Sberbank of Russia

11/25/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/25/2021 07:19

Sber hosts ESG roundtable for board directors (supervisory boards) of Russian companies

Sber held a roundtable discussion on ESG issues for board members (supervisory boards) of Russian companies on November 23, 2021. The goal of the meeting was to build a platform where stakeholders can discuss the ESG agenda (pool their experience, opinions, perception of tasks, and challenges).

The roundtable was moderated by Managing Director - Head of the Corporate Secretary Service of Sberbank of Russia Oleg Tsvetkov, CGI Russia Founder and Member of Management Board Elena Sapozhnikova, and CGI Russia Founder and Chair of Management Board Olga Pascault.

First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Sergey Shvetsov, Energy Strategist for Carbon Tracker Kingsmill Bond, and Vice Chair of Deloitte UK and Global IFRS and Corporate Reporting Leader Veronica Poole addressed the roundtable as speakers.

Participating in the discussion were board directors of Russia's largest companies: Sistema PJSFC, Aeroflot, En+ Group, Inter RAO, MOEX, MTS, Nornickel, OMK, Polymetal, Severstal, Sibur, SPB Exchange, Uralchem, PhosAgro, X5 Group, and M.Video-Eldorado.

Participating in the discussion on behalf of Sberbank were Supervisory Board Supervisor for ESG and Sustainable Development Nadya Christina Wells, Supervisory Board members Natalie Alexandra Braginsky Mounier, Bella Zlatkis, Nikolay Kudryavtsev, Aleksander Kuleshov, as well as First Deputy Chairman of the Sberbank Executive Board Alexander Vedyakhin, and Senior Vice President for ESG at Sberbank Tatiana Zavyalova.

Alexander Vedyakhin addressed the roundtable with a welcome speech and emphasized the outstanding relevance of ESG and its importance for Sber Group.

The main discussion revolved around the ESG transformation of Russian businesses and the role that board directors pay in the ESG agenda, the best ESG information and reporting disclosure practices, strategic ESG agendas of companies through 2025, challenges facing boards of directors, and preparations for change.

Bella Zlatkis, deputy chair of the Executive Board, member of the Supervisory Board, Sberbank:

"ESG is a topic many people hear about, but, unfortunately, not many of them know how it affects real business. However, it is obvious that a responsible attitude to operations is today's absolute necessity and calls for close attention when analyzing the state of affairs in any corporation. ESG issues are matters of strategic development and it is today that boards - as representatives of shareholders - should add ESG issues to their agendas and, of course, develop additional competencies in board members. It would be perfect for boards, along with having key committees, to identify the directors responsible for advancing the ESG agenda."