Session in Skolkovo: Sustainable Development Goals in relation to Russia

On 26 March, Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO held an expert session titled “From garbage riots to the UN global goals. Economic efficiency of the private sector in the framework of sustainable development in Russia”.

Russian experts view sustainable development as a combination of three main components:  resource efficient economy, resolution of social problems and human capital development, and environment protection. The link between the three elements is the efficiency in the management of economic and social processes. In this context, the consumer market maturity in Russia is far from its full potential.

“It is essential to review the rules and standards of doing business. Production must be sustainable and the use of resources [must be] handled with care. Distributors and retailers should improve the quality of order placement and reasonably redistribute the remains, not throw them away,” – Katerina Antanevich, expert with the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation said in her speech.

“Tax benefits provided to companies that use remaining food products for charitable purposes serve an important role in this process. Moreover, tax benefits are not the only benefit for businesses,” FAO expert underlined. “Losses are an opportunity to diversify production. One needs to invest in the entire value chain with the aim of reducing costs for transportation, packaging, and production.”

“No less important is the issue of subsidies. Subsidies should be allocated not only for the production of a particular product, but also for improving the entire supply chain, optimizing processes that entail not only loss reduction, but also increase returns for businesses,” Katerina Antanevich noted.

During the Skolkovo session, private sector, government and expert community representatives agreed that the SDGs related to the eradication of hunger and malnutrition, as well as nature conservation, have received a positive response in Russia. The survey that preceded the session revealed that lack of awareness about the SDGs is typical for many Russian companies. The manufacturing industry appears to be more informed about the SDGs than, for example, the banking and financial sectors. The “environmental” and “food”-related SDGs were recognized as the most achievable using tools and instruments available to business.

When it comes to the SDGs’ implementation, the government cannot have a direct regulatory impact for a number of reasons. In particular, it is not only due to poor awareness of the SDGs, but because of the lack of federal-level strategic documents that determine long-term objectives in accordance with the 2030 Agenda. In addition, the SDGs are voluntary rather than binding, a number of SDG indicators have not been fully developed, yet, interdepartmental and intradepartmental coordination is missing. Moreover, the top priority for many business structures in Russia remains – at least for now - survival on the market.

The participants of the session concluded that in order to overcome the existing challenges, the government, the private sector, the academic community and the civil society need a systematic and integrated approach, including consolidation of positions.