The influence of ESGD factors on well-being was explained by researchers from GSEM UrFU

17:44, December 5, 2023

The ESG agenda becomes a tool for managing systemic change

The results of the study were presented at the scientific seminar of the Research Centre in International Business for the academic community of 8 countries, as well as for representatives of large businesses as part of an extended meeting of the Social Science and Technology Council on sustainable development and the ESG agenda as part of the series of events of the international conference “Russian Regions In Focus Of Changes"

Zhanna Belyaeva, GSEM Academic Director, presented the results of a study implemented under the programme “Priority-2023”, co-authored with Yana Lopatkova and Ibrahim Alnafrah. As a result of an empirical analysis of ESGD data from 86 countries from 2005 to 2019 using the systematic generalized method of moments, the factors of the social, economic, environmental and digital impact of inequality on the subjective well-being of different countries of the world were identified. For example, digital factors have been found to have a positive impact in high-income countries and a negative impact in developing countries. An interesting result was that institutional differences in ESG regulation differ across regional borders, and economic and social differences vary according to the level of digital development. The conducted research contributes to the understanding of the relationship between objective factors of well-being and patterns of subjective well-being in the era of digital technology development.

The manager of the Sverdlovsk branch of Sberbank, Vladislav Shilenko, noted in his speech that the ESG agenda, including for Russian regions, is becoming an increasingly effective tool for managing systemic changes, as well as for interacting with business and the population.

Also at the meeting were representatives of large companies who spoke about new approaches in the field of corporate governance, the introduction of a culture of digitalization in ESG transformation and the role of universities in managing ESG risks through educational activities. GSEM UrFU researchers also presented a prototype report on sustainable development and ESG of UrFU.

For business representatives, the results of a self-assessment of the scientific and project activities of GSEM on a number of ESGD indicators were interesting; confirmation of the effectiveness of cooperation between universities and business was received when including all factors of sustainable development in the educational and career trajectory of graduates.