Western Balkans citizens legally resident in EU equal to 14% of region’s population
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has stripped Belarus of the right to hold the World Championship this year
Alexei Navalny arrested on arrival as he returns home
LONG READ: The oligarch problem
Opposition activist Navalny's call for mass protests a success as thousands take to the streets across Russia
Russia's National Welfare Fund accounts for almost 12% of GDP
Police arresting activists ahead of Saturday’s demonstration in support of Navalny
Biden seeking a five-year extension to START II missile treaty
Western Balkans and Ukraine urged to scrutinise coal subsidies
Oligarchs trying to derail Ukraine’s privatisation programme, warns the head of Ukraine’s State Property Fund
Private finance mobilised by development banks up 9% to $175bn in 2019
VISEGRAD BLOG: Central Europe's populists need a new strategy for Biden
OUTLOOK 2021 Lithuania
EBRD says loan to Estonia’s controversial Porto Franco project was never disbursed
Czech MPs pass protectionist food law in violation of EU rules
M&A in Central and Eastern Europe fell 16% in value in 2020, says CMS report
Hungarian vehicle makers hit by supply chain shortage
COVID-19 and Trump’s indifference helped human rights abusers in 2020
OUTLOOK 2021 Poland
OUTLOOK 2021 Slovakia
BRICKS & MORTAR: Rosier future beckons for CEE retailers after year of change and disruption
FDI inflows to CEE down 58% in 1H20 but rebound expected
Albania needs reforms for e-commerce to thrive, says World Bank
BALKAN BLOG: US approach to switch from quick-fix dealmaking to experience and cooperation
Corona-induced slump in global clothing sector dragged down Albania’s 2020 exports
Bosnia's exports in 2020 amounted to BAM10.5bn, trade deficit to BAM6.3bn
Retailers and restaurant owners threaten protests in Bulgaria if reopening is delayed
Bulgaria's Biodit first company to IPO on new BEAM market
Bulgaria’s government considers gradual easing of COVID-related restrictions
Spring lockdown caused spike in online transactions in Croatia
ING: Growth in the Balkans: from zero to hero again?
Labour demand down 28% y/y in Croatia in 2020
EBRD investments reach record €11bn in pandemic-struck 2020
OUTLOOK 2021 Moldova
Storming parliaments: New Europe's greatest hits
World Bank revises projection for Moldova’s 2020 GDP decline to 7.2%
Montenegrins say state administration is most corrupt institution
North Macedonia plans to cut personal income tax in IT sector to zero in 2023
Romania government to pursue “ambitious” timetable for justice reforms
OUTLOOK 2021 Romania
OUTLOOK 2021 Slovenia
Slovenia’s opposition files no-confidence motion against Jansa cabinet
Slovenia’s government to release funds to news agency STA after EU pressure
UK Moneyhub picks Slovenia for post-Brexit European base
D’S Damat franchise deals ‘show Turkey’s hard-pressed mall operators becoming their own tenants’
Turkey’s benchmark rate held as concerns over faltering recovery come to fore
Turkish lira breaches HSBC’s stop-loss, Turkey ETF signalling outflows
CAUCASUS BLOG : What can Biden offer the Caucasus and Stans, all but forgotten about by Trump?
Armenia ‘to extend life of its 1970s Metsamor nuclear power plant after 2026’
OUTLOOK 2021 Armenia
COMMENT: Record high debt levels will slow post-coronavirus recovery, threaten some countries' financial stability, says IIF
OUTLOOK 2021 Georgia
Iran’s Khamenei menaces private citizen Trump with image of aircraft shadowing blond golfer
Iran’s technology minister indicted for failing to properly implement internet censorship
No US move to rejoin Iran nuclear deal imminent, say Biden national security nominees
TEHRAN BLOG: Will Biden bet on a quick return to the Iran nuclear deal?
Central Asia vaccination plans underwhelm, but governments look unruffled
Fears of authoritarianism as Kyrgyz populist wins landslide and backing for ‘Khanstitution’
Mongolia's PM quits amid protests over treatment of mother with coronavirus and newborn baby
Mongolia's winter dzud set to be one of most extreme on record says Red Cross
Mongolian coal exports to China paralysed as Beijing demands virus testing of truck drivers
Mongolia fears economic damage as country faces up to its first local transmissions of coronavirus
OUTLOOK 2021 Tajikistan
OUTLOOK 2021 Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan: How the Grinch stole New Year
COMMENT: Uzbekistan is being transformed, but where are the democratic reforms?
Download the pdf version
More...
Just a few weeks ago we were all locked in heated discussions about climate change and social responsibility. Then, life threw us a curveball – the coronavirus pandemic. It’s changed life for thousands of people almost overnight and created unprecedented challenges for businesses. The threat of pandemic has become the ultimate test of companies’ sustainability and commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. With capital markets having effectively frozen, priorities have shifted to business continuity and economic survival.
It’s not hard to tick boxes – copy nice sounding policies, compose heartfelt CEO speeches – when time is on your side. However, with Covid-19 spreading rapidly across the globe, we have neither the time nor the time-proven tactics to follow. Benchmarking isn’t possible and clear answers are hard to come by, as the situation changes minute by minute. The only way forward is to look at your core values and act accordingly.
We spoke with Russian business leaders and found out what they are doing to ensure the sustainability of their operations amid the global pandemic, as well as what values they rely on during these difficult times.
“We have identified several stakeholders groups that would be the most impacted by the current situation and have examined what can we do to protect them,” says Alexander Tynkovan, President of Russia’s largest electronics retailer M.Video-Eldorado Group, ultimately replicating a key first step for any ESG strategy. Like many other businesses, the Group has decided to focus on what is under their control: ensuring the safety of their employees, customers and partners. For example, by offering customers more contactless payments options, free delivery and additional cashback for online purchases and maximising and simplifying electronic document flow to support struggling vendors.
Speaking of employees, Yandex, Russia’s internet giant running businesses ranging from Uber to Spotify analogues, was the first among large Russian companies to ask their employees to work from home on March 13th. Many more followed suit. All conscientious companies also adopted enhanced sanitizing measures, employees’ health supervision and provided work from home options through additional investment in digital communications channels. And the latter could have a long-lasting positive impact on our environment.
“We didn't want to risk the well-being of our partners, investors, contractors and employees, so we’ve largely switched to video calls that we never used in such scale.” says Andrey Guryev, CEO of PhosAgro, one of the world’s leading phosphate-based fertilizer producers. However, remote working is not always possible, and for some companies continuing offline operations in this challenging environment is a tough but necessary decision. For example, fertilizers are an integral part of the global food chain and their long-term impact on our well-being is crucial. That’s why PhosAgro has enhanced safety protocols for employees who can’t work remotely. “We must do everything reasonably possible to continue to supply farmers in more than 100 countries around the world with crop nutrients.” says Guryev.
A similar approach was taken up by ChelPipe Group, one of the five largest pipe manufacturers in the world that has clients in industries ranging from oil and gas to producers of agricultural equipment and household appliances. In 2010, the company, which is often the largest employer in cities where it operates, adopted its META philosophy based on the principles of sustainability (META stands for Mindfulness-Employees-Technologies-Aspiration). Now, thanks to its continued investment in sustainability, it is better positioned to weather the storm. “We’ve been consistently developing in-house medical centres with highly skilled medical personnel and state-of-the-art equipment, which is crucial for regions far from Moscow.” says Boris Kovalenkov, CEO of ChelPipe Group.
Still, the toughest challenges lie ahead for those on the front lines, facing millions of customers every day. That category nowadays includes not only doctors, but also food retailers and pharmacies.
Х5 Retail Group, Russia’s largest food retailer, is gearing up for the challenge and ensuring there is sufficient inventory in their distribution centres to last for several weeks while prices remain stable. On a call with investors on Thursday, X5 CEO Igor Shekhterman said: “We have not only increased deliveries of basic foods and essential goods by 2-4 times, but also increased the number of staff in our stores, cancelled all holidays, changed the work schedule and redistributed transport capacities to focus on high-demand product categories. We are also monitoring our stores in real time and redirecting product flows to stores where we see particularly high demand. If there is a shortage of items at a particular store, a new delivery can be made within a day.” Commenting on online and express delivery Shekhterman added: “Thanks to our significant investments into our online platform and delivery infrastructure, we are now able to handle the increase in demand for these services. The average number of Perekrestok.ru orders placed per day on the weekend of March 14-15th jumped more than 90% compared to the previous week. We are operating at full capacity and delivering over 8,000 orders per day.”
OZON, Russia’s leading e-commerce platform, delivers everything from furniture to food and non-prescription drugs to customers across Russia’s 11 time zones. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the company is implementing measures to battle inflated pricing by its marketplace sellers and is offering contactless delivery. While immediate concerns have taken center stage, OZON is remains focused on the company’s long-term social responsibility. “These days more than ever we feel responsible for the quality of life of millions of customers and tens of thousands of partners across our vast country – and not just the largest cities. During this difficult time, we feel a responsibility to ensure that we continue to fulfil our mission to deliver anything and anywhere in Russia.” says Daniil Fedorov, CFO of OZON.
Reliable financial services are also crucial in such times. Tinkoff Bank, founded in 2006, has pioneered not only the branchless business model in Russia, but also a unique cloud call centre serviced by over 10,000 employees, a significant share of which are from socially vulnerable demographic groups. “From the very beginning, our call centre programme was aimed at providing jobs to single mothers, people with disabilities and others, who have limited opportunities to work 9 to 5 outside the home.” explains Oliver Hughes, CEO of Tinkoff Bank. “The fact that we are a digital financial institution has always been beneficial to our customers, but it is especially important amid the Covid-19 situation. A person can apply for a credit card online and our representative delivers it to any location wearing a mask and carrying sanitizing gel.”
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg, and there is so much more worth attention both on with regards to ESG in Russia in times of crisis. Still, these cases underline a strong commitment to social responsibility among Russia’s business leaders. It took a pandemic to bring the “S” in ESG, the so-called ugly duckling of investing, to the forefront of this crisis. While unremarkable at first glance, social policies can have a great impact on companies’ resilience and sustainable growth. Corporates that rely on their values are quick to react. They will weather this storm and become more attractive to investors tomorrow.
Register here to continue reading this article and 5 more for free or purchase 12 months full website access including the bne Magazine for just $250/year.
Register to read the bne monthly magazine for free:
Already registered
Password could contain only a-z0-9\+*?[^]$(){}=!<>|:-_ characters and have 8-20 symbols length.
Please complete your registration by confirming your email address.
A confirmation email has been sent to the email address you provided.
Forgotten password?
Email field can't be empty.
No user with this email address.
Access recovery request has expired, or you are using the wrong recovery token. Please, try again.
Access recover request has expired. Please, try again.
To continue viewing our content you need to complete the registration process.
Please look for an email that was sent to with the subject line "Confirmation bne IntelliNews access". This email will have instructions on how to complete registration process. Please check in your "Junk" folder in case this communication was misdirected in your email system.
If you have any questions please contact us at sales@intellinews.com
Sorry, but you have used all your free articles fro this month for bne IntelliNews. Subscribe to continue reading for only $119 per year.
Your subscription includes:
For the meantime we are also offering a free subscription to bne's digital weekly newspaper to subscribers to the online package.
Click here for more subscription options, including to the print version of our flagship monthly magazine:
More subscription options
Take a trial to our premium daily news service aimed at professional investors that covers the 30 countries of emerging Europe:
Get IntelliNews PRO
For any other enquiries about our products or corporate discounts please contact us at sales@intellinews.com
If you no longer wish to receive our emails, unsubscribe here.
Magazine annual electronic subscription
Magazine annual print subscription
Website & Archive annual subscription
Combined package: web access & magazine print annual subscription