The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared a draft decree approving a standard for reporting on sustainable development and requirements for a system for reconciling the organization ' s compliance with the standard of business social capital.

The first Russian sustainable development reporting standard has been developed by the Ministry in response to President Vladimir Putin ' s orders to promote responsible business. The standard is a continuation of the work of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia in the area of information on sustainable development. Previously, the Ministry ' s guidance on reporting on sustainable development in late 2023 has been given a general lead in the development and disclosure of such reports.

The draft sustainable development reporting standard has already been submitted to business and public organizations. This took place at a meeting of the Expert Council on Sustainable Development in Mineconom Development, chaired by Minister Maxime Rechetnikov in May 2024. The Ministry then held several meetings with representatives of Russian companies, and feedback on the basic provisions of the standard was received. The business comments are reflected in the document ' s refined version.

In particular, the recommended timelines for sustainable development reporting have been increased, and the form of professional accountability has been adjusted. The draft standard is supplemented by provisions to conduct an independent external evaluation, as desired by the organization, in the form of public assurances of sustainable development reporting. The project also added provisions on the disclosure of sustainable development reporting indicators with information on activities undertaken and their outcomes. Provision has also been made for activities aimed at publicizing the organization ' s results (projects), including in the media, on the Internet. In addition, the draft standard showed indicators for calculating the effectiveness of climate change adaptation measures implemented through corporate plans, strategies, programmes, the proportion of suppliers assessed to meet environmental and social criteria.

The purpose of the sustainable development reporting standard is to help companies to disclose information assessing the contribution of business to the strategic development and modernization of the country to national development goals and national priorities. The document is a tool for enhancing the compilation and disclosure of sustainable development information. The new standard promotes comparability of reporting on the sustainable development of organizations in different industries. It provides information on companies ' compliance with the principles of responsible business, including an assessment of the contribution of business to the country ' s strategic development, information on support for social programmes, environmental projects.

The innovations of the standard are indicators of the organization ' s contribution to social programmes and development of society: support for the family and parenthood, health of the local population, socially vulnerable citizens, mass sports, volunteerism, spiritual and cultural values initiatives.

The draft regulation also requires a system for reconciling the organization ' s compliance with the standard of business social capital based on indicators of the sustainable development reporting standard.

According to the draft regulation, the Ministry of Economic Development will form a commission for the operation of a system for reconciling the organization ' s compliance with the standard of business social capital. In agreement, the Commission will be composed of representatives of the Bank of Russia, the State Development Corporation " WEB. RF " , the " Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects " , as well as the General Russian Employers ' Association, which has experience in independent sustainable development assessments.

In order to ensure that the system of reconciling the organization ' s compliance with the business standard, the Government of the Russian Federation will determine the operator of the system of verification on the proposal of the AIE, " Agency for strategic initiatives to promote new projects " .

" The agenda for sustainable development remains relevant to the Russian Federation, as called for by Russian companies to enter new external markets and to the BRICS countries. Responsible business involves the openness and publicity of companies. The corporate sector understands the importance of ESG work and continues to implement social and environmental projects. The State, in turn, supports the business aspiration and responds to the request of domestic companies to develop a system document that reflects the general rules on reporting and the counting of indicators. We have proposed to Russian companies a national standard on sustainable development reporting for an integrated assessment of the contribution of business to the modernization of the country. Reporting on sustainable development helps businesses to analyse their activities and investments in the national sustainable development goals " , noted the First Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Illia Torosov.

Source: economy.gov.ru
Source: freepik.com

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