Sergey Kiriyenko: Social responsibility of business creates an appropriate atmosphere
At the international forum of civic participation #MYVMESTE, issues of sustainable business development, corporate social responsibility and volunteering were discussed. This became the main topics of the final meeting of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation in 2021.
First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia Sergei Kiriyenko thanked the business representatives for their indifference.
“Nearly 10 thousand companies took part in the #MYVMESTE campaign, more than 6.5 million people received assistance. It was not only the material side that mattered in this. For people, the moral understanding that you are not alone is often more important – there are people who will help you. It is more important than money, ”he said.
Sergei Kiriyenko stressed that in 2013, volunteering covered only 3 percent of the population, and today this figure has exceeded 15 percent. In addition, during the pandemic, non-profit organizations and businesses have shown themselves to be full-fledged partners for the state and society.
“The social responsibility of a business creates an appropriate atmosphere and values, affects the company's result, people's satisfaction, a sense of happiness and comfort. Work on social responsibility projects is very important for the people, the country, and no less important for the companies themselves, ”he said.
The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergey Katyrin expressed the opinion that the main ideas inherent in the concept of sustainable development are improving the quality of life of citizens, preserving the environment, developing human capital, rejecting excessive consumption – these are natural values for many modern entrepreneurs, which they already implement in their work, but do not fix it as “sustainable development.”
“Our task, as a Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is to expand the tools used to achieve these goals. Help choose the most effective ways and formats for their implementation, share best practices, integrate them on an ongoing basis into the business processes of the organization, “said Sergey Katyrin.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has previously developed a methodological guide to help regional chambers of commerce and entrepreneurs to figure out which processes and indicators of their internal activities are correlated with the ESG agenda and with what parameters and topics it makes sense to work in the first place.
As noted, the chamber of commerce is also ready continue education and enlightenment, compilation and verification of non-financial reports, infrastructure for support of small and medium-sized businesses, analytics and data collection, research, interaction with #MYVMESTE clubs.