Kazakhstan ranked 51st out of 179 countries in the 2021 ESG Index (ESGI), surpassing all the other EAEU and Central Asian countries, QazMonitor reports Energyprom.kz.
More and more companies around the world are showing interest in implementing the principles of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) in their business practices. Investors are also adopting adherence to ESG principles as one of their main criteria for investment. According to Ernst & Young’s recent Global Institutional Investor Survey, as much as 89% of investors said they would like to see ESG performance reporting become a mandatory requirement.
The ESG Index covers 179 countries and territories and is designed to measure risks related to the environment, human rights, health and safety based on 65 variables. The leaders of the rating in 2021 were Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Kazakhstan rose by six lines in the latest ESG Index (ESGI). The country's risks were assessed as low. ESG principles are less widespread than abroad, but they are also gradually being introduced in a variety of industries.
In the oil and gas industry, the domestic leader KazMunayGaz has developed a low-carbon development program for 2022-2031, taking into account the climate agenda, key approaches and measures to reduce the carbon footprint. The company aims to reduce the carbon intensity and energy intensity of production by more than 10%.
The National Bank (Halyk Bank) has implemented ESG practices and became the first bank in Kazakhstan to introduce the green credit policy, which promotes environmental financing.
In the last three years, BI Group, the country’s largest construction company, showed consistent effort to invest in the development of ecotourism infrastructures and zero waste production. The digitalization of the company database helped save 2.46 million sheets of paper in 2022.
The communication service sector is also steadily integrating ESG practices by targeting the sustainable use of its primary resource - electricity. The national service provider KazakhTelecom plans to reduce the consumption of electricity by 1%-3% every year until 2030 in line with the principle of decarbonization.