Interfax, ESG Alliance launch standardized non-financial information disclosure service

National ESG Alliance and Interfax Group have launched the esg-disclosure.ru project, Russia's first public service for comparing standardized non-financial reporting data of the largest Russian companies.

The beta version of the esg-disclosure.ru portal includes data on more than 600 Russian companies that disclose non-financial indicators.

A standard company profile includes more than 60 basic Environmental, Social and Governance metrics which comply with Central Bank of Russia recommendations and were identified in consultations with experts and businesses.

Features of the esg-disclosure.ru service that are free of charge will allow professional users to compare and map company data, construct benchmarks and develop their own supply chain sustainability policy strategies.

"The esg-disclosure project's goal is to make the non-financial indicators of companies more accessible, transparent, comparable and useful for market participants. We would like to create practical incentives for a wider range of companies to disclose basic information covering the most popular ESG metrics. Such information is essential today to join Asian and other international supply chains and to work with the largest Russian public corporations," said Vladimir Gerasimov, First Deputy General Director of Interfax Group.

"We expect that the broader professional community will use the service. Regulators will have the opportunity to evaluate the social or environmental initiatives of companies both in the context of a single sector and in comparison with other sectors. For large businesses, the service will be a benchmarking tool, and for companies that are just taking their first steps towards ESG it can form the basis of a roadmap for a sustainable transition, helping them to determine which ESG data to rely on first and assess themselves according to key metrics within the framework of a methodology that is generally accepted among the leaders of the ESG agenda. One of the ESG Alliance's main tasks is to develop national infrastructure for sustainable development, and the esg-disclosure.ru service is an important step in this direction," said Andrei Sharonov, CEO of ESG Alliance.

The service will be integrated with the Interfax Corporate Information Disclosure Center website, as well as the SPARK-Register voluntary information disclosure service, which is aimed at SMEs, during 2023. This will allow SPARK-Interfax clients when evaluating potential partners to take into consideration both their financial and operational performance and sustainable development data.