The participation of Russian companies in the implementation of the ESG agenda: Social and corporate aspects in the context of non-financial reporting

Abstract

Participants in economic processes should be involved in work to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Companies should align their business strategies with global priorities. Business assesses market participants’ progress toward achieving the SDGs through long-term strategies based on ESG principles and requires disclosure of this information. In the past, the ESG approach to investing was based on ethical considerations. Today, ESG materiality, impact on future corporate capitalization, and ability to deliver better risk-adjusted performance predominate. Insufficient participation in such processes can create risks for companies in accessing investment funds. Non-financial reporting plays an important role in informing investors about companies’ success in implementing ESG principles. Our study is devoted to one of the issues on the ESG agenda, namely the achievement of goal number 5. Factors that evaluate a company’s performance in relation to the studied goal are included in the social and corporate block of ESG ratings. The paper formulated a hypothesis about the insufficient activity of Russian companies in implementing the ESG strategy for Goal 5. The disclosure of information in non-financial reporting was analysed, for which a statistical analysis based on panel data was performed and key indicators were identified. The results obtained were compared with the rating agencies’ requirements for information disclosure and with statistical data. For the key indicators, additional analysis was performed based on panel data from independent sources. The results of the study show that only market leaders have an effective sustainable development strategy and provide high-quality information in non-financial reporting.