Sustainable development of Russian companies participating in United Nations Global Compact

Saint-Petersburg State University, Faculty of Economics, Department of Economic Theory and Social Policy, 191194 Tchaikovskogo str. 62, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation

^* Corresponding author: belloussov@mail.ru

Abstract

Research background: This article presents the results of a study of non-financial reporting in the field of sustainable development of Russian companies within the United Nations Global Compact initiative.

Purpose of the article: The purpose of this study is to identify preferred direction of companies. We put their reports on sustainable development in Triple bottom line (TBL) areas: social, environmental and economic. In this article I also disclose conceptual foundations of sustainable development, which served as theoretical and methodological basis of the study.

Methods: Analysis of the companies activities in the field of sustainable development, the results of which are reflected in corporate reports on sustainable development for 2018, 2019, 2020, which passed the non-financial audit procedures of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and are published in the reports register.

Findings & Value added: The study made it possible to identify companies through the positioning of their reports on sustainable development. The study confirmed the hypothesis that non-financial reports on sustainable development are social in nature, focusing on the interests of staff and consumers, while environmental and economic aspects are given less importance. The articles also disproves the hypothesis, that the direction of the company has a significant impact on the positioning of the company. In the course of the study, it became possible to assess the companies’ support for the Global Compact initiatives.