Applied aspects of Russian regions ESG-transformation

The development and implementation of regional ratings/rankings by Russian rating agencies, universities or sustainable ESG development companies contribute to the improvement of Russian national statistics on sustainable development. Rating agencies use different methods in compiling ESG ratings. Consequently, the same regions can rank different positions with the same initial data. Therefore, there is a need of unified methodological approach. It allows ones to assess the parameters of regional sustainable development and ESG transformation, measure the level of sustainability and determine the trends of their sustainable development. In this article, we will analyze the three most popular ESG ratings of Russian regions. The paper presents the results of the ESG rating/ranking of the Central Federal District regions, the Russian Federation. The main 3 analytical methods are as follows: The National Rating Agency, the RAEX rating Consortium, and the Center for Sustainable Development and ESG Transformation at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). The ranking of regions according to the methodology of the National Rating Agency and the RAEX rating group considers components E, S, and G; MGIMO 2023 methodology considers Sustainable Development Goals within clusters (economic, environmental, social, and institutional ones). According to the research, there is a necessity to enhance the Sustainable Development Goals indicators in order to improve the position of the particular Central Federal District region.