Elena Borisenko: “Sustainable development is the foundation of a successful business”

Elena Borisenko, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprombank, told how one of the largest banks in the country is improving in the field of sustainable development and what ESG goals it sets for the future

— This year, Gazprombank has begun active work to implement the principles of sustainable development. At the same time, there are already projects in it that can be considered “green”. What has changed this year? Why it was decided to place special emphasis on ESG (Eng. Environmental. Social. Governance; Ecology. Social responsibility. Management – the main directions of sustainable development adopted by the UN. – Trends)?

— In fact, Gazprombank has been actively developing in the field of ESG for many years. By this we mean the principles of sustainable development, which today are the main philosophy of business. They imply that business cannot exist in isolation from the environment, society, government and corporate governance. All this is the foundation of any business, determines its success and longevity. It seems to me that all successful companies follow the principles of ESG to one degree or another.

Another question is to what extent ESG influences internal processes and policies within the bank. At the end of 2019, we seriously thought that it was time to formalize many of our priorities by developing a strategic policy. In 2020, the pandemic presented us with new challenges in terms of sustainable development, and we decided to speed up the process: to structure and streamline those projects that already exist, or maybe seriously expand them.

An additional incentive for this was the international agenda. Since at least 2014, we have observed a direct correlation between the yield on securities and the company’s ESG rating: the higher the rating, the more interesting such securities are for investors. our country has also for many years – through its state programs and state projects – declared that ESG is a priority. We are a donor for the global ecology: our forests, rivers, natural resources, in many ways, determine our agenda.

It is impossible to exist and conduct business in isolation from this. Therefore, it would be strange if the largest banks did not choose the strategy of sustainable development as one of the most important for themselves. VEB, Sberbank and many others, one way or another, declare themselves on this agenda. And we are glad that we are not at the tail, but at the head of this movement.

— Tell us more about what you focus on in your sustainable development strategy? What is it aimed at? What goals does he set for himself?

— All 17 sustainable development goals adopted by the UN are equally important for us. And somehow visible in our products and projects. But due to the specifics of our portfolio, infrastructure and social ones play a key role. We are known in the markets as an organization that finances large projects in the field of public-private partnerships. This is a big infrastructure, and it is extremely important that it meets the principles of sustainable development.

The second block of our work is social projects, mainly related to students and education. We are now actively developing retail, and it has quite a lot of interesting products for young people: loans for education, card projects. In this case, a plastic card is a pass to an educational institution, however, it can be used to receive social benefits and cashback for purchases. We try to develop these products because we believe that a healthy lifestyle, faith in success, understanding the importance of the ESG agenda is the future of us and our children.

— In the loan portfolio of Gazprombank there are quite a lot of large mining companies, which, often undeservedly, but still give the impression of not being very “green” and “sustainable”. How do you fight this stigma? Will you introduce any restrictions, as some financial organizations in the West are already doing?

We are definitely not fighting, we are always cooperating. Please note: the world’s largest companies such as Shell, BP, Total have declared a zero carbon footprint by 2050. Our largest companies are investing heavily in their infrastructure upgrading projects to reduce the carbon footprint of their products. We see our goal in helping – both financially and with advice – to make our clients’ projects better. Including from the point of view of ESG principles. In this regard, I do not really understand the policy of banks that refuse to finance a client or an entire industry. We always have the opportunity to present our requirements for a project being financed.

But for this, appropriate standards must be adopted. On November 18, 2020, the order of the Government of the Russian Federation was issued, in which the Ministry of Economic Development was instructed to work on the implementation of green financing verification methods in various departments. And it is a great honor for us that we have joined the working group and will actively contribute to the emergence of uniform standards for such projects.

But regardless of all this work, we try to convince our customers that a green product will be better and more successful. And we are glad that almost all key customers share our values, and their investments in production modernization exceed our expectations. Therefore, we will continue this work, and raise the requirements for ourselves and others.

— In our time, it is still somewhat unexpected, but very pleasant, to see a woman holding the post of deputy chairman of the board in one of the backbone companies in our country. How does Gazprombank treat women in leadership positions? Are there any special features at work?

— The bank is very friendly to all qualified people. And the most important feature of our policy is that we do not have any restrictions related to gender. The fact that more than half of the leadership positions are occupied by women indicates that this is indeed the case. Among them are the head of risk management, the head of one of the most important areas of credit work and many others. Because women, like men, are excellent professionals and know how to work well.

This year, Gazprombank was recognized as one of the best employers for women. But I think that there is no limit to perfection, and we, women, help each other in the bank. One of the initiatives for the next year is the creation of a special club for the exchange of experience, mainly in the field of technological development. I think the majority of women will be there. Because it was technology that finally freed women, allowed them to combine work and home. The XNUMXst century has given us the opportunity to enjoy work, family and children at the same time, and this is a great merit of our time.

— Does the staff of Gazprombank generally support the transition to a more sustainable model? Are employees interested in environmental initiatives and social projects? Do you try to instill in them the principles of sustainable development?

– Yes. We have a modern team that welcomed the concept of the “Green Office” with joy. Not all the bank’s sites have switched to it yet, but many have. As part of this innovation, all green initiatives are fully implemented: from the separate collection of waste and recyclable materials to eco-friendly office. Employees joined them with great enthusiasm, and this had a positive impact on our corporate culture.

In addition, the Electronic Document Management project was completed in 2020, and the pandemic helped us a lot. This significantly reduced paperwork and accelerated business processes, making them more comfortable. But without a big “kick” in the form of remote work, it was difficult: any changes are usually slow.

Another important area of ​​ESG that has been supported by staff is our internal communications initiative for online learning and online leisure. Usually there is not enough time to take advantage of all the opportunities that the bank provides for its employees, but now it is all available online. These are lectures on art, and training with the best athletes, and thousands of children’s programs – master classes, creating cartoons. This is a separate big life that the bank offers its employees not “for show”, but from the heart.

– That is, the employees switched to “remote work” with pleasure?

– Not everyone liked it, but I had to get used to it. Now, it seems to me, the vast majority liked remote work: it is now difficult for many to motivate them to return to the office. Remote work pointed to several phenomena at once, which psychologists and sociologists will someday appreciate as a great experiment for all of us. Man is a social being, live communication is very important for him, but technology allows you to do much more remotely in a unit of time. And the one who can combine one with the other is doomed to success. It seems to me that if we have not found the golden mean, then at least we have come very close to it.

And by the way, I am sincerely grateful to all of our global GR practice, because the changes to the law on remote work arrived a little later, but still on time, this is a great success in 2020.

— Among experts, there is still no consensus on how the situation with the pandemic and the accompanying crisis will affect the development of ESG. What do Gazprombank think about it?

— I am sure that the pandemic helped us a lot in the process of global transformation of the technology platform, products and processes, which we started three years ago. The pandemic, firstly, proved that we were on the right track, and all resources were spent in a timely manner and for the right purposes. But most importantly, she showed a new horizon, where to go next. And I am sincerely grateful for 2020 – a difficult year in every sense – for this clarity in the direction of development. I think that he has changed the way we organize work, technology development and the products we will bring to the market for many years to come. Like any crisis, 2020 has given us great opportunities.

— What plans does Gazprombank set for itself for the next 2021 in the field of sustainable development?

— We are planning a lot of intensive work. What we have done in 2020 in terms of formalizing our ESG initiatives is just an overture. A sustainable development council was created, which included key bank executives, as well as independent experts in the field of ESG: Vyacheslav Fetisov, Jean-Claude Knebler and Ernesto Ferlengi. Together with them, we plan to develop a large-scale ESG strategy for the bank in 2021, approve it, publish it and bring all processes in line with it. And also introduce new products, develop a system to involve our customers in ESG activity, motivate them to integrate ESG products.

I think next year will be a year of big regulation. Not only for our bank, but for the entire Russian business. Because the state spends a lot of money within the framework of national projects to maintain and develop the economy. And it is important that this money hit the right target. To do this, it is necessary, including with our help, to develop and implement appropriate standards and mechanisms and, possibly, adjust some of the programs. Everyone will work in this direction, and we will put forward our proposals.

2021 will also be an interesting year in terms of internal management. Because pandemic creativity in the field of remote work, corporate culture, involvement in leisure activities should receive an orderly development, all this should become familiar, but interesting.

The coming year should become a landmark for the career development of the regions. 2020 has shown that it is possible to develop regional clusters, including by attracting people. This is a new and very important page for economic development throughout the Russian Federation. I hope that Gazprombank will be very active and financially successful in this.

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