Moscow – PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev was awarded the 15th national Director of the Year Prize in the category “Contribution to the Development of a Culture of ESG”.
The aim of the national Director of the Year Prize, established in 2006, is to recognise the personal contribution of directors to the development of corporate governance systems and to promote best practices for the work of boards of directors in Russian companies.
The winners are selected by the Prize’s Expert Council from among participants in the annual ratings of best directors prepared by the Independent Directors Association (IDA) and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE) in partnership with PwC.
The Expert Council includes Alexander Shokhin, President of the RUIE; Andrei Sharonov, Dean of the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management; Alexey Mordashov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Severstal; Bella Zlatkis, Deputy Chair of the Executive Board of SberBank; Vladimir Gerasimov, Executive Director of Interfax Group; Yury Denisov, Chairman of the Executive Board of Moscow Exchange; Oleg Vyugin, independent director at Rosneft; Andrey Bugrov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Norilsk Nickel; Alexander Ikonnikov, co-founder of the IDA; Vitaly Podolsky, independent director at LSR Group; Oleg Tsvetkov, Corporate Secretary at SberBank; and Elena Dubovitskaya, Director of Corporate Governance and Sustainability at PwC.
In presenting the award, the RUIE’s Mr Shokhin noted that the “Contribution to the Development of a Culture of ESG” nomination, which has been granted for the first time, will become an annual award.
“For a long time, all RUIE members have adopted the practice of regularly submitting non-financial reports and sustainable development reports. It is no coincidence that an RUIE company has won the award this year.”
Head of PwC's Corporate Governance Practice Alexey Fegetsyn stressed that thanks to its commitment to the principles of ESG, PhosAgro not only invests in the development of its own business but makes a much broader overall contribution to sustainable development.
“This year marks our company’s 20th anniversary, and throughout this entire 20-year period, sustainable development issues have been a key priority for PhosAgro,” said Mr Guryev, a member of the RUIE’s Management Board. “The three letters of ‘ESG’ are part of the DNA of our company – they are our mission. The growing focus on these principles is a macro trend that will continue to shape the coming decades. ESG does not only cover our social and environmental policies and aspects of our corporate governance, it shapes our entire lives and those of all the stakeholders around us.
“We are one of the first companies in Russia to create a Sustainable Development Committee under our Board of Directors, which is headed by PhosAgro Independent Board Member Irina Bokova, who previously served as Director-General of UNESCO for eight years. The combination of her expertise and the humanist values that she applies to her work have profoundly influenced me personally and the entire Board of Directors of the company.
“It is gratifying to note that today an increasing number of leading Russian companies are paying attention to ESG issues. That makes this award all the more meaningful for me and for the entire PhosAgro team. I would like to thank the organisers of the Corporate Governance Forum and the Prize’s Expert Council for acknowledging our progress.”
“This recognition by the Expert Council of the Director of the Year Prize is a well-deserved celebration of Andrey’s strategic vision and skills as a Chief Executive and a further validation of PhosAgro’s environmentally sustainable Strategy. The Company’s commitment to the objectives of the United Nations is an integral part of our 2025 Strategic Plan as we directly contributed to 11 of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
“PhosAgro PJSC will continue its investment program in that area as part of its commitment to the Planet’s food security and the supply of environmentally-friendly mineral fertilizers free of toxic concentrations of carcinogenic heavy metals and other substances hazardous to human health. PhosAgro PJSC currently distributes its products to 102 countries around the world,” said Chairman of the PhosAgro Board of Directors Xavier Rolet KBE, commenting on Mr Guryev receiving the national Director of the Year Award.
In the “Best Corporate Secretary" category, the 15th national Director of the Year prize was awarded to PhosAgro’s Corporate Secretary Sergey Samosyuk.
PhosAgro’s ESG-related activities were highly rated in 2020 in prestigious Russian and international ratings and awards competitions.
In September 2020, the UN confirmed PhosAgro’s LEAD status within the Global Compact, a leading platform for socially responsible business. Only 41 companies around the world have been granted this status.
In October, the Company won the Grand Prix in the “Russian Business Leaders: Dynamics, Responsibility and Sustainability” awards held by the RUIE. The Grand Prix has been awarded only twice in the history of the awards, and both times it has gone to PhosAgro.
In November, PhosAgro was awarded its second IFA Gold Medal for its consistent commitment to continuous improvement and for its application of the best solutions in terms of energy efficiency and resource conservation, occupational health and safety and environmental protection.
In December, a leading authority on climate reporting, CDP, upgraded PhosAgro’s rating from C to B-. The influential international agency Sustainalytics, in its annual review of ESG risk ratings, improved PhosAgro’s rating considerably – from 43.8 to 26.9 points (moderate risk) – ranking the Company among the top three enterprises in the global agrochemical industry.