The RSPP Council on Non-Financial Reporting begins work in new format

The first meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Council on Non-Financial Reporting, ESG Indices and Sustainable Development Ratings chaired by Andrey Bugrov was held on June 30, 2022 at the RSPP premises, according to a report published on the RSPP website. Members of the Council and invited experts took part in the meeting.
Opening the meeting, Alexander Shokhin, President of the RSPP and Chairman of the RSPP Coordination Council for Sustainable Development said: “The newly created Council operates within the framework of the Coordination Council for Sustainable Development formed in 2021 to promote the ESG agenda, its platforms for interaction and cooperation with those state and non-state structures and organizations that have become involved in the issues of sustainable development and set the task of active actions.”
Calling on the Council to give new impetus to the development of processes in this area, Alexander Shokhin expressed confidence that the Council would become an active platform for expanding interaction between Russian providers of indices, ratings and rankings in the field of sustainable development, and users of systems for analyzing and evaluating companies' performance.
Delivering a report on the activities of the RSPP Council for Non-Financial Reporting in conducting public assurance of non-financial reports in the previous period, Andrey Bugrov, Chairman of the Council, Member of the Board of the RSPP, and Vice President of MMC Norilsk Nickel, drew attention to the importance of public assurance of non-financial reports to promote public recognition of the results of business practices, information about which is contained in the corporate report; to increase the level of confidence of the company's stakeholders in the information contained in the report; as well as to promote the development of the non-financial reporting process in the company and improve the quality of disclosures and management processes.
“Public assurance of non-financial reports is a tool for independent confirmation of information disclosed by companies on the implementation of the principles of responsible business conduct in corporate strategies and activities of companies. This form of certification has its own subject matter, independent significance and is in demand regardless of the presence or absence of a professional audit opinion on the report. All previous experience confirmed this to us,” summed up Andrey Bugrov.
Elena Feoktistova, Deputy Chairman of the Council, Chairman of the RSPP Expert Council on Non-Financial Reporting, and Managing Director for Corporate Responsibility, Sustainable Development and Social Entrepreneurship of the RSPP submitted the draft regulations for public certification (confirmation) of corporate non-financial reports for approval by the Council. She told the participants about the appointment of public assurance, the procedure for organizing assurance, significant areas of disclosure of information on responsible business practices taken into account during its implementation, as well as the evaluation factors taken into account when preparing the opinion and the importance of complying with the ethical requirements of independence and objectivity while avoiding conflicts of interest.