partner Vladimir Skobarev has participated in a conference titled “ESG Reassembly: New Sustainability Priorities amid Restrictions”, which was arranged by the Kommersant publishing house.

The event was attended by representatives of public authorities, state-owned and private businesses, and non-profit organisations. The attendees discussed the way sustainability will evolve in Russia under current economic conditions and the new balance of environmental, social and corporate governance priorities.

Vladimir Skobarev said, “Until 2020 the ESG agenda in our country was mainly driven by foreign investors and clients, and over 100 big Russian companies implemented that agenda. For the last two years, the government has been actively involved in sustainability matters and has also become a major driver thanks to a number of important laws and regulations that encourage more companies to make systematic ESG efforts. The government’s position on sustainability institutional matters is getting more and more crucial today when the business environment of Russian companies is drastically changing. In particular, when we speak about such an important sustainable development instrument as ESG reporting, the government needs to use its regulatory instruments to help businesses in finding a balance between their willingness to mitigate risks by refusing to publish really sensitive information and total secrecy, which can lead to significant losses not only in the medium and long term but in the short term as well. For example, it is unclear how to verify green financial instruments in compliance with Resolution of the Russian Government No. 1587 dated 21 September 2021 if issuers do not file the respective reports. Investors and consumers are still significant drivers of the ESG agenda. But today these are representatives of countries from the Asia-Pacific Region. Internal ESG factors also enter the picture — advanced companies need to manage their climate and social risks. A demand for responsible and green business comes from the population, internal and external consumers of goods and services.”