Organizational and Economic Barriers to the Development of Sustainable Finance (on the Example of Large Industrial Businesses in the Ural Region)

Despite the fact that the green finance market in Russia is actively developing, its growth rates still lag behind foreign countries. In order to create incentives to include ESG agendas in the strategic plans of the industrial sector, as well as to adapt financial market participants to new types of risks associated with sustainable development, it is necessary to identify and solve a number of organizational and economic problems. In particular, it is necessary to determine barriers to the development of sustainable investment in ESG projects from the perspective of the real economy sector, which determines the relevance of the study. The purpose of the study was to identify the reasons for the low spread of ESG projects in the activities of the large industrial sector of the Ural region in order to adapt the implementation of the ESG agenda to the needs of enterprises and the national interests of the Russian Federation. The objectives of the study included identifying the attitude of large industrial enterprises in the Ural region to the ESG agenda in terms of corporate and legal issues and operational activities and attitudes to the climate and environmental agenda, as well as determining the readiness of large businesses to use green finance and to disclose information about non-financial reporting and risks. The methodological basis of the study was the results of a questionnaire survey of management personnel responsible for consolidating ESG policy at large industrial enterprises in the Ural region. The results are as follows. All the companies surveyed expressed concerns that disclosure of information in ESG reporting could be used by unfriendly countries for political purposes or by other entities as an instrument of unfair competition. At the same time, the respondents demonstrated significant attention to the negative environmental impact of production activities. In the matters of the climate agenda, respondents are currently guided by legislative requirements. Insufficient attention is also paid to ESG training of personnel. The findings can be useful for creating incentives to include the ESG agenda in the strategic plans of the industrial sector, as well as for adapting green finance market players to new types of risks associated with sustainable development.