Residents of the special economic zone “Alga” intend to introduce the principles of sustainable development into the activities of their enterprises, following the example of the SEZ management company. Thus, the results of the application of these principles in the preferential zones of Bashkortostan are given as an example for other regions of Russia in the framework of the educational program “ESG Agenda: mechanisms for increasing the investment attractiveness of territories with preferential treatment”, organized by the Institute of Knowledge Economics with the support of the Association of Clusters, Technoparks and SEZ of Russia. Artem Penzin, Director of the SEZ management company, shared his experience of using ESG principles in the work of the Alga Special Economic Zone and the Ufa Industrial Park. During his speech, he spoke about how the implementation of the principles of sustainable development affects the investment attractiveness of the region.
The head of the department Nail Gabbasov commented on the results of the work of the management company, whose functions are assigned to the Development Corporation of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
– Now the business environment is increasingly paying attention to the topic of ESG. Soon, the investment attractiveness of infrastructure sites will directly depend on whether the management company will be able to ensure their compliance. That is why Bashkortostan became one of the first regions to implement the principles of sustainable development in the largest preferential zones,” Nail Gabbasov noted. – I would like to note that the application of the ESG principles contributes to the more dynamic development of the Alga special economic zone. Investors have the opportunity to study non-financial reporting, data on compliance with the principles of environmental friendliness, labor protection, social policy and corporate governance both in the work of the management company and residents, which is an advantage in deciding on the implementation of a project in the SEZ.
Recall that in 2022, the Alga special economic zone became one of the pilot infrastructure sites for the implementation of the principles of sustainable development in the activities of the management company, as well as the first preferential zone whose non-financial statements were published in the public domain. Every year, the experts of the AKIT of the Russian Federation conduct an audit of the SEZ, based on the results of which a roadmap is drawn up to achieve the sustainable development Goals.
According to the results of the analysis presented during the meeting of the Expert council for the development of industrial infrastructure of the AKIT of the Russian Federation, Bashkortostan entered the top ten leaders in the implementation of the principles of sustainable development.
– We aim to ensure that compliance with the ESG principles becomes the norm for both the management company and potential residents of the special economic zone and the organizations with which they interact. So, through joint efforts, we will be able to significantly increase the investment attractiveness of the SEZ and the region as a whole,” Nail Gabbasov added.