INK-Capital debuted as one of the leaders of ESG indices by Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

JSC INK-Capital issued its first integrated annual report of the Group’s activities for 2021 including non-financial statements on key aspects of sustainable development. In 2022, the report received public assurance by the RUIE. As a result, INK was first listed on the ESG ranking by The Expert magazine and appeared in the top 10 according to the WWF Rating of Environmental Transparency.

The long list for the RUIE ESG indices counted 118 companies. After an assessment and calculations, 48 constituents made it to the Responsibility and Transparency index, and 41 – to the Sustainable Development Vector. In their assessment, experts used over 70 indicators describing economic, environmental, social and governance components of sustainable development.

The indices development methodology is based on international approaches and criteria of appraisal by ESG factors. The RUIE ESG indices have gained recognition both domestically and abroad, they are included in the global directory of sustainable development indices and ratings as Russian ESG indices. The Moscow Exchange uses them to calculate stock ESG indices of the same name.

“Despite the turbulent geopolitical situation, sustainable development has not lost its importance for businesses. Responsible business practices, compliance with environmental standards, employee guarantees and transparent governance are still relevant, regardless of the degree of general uncertainty,” JSC INK-Capital General Director Marina Sedykh said. “Our company has always been proactive in implementing sustainable development principles, long before they entered the global agenda. When we started to incorporate ESG principles in our operations, they seemed somewhat impalpable and abstract, but we were able to find concrete tools and proceed to action. Our company is implementing the ESG agenda structurally through the integrated management system that sets strategic goals and objectives. I am happy that JSC INK-Capital has won a high appraisal of the authors of ESG indices of Responsibility and Transparency and Sustainable Development Vector. This is the team’s achievement and an incentive to move on.  

INK has been consistently showing a high level of compliance with ESG standards. To name just a few examples, the Company allocated over 1.2 bln roubles for environment conservation activities over the two reporting years (2020-2021), increasing the spending in 2021 almost threefold above the previous year. As for social investments, they have totaled around 330 mln roubles. At the 6^th Baikal Risk Forum held in September 2022, the Company signed a pentalateral ESG agreement with the local government and the Baikal Bank of PJSC Sberbank with the purpose of developing Ust-Kut town and the district.