CSR 2022_The FINANCIAL

Recycled Plastic Content Won’t Save the Oceans See on p. 11

Continued on p. 4

In 2021, 139 000 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU territory

Continued on p. 4

Health Is Your Most Precious Asset, PSPs CSR Route To Promote Healthy Lifestyle.

Aiding Ukraine Amid War Continued on p. 6

See on p. 10

Stop War. Save Ukraine.

May 23, 2022

Leaders explain how business can deliver on ESG promises

Americans’ Concerns About War in Ukraine

EY on CSR - EY Provides

Financial Support to Thousands of Students Worldwide to Access Education and Defeat Diseases “We support thousands of students, children and elderly people to access education, to defeat diseases and live happily, our company continues donating money to the children with special needs and giving them hope for a better future.”

Natia Meltauri, head of brand, marketing and communications of EY, talked about interesting projects, their vision of the future, and plans of EY in terms of CSR. Read on p. 10

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CSR

New Challenges for Corporate Social Responsibility

USD 20 million totalled in CSR projects, Joining UN Global Compact and RMGs path towards being a green company Continued on p. 2

ProCredit Bank Installs Free EV Chargers Nationwide to Travel by EV Throughout the Country “For us, CSR and environmental care are not on the ‘to-do list’, but rather an integral part of our daily activities. We are proud of the fact that 16% of the bank's loan portfolio is the so-called "green portfolio", which combines investments in environmentally friendly and energy efficient solutions as well as renewable energy.”

Director of ProCredit Bank

Read on p. 4

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USD 20 million totalled in CSR projects, Joining UN Global Compact and RMGs path towards being a green company

By The FINANCIAL With CSR being embedded deep within corporate culture, RMG has been successfully pursuing sustainable projects for quite some time. Encouraging regional events, supporting education, and culture and aiding local entrepreneurs are some of the deeds that the company has accomplished. To find out more, The FINANCIAL reached out to Tornike Lipartia Executive Director of RMG. Q. In what directions does RMG organize CSR campaigns?

A. Corporate Social Responsibility has been one of RMG’s strategic priorities since 2018.

The company has invested more than USD 20 million, Since 2012, to support youth, culture, sports, education, various events in the Kvemo Kartli region, as well as aiding entrepreneurs.

By introducing international environmental approaches and modern standards of labour safety in our daily activities, and the sustainable support of social projects across the country we have managed to embed sustainable development deep in our corporate culture.

The company's long-term CSR strategy primarily aims to keep conducting business ethically, which is a must-follow rule for sustainable development. Responsible approach toward the environment, consideration of the interests of the local community and initiating projects aimed at addressing their social needs has become our top priority.

I would highlight our 2017 initiative to preserve and restore Georgian cultural heritage across the country, the support towards popular sports events such as football, rugby, and judo with the latest addition of fencing. We are proud to be representing the best in the world swordsman from Europe, Sandro Bazadze.

As a company, we have initiated several educational projects in mining and geology in partnership with the Georgian Technical University.

We encourage the involvement of the region’s schoolchildren in various informal education projects, such as the “RMG Ideas Lab”, History Competition "Didgoreli", The Debate Club opened in Kazreti schools in cooperation with the Georgian Institute for Debate and Education and much more.

Q. What are the most distinctive projects for you, and what benefits has the community seen?

A. One of our most precious projects is the new museum in Bolnisi, which in recent years has become one of the main attractions of Kvemo Kartli. The modern museum of the XXI century combines the segments of science, culture, education and tourism and offers its visitor an unforget-

table experience. In 2020-2021, despite the pandemic, the museum hosted several important and exciting events. In December 2021, the new Bolnisi Museum was named among the final nominees of the European Museum Forum - European Museum of the Year Award 2022. The Bolnisi Museum was granted the Certificate of merit for its noteworthy achievement in raising the public quality of the museum at the 2022 European Museum Competition (EMYA 2022) Awards on May 7 in Tartu, Estonia. I believe Bolnisi Museum, which combines permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, a modern auditorium, media library and public spaces, is an outstanding location to host cultural and educational events.

Q. What does RMG's membership in the UN Global Compact mean for RMG, and what are the criteria that member companies must meet? How will UN Global Compact improve your corporate culture and how will you make CSR part of your day-to-day operations?

A. We believe that the role of the private sector stands important in achieving the goals of sustainable development. The membership in the United Nations Global Compact (UN Global Compact) is yet another step forward as Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, and by signing it we reaffirm our commitment to the core principles of defending human rights, labour, preserving the environment and the fighting against corruption. Currently, a team of 10 employees are undergoing a 3 month certification course at the Georgian Global Compact Network - Corporate Sustainability Academy.

Considering our commitment, toward the development of corporate sustainability will become an irreversible part of company’s culture. The effort will help us further refine our corporate culture and offer more effective, results-oriented and sustainable initiatives to the public.

Q. How did the Bolnisi Winemakers Support Program come about? How does RMG help them sell and in which market? Is there an international response to their wine?

A. Bolnisi is a new, yet promising place of winemaking on the map. The cooperation with Bolnisi winemakers started in 2018 when together with Bolnisi Municipality, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the winemakers' union "Wine Bolnisi".

At that time, the union consisted of about 15 small, family cellars, and their main goal was to restore the ancient Georgian tradition - the culture of putting wine in a Kvevri and bringing the name of Bolnisi wines outside Georgia.

The results of 4 years of multifaceted and fruitful cooperation were summed up by the winemakers' union "Wine Bolnisi" at the "First Forum of Bolnisi winemakers" held at the Bolnisi Museum this year.

As a result of RMG's sustainable support, Bolnisi wineries regularly participate in local and international exhibition competitions. They undergo various educational and professional trainings, receive marketing support, unlimited laboratory services, wine vessels and inventory required for the production of high-quality wine.

continued on p. 9

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ProCredit Bank on CSR: ProCredit Bank Installs Free EV Chargers Nationwide to Travel by EV Throughout the Country

By The FINANCIAL

Corporate-social responsibility and implementation of projects in this direction has been one of the most important goals of ProCredit Bank for many years.

“For us, CSR and environmental care are not on the ‘todo list’, but rather an integral part of our daily activities. We are proud of the fact that 16% of the bank's loan portfolio is the so-called "green portfolio", which combines investments in environmentally friendly and energy efficient solutions as well as renewable energy.”

ProCredit Bank is a development-oriented commercial bank, which offers excellent customer service to small and medium enterprises and to private individuals who have the capacity to save and who prefer to do their banking through electronic channels.

Marita Sheshaberidze, Director of ProCredit Bank, talked about the interesting projects, visions for the future, and plans of the ProCredit bank in terms of CSR.

Q: CSR and environmental care has become one of the most important topics worldwide. What does ProCredit Bank do in this regard?

“Promoting sustainable economic development in the country is reflected in the strong focus of the company on the development of small and medium-sized businesses for ProCredit Bank, which leads to the sustainable development of these businesses.

We believe that corporate social responsibility and environmental protection should be an essential component of the operation of any business, for us, business ethics itself is the goal. Business ethics is the value shared by ProCredit Group and ProCredit Bank Georgia, which has been operating in the country for 23 years.”

Q: ProCredit Bank has been actively involved in CSR campaigns in the recent past. What are the specific projects the ProCredit Bank is involved in?

“For ProCredit Bank, CSR and Environmental Care is not on the ‘to-do list’, they are an integral part of our day-to-day operations, as any business, with its activities, has an impact on the environment. We, as a bank, value both our direct and indirect

important part of the activity is the staff. We believe that proper employee development and satisfaction, is directly related to sustainable development.

Employee development at ProCredit Bank is of paramount importance from the outset - any employee here participates in a 6-month international program where he or she will undergo theoretical and practical training. Employee development care does not end here, the bank allocates 100 hours of training to each employee throughout the year. ProCredit Bank continues to develop staff in the group academies, studying in 1-year and 3-year programs, with future managers continuing their training in Germany.

Environmental courses are an important part of the same curriculum. Over the past 2 years, due to the Covid pandemic, we have adapted academies and moved them into the virtual space easily and successfully.

The bank has introduced a feedback system, which allows each employee to hear a systematic assessment from the immediate supervisor, as well as once a year from the top management representative, and correctly define expectations, evaluate his place and role and get answers to important questions, express his opinion and take initiative.

Caring for the career development of each employee is one of our main goals.”

Q: Why does ProCredit Bank consider it so important to support business and involve itself in CSR activities? influences. This approach incorporates the group's environmental system, through which we measure, evaluate, and take appropriate direct and indirect impacts on the environment to reduce our carbon footprint: For many years we have been not only measuring the consumption of resources such as water and electricity, but also trying to use them efficiently and replacing them with environmentally friendly alternatives.

Here are some examples: At the head office, we collect rainwater in a reservoir, which we consume after recycling in the building. In 2020, the bank installed a solar power plant of its own consumption on the roof, which aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions using renewable resources. 99% of our transactions are electronic, which has reduced paper usage to a minimum. 100% of the company's vehicles are electric. Our head office building is the first in Georgia to have its energy and resource efficiency certified by an EDGE International Certificate.

Q: What activities can you name as an example of supporting business activities in Georgia in 2020-2022?

“Naturally, a financial institution, in addition to having a direct impact, also has an indirect impact on the environment. Given the size of ProCredit Bank's small and medium-sized business client portfolio, the indirect impact is much greater when we are financing this or that investment.

In the assessment, in addition to analyzing the solvency of the business and the return on investment, compliance with the environmental standards of the enterprise and the assessment of the safety of their

employees is given special importance. ProCredit Bank has a very principled approach in this regard - we refuse to finance activities that have a negative impact on the environment, despite their high profitability. For example, the bank last year refused to finance the production of disposable plastics.

In the year 2021, we introduced additional criteria to ensure that customers' business activities are not adversely affected in protected areas.

A very important direction for the bank is "green financing". We are proud of the fact that 16% of the bank's loan portfolio is the so-called "green portfolio", which combines investments in environmentally friendly and energy efficient actions as well as renewable energy.

Last year, the bank financed the construction of 6 solar power plants. Energy independence, as well as reducing costs and, most importantly, reducing carbon emissions remain this year's priority.

In 2022, the Bank established a network of free general-purpose chargers, nationwide. By the end of the year, 30 chargers from ProCredit Bank will be installed in the country, which will make it possible to travel by electric vehicle throughout the country.

At the same time, we finance individuals and business clients with special incentives to buy an electric car.”

Q: Do you have a business system which ensures the professional development of your employees (careerdevelopment plans)?

“Corporate responsibility is created by individuals and in ProCredit Bank, the most

“Over the last few years, the world has become more and more aware of global warming and its dangers. We know that the steps taken in this direction need to be redoubled and we are glad that we were not intimidated by skepticism and we have made a worthy contribution to raising the environmental culture in the country through our activities over the last decade. One of the fundamental values ​​of the organization, which is shared by every employee of ProCredit Bank, is the following: if the business only serves to maximize quick profits, it cannot be sustainable. This value shapes our organizational culture and our corporate social responsibility, which we carry out in our relationships with each other, as well as with our partners and the environment.”

Q: What are some of the projects ProCredit Bank is planning for the future?

“We believe that transparency is one of the main principles of ethical business.

Ecological direction is our main priority, in which we try to involve more individuals and businesses every year.

This year, by combining these two goals, ProCredit Bank is creating a "green account" - through which we offer our clients the chance to become part of our green, sustainable development. With this initiative, we want to show those who are interested in financing environmentally friendly investments and knowing that the money in their account serves just that purpose, an easy and flexible way to do so.

ProCredit Bank will continue to support the green direction in the future.”

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Health Is Your Most Precious Asset, PSPs CSR Route To Promote Healthy Lifestyle. Aiding Ukraine Amid War

by The FINANCIAL Being the household representative of the Georgian medical sector, PSP has long been established as a brand that positively impacts society. Promoting a healthy lifestyle and providing support to those who need it the most, PSP has embedded CSR deep within the corporate culture.

Sending under 1million GEL of humanitarian cargo in Ukraine, supporting Ukrainian families in Georgia and organising numerous charity events are just some of the activities that the company initiates, The financial reached out to Natia Khabeishvili, the PR Manager at PSP to find out more.

Q. How long has PSP been pursuing CSR activities and how deep is it implemented in the corporate culture? What is the primary goal of your CSR projects?

PSP as a socially responsible company has been actively introducing quality products and services since its establishment in 1994, which has positively impacted the quality of life of our citizens.

PSP is one of the first Georgian companies, which has chosen to promote a healthy lifestyle and has been actively supporting various sports such as rugby, judo, basketball, boxing and mini-football since the 2000s for the interest of younger generations.

Since 2009, the football team of PSP has won numerous awards, including multiple business league championships, which highlight each employee's attitude towards a healthy lifestyle.

PSP has also been actively supporting the tree-planting initiative, being among the first to refuse to use cellophane bags.

Q. What is the importance of the medical industry initiating CSR events?

PSP is constantly developing the medical sector with its activities, providing access to quality medicines for the entire country since the 90s.

Healthcare companies are taking more responsibility for social matters, protecting employees' labour rights, and the environment while conducting fair business with partners and consumers.

PSP has made an active and significant contribution to the formation and development of the Georgian pharmaceutical industry and continues to operate in this direction. The medical field has a great impact on society by providing quality medicine.

The attitude was particularly relevant during the 2020-2021 pandemic and all of the measures were taken to ensure the safety of our employees and consumers. All

of our employees continued serving the population while providing a continuous supply of medicine, baby food and self-care products.

We have also strengthened our online pharmacy and increased the supply channels to provide even more convenience and efficiency.

PSP Online Pharmacy has been providing services in the capital since the first days of the pandemic, adding services to 4 major cities of Georgia since the end of March 2020, thus providing uninterrupted access to a large part of the Georgian population during the lockdown period.

Q. What are the initiated CSR projects that you are most proud of?

PSP covers several CSR areas, including the promotion and promotion of a healthy lifestyle, this is the list of campaigns that we have initiated and supported: With our support, the Judo Federation has opened a modern judo hall in several regions and different districts of Tbilisi. We are proud to contribute to the development of young judo athletes and their entry into the international arena.

Supported the national basketball team, basketball club "Dina-

mo" and "Cactus" for years and this cooperation continues.

Supported "Mini Football School League" for the first time organised in 2019 by the Sports Management Academy, Tbilisi City Hall and the local assembly, where students schools in Tbilisi and Batumi are participating this year.

In 2021, the winning team of the project represented Georgia for the first time at the World MiniFootball Youth Championship, and the Georgian mini-football team will participate in the European Mini-Football Championship on June 4-11 this year.

Up to 200 PSP employees take part in the Wings for Life World Run every year, with 12 employees running 10km and 12.5km each year; The maximum result is 25 km.

A team of Georgian veteran runners was sent to Dubai to compete for the first time (2017) (to participate in the most popular world run) The football team staffed by PSP has won numerous prizes in FC PSP mini-football, including the 2014 Georgian champion. They are the three times winners of the Business Champions League.

A 4-member team consisting of PSP staff members climbed several

peaks and raised the PSP flag on them.

The first Georgian company to support the European Summer Youth Olympic Festival in 2015. In the Olympic city built for athletes in Tbilisi, PSP-Pharmacy hosted foreign athletes.

The PSP Bowling Team is a consistent leader and champion in bowling corporate championships.

A successful team in rafting, won championships among Georgian business companies 3 times.

PSP has implemented several environmental protection projects.

From 2010 to 2012, as part of the campaign, PSP employees planted trees in the suburbs of Tbilisi, as well as in the yard of the Trinity Cathedral.

In 2015, was the first to respond to an initiative by the Ministry of Environment to reject cellophane parks to reduce pollution with harmful environmental wastes.

In 2016, this process was completed and the entire PSP network across Georgia (then 230, today 301) serves customers with biodegradable bags in pharmacies.

Another novelty in paper packages has also been introduced.

Was the first to get involved in the campaign to stop cutting spruce in 2016.

Green recycling boxes are located everywhere at the company's headquarters.

Education Support: Funding tuition for underprivileged students accounts for almost a third of PSP's CSR activity; The company supports events organized by students and/or student self-governments and encourages student involvement; This year, PSP supported the events held at GTU and A. Tsereteli University to present an educational program for the 12th graders.

PSP got involved in the project, under The Christmas performances of the State Drama Theater of K. Marjanishvili will be attended by children who have never been to the theatre before from the settlement of Tserovani (villages: Ditsi, Nikozi, Zemo Nikozi, Garikula, Magaroskari and Ninotsminda).

Every year PSP invites local children at the Borjomi Puppet Theater to New Year performances.

In 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the National Library of Parliament, to which the PSP has already handed over school textbooks. Under the memorandum, the company is actively involved in equipping rural libraries.

Supports educational campaigns and conferences of the Pharmacists Association.

Orders various products from individuals as Christmas and Easter gifts and holds charity exhibitions for PSP employees.

Has been participating in New Year's charitable events with various resources (products, gift attributes, financial support) over the years, including the "New Year's Market" organized annually by the French Embassy.

PSP has been supporting the monthly publication and events of the special magazine under the slogan "Nothing is Restricted". The magazine employs people with disabilities, which ensures their active involvement.

With the support of PSP play "Medea" was staged on the experimental stage of Rustaveli (2016) with the joint participation of children with Down Syndrome and people with disabilities.

Organised campaign #CaringForYouMakesMeHappy - from 2020 to the present which introduces interesting people to the community who cares about other people, traditions, literacy, folklore and more through their activities. The project combines Anzor Erkomaishvili, Giorgi Kekelidze, the creator of the social theatre "Azdaki Garden" Bacho Gabruashvili, Baia Abuladze, Anna Goguadze ("Cafe of Mziuri") and etc., The project will continue to introduce interesting people and activities to the public.

Charity activities, including medical and social projects. The share of funding for medical activities - operations and treatment has been especially large.

Medication support for charitable events in the border regions is organized several times a year, including by the organizations Georgian Dream - Healthy Georgia and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.

PSP has been a regular supporter of the Catharsis Foundation for many years (hosting several free dinners each year); Dimitri Tsintsadze's cooperation with the fund for several years includes the activity of both the company and the employees, who have been crediting the fund's account every month for years.

Supporting the Natvris Khe Charitable Foundation at a charity concert to raise money for children's treatment.

Supporting the events of the charity fund "Remembrance of the Fatherland".

Supports the celebration of the birthday of the great poet with the Vazha Pshavela Foundation.

PSP is a supporter of 2-3 charity concerts per year for the elderly and homeless; Supporter of Mtatsminda District War and Military Veterans Union, House of Virtues and Lantern of Kindness.

During the holidays, the PSP team visits orphanages give them presents and create a festive mood.

A similar event is organized by the company to support and encourage young children in the penitentiary institution.

Appreciation of meritorious and honoured public figures and support of anniversary events (Gia Kancheli, Buba Kikabidze, Vazha Azarashvili, Vazha Durglishvili, Merab Sepashvili, etc.);

continued on p. 8

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In 2021, 139 000 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU territory Ukrainians and Albanians (9 400 each) topped the list of non-EU citizens returned to another country in 2021, followed by Georgians (5 400) and Pakistanis (3 200).

France reported the largest number of non-EU citizens found to be illegally present in 2021 (215 200), followed by Hungary (134 100) and Germany (120 300).

Syrians accounted for the highest number of people found to be illegally present in the EU in 2021 (79 800). The next highest numbers were recorded for citizens of Algeria (56 800) and Afghanistan (52 800).

Non-EU citizens ordered to leave EU Member States: -14% compared with 2020 In 2021, some 342 100 non-EU citizens were ordered to leave the territory of the EU Member States, down 14% compared with the previous year (396 400).

Among EU Member States, France reported the largest number of non-EU citizens ordered to leave its territory in 2021 (125 500), followed by Germany (31 500) and Greece (28 800).

In 2021, the highest number of people ordered to leave an EU Member State territory was observed among Algerians (26 400), Albanians (22 000) and Moroccans (21 800).

By The FINANCIAL In 2021, 139 000 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU territory while 681 200 were found to be illegally present in one of the EU Member States. The number of non-EU citizens issued with an order to leave an EU Member State was 342 100.

Following an order to leave, 82 700 non-EU citizens were returned to another country (including other EU Member States).

This information comes from data on enforcement of immigration legislation published by Eurostat today. The article presents a selection of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.

Non-EU citizens refused entry in the EU: +1% compared with 2020 In 2021, some 139 000 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU at one of its external borders, up 1% compared with 137 800 in the previous year.

The largest number of refusals of entry in 2021 were reported

by Hungary (34 700), followed by Poland (26 200), Croatia (14 200) and Romania (11 000).

Ukrainian citizens accounted for the largest number of refusals in 2021 (50 200). The next largest numbers were recorded for citizens of Albania (18 600) and Moldova (9 100).

Around 82 700 non-EU citizens returned to another country Illegally present non-EU citizens: +22% compared with 2020 In 2021, around 681 200 non-EU citizens were found to be illegally present in the EU. This was up 22% compared with 2020 (557 500).

In 2021, some 82 700 non-EU citizens returned to another country following an order to leave the territory of a specific EU Member State.

France reported the largest number of non-EU citizens returned in 2021 (14 400), followed by Germany (10 300) and Sweden (9 300).

Ukrainians and Albanians (9 400 each) topped the list of non-EU citizens returned to another country in 2021, followed

by Georgians (5 400) and Pakistanis (3 200).

Health Is Your Most Precious Asset, PSPs CSR Route To Promote Healthy Lifestyle. Aiding Ukraine Amid War continued on p. 6 Participation in charitable marathons such as "Iavnana" and "First Step" organized by Dito Tsintsadze and other foundations.

Periodic support of the Patriarch's Foundation, several temples and the newspaper of Trinity Cathedral.

Q. The importance of showing support to Ukraine can not be understated, what has been the contribution and impact of PSP? During the tragic events of the Russian-Ukrainian war, PSP was quick to send GEL 300, 000 of humanitarian cargo in support of Ukraine.

PSP, one of the first Georgian companies involved in humanitarian activities on February 27, along with the first humanitarian shipment from Georgia to Ukraine.

As a symbol of support, as of February 28, Ukrainian flags and humanitarian aid collection boxes were placed in PSP pharmacies along with the Georgian flag, all those interested could contribute to the support of the Ukrainian people.

In the second stage, baby food, porridge, milk and tea worth GEL 20,000 were donated to the Embassy of Ukraine for humanitarian assistance.

A $50 000 fund created by the strategic partner of PSP, Korean company Mizon was doubled and $95,000 worth of medicines and baby food was sent to the Ukrainian Embassy in the form of humanitarian aid.

The Georgian office of the International Breast Cancer, Europe Donna Georgia handed over the necessary oncomedicine for the Ukrainian beneficiaries.

PSP staff has been actively involved in the #GE4UA fundraising campaign since day one; With the collected funds, PSP will provide medicines to the initiative group on special terms.

PSP continued to support Ukraine with projects to support Ukrainian citizens in Georgia.

Despite the ongoing war, on March 8, to mark International Women's Day, PSP presented a set of European personal care products to Ukrainian women in Georgia.

PSP handed over special discount cards and a set of personal care products to 300 Ukrainian families in Georgia by the end of the year.

It should be noted that PSP delivers products at special prices to all the organizations that send medicine, baby food and diapers as humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

5. Are there any long-term CSR projects that PSP will continuously pursue?

The company conducts business based on the principles of ethics and fairness, aimed to positively impact society and the natural environment and to ensure the economic development of our employees, their families, consumers and our country. PSP brings hundreds of millions of GEL annually to the national budget, which is significant to our economy. We guarantee the income of 5,000 households and provide them with corporate insurance and professional development support for each employee.

Health is the most precious asset a person can have, and our company aims to support and promote a healthy lifestyle along with increasing the availability of quality medicines and medical products necessary for health. In this regard, the company is still actively pursuing ongoing projects and working on new campaigns.

Taking care of health starts from an early age, therefore we try to maximize the involvement in school championships. The school mini-footballing championship in Tbilisi was held for the first time in 2019 with the support of PSP, organized by Sports Management Academy, Tbilisi City Hall and the public assembly. The project was a pilot in which teams of students from all public schools in Tbilisi participated.

In 2021, about 100 public and private schools

in Tbilisi participated in the project, with a total of 1,000 participants. In the same year, the winning team of the project represented Georgia for the first time at the World Mini-Football Youth Championship.

The project is expanding and developing, in 2022, and a new sport has been added to the tournament - handball, within which the winning girls and boys teams have already been identified. The area of the project is expanding as well, taking place in Batumi, and it is planned to expand the project to Kutaisi.

This year, from June 4-11, the Georgian minifootball team will participate in the European Mini-Football Championship. The team consists of 8 players and the head coach of FC PSP., FC PSP - A football team staffed by the company's staff, FC PSP has won numerous prizes in mini-football, including the 2014 Georgian championship and the Business Champions League three times.

At the first historic appearance of the Georgian national team at the European Futsal Championship, two members of the FC PSP football family (the second coach and the striker of the national team) were printed on this sheet of Georgian mini-football history.

In addition to mini-football, PSP has several successful teams of employees in bowling and rafting, and a 4-man team of climbers celebrating the conquest of the peaks by hoisting the PSP flag.

One of the main tasks of our company is to be an exemplary company in the field and the country, to set an example of establishing a healthy lifestyle for the society and the youth, and to support the promotion of a healthy lifestyle in the society.

Business registrations and bankruptcies down In the first quarter of 2022, compared with the previous quarter, both registrations of new businesses and bankruptcies decreased in the EU, although bankruptcies to a lesser extent. Registrations of new businesses fell by 2.3% and bankruptcies by 0.8%.

This information comes from data published by Eurostat.

In the first quarter of 2022, the number of registrations of businesses was 1% higher than in the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis, while the number of declarations of bankruptcies decreased by 23% over the same period.

In terms of registrations, at the beginning of 2022, there were considerably more registrations of businesses than before the COVID crisis period in information and communication (+17%), compared with the first quarter of 2019. On the other hand, in accommodation and food services, significantly fewer businesses were registered at the beginning of 2022 than in the first quarter of 2019 (-17%).

The number of declarations of bankruptcies, at the beginning of 2022, was smaller than before the COVID-19 crisis period in all activities, except for accommodation and food services, for which bankruptcies increased by 11%, compared with the first quarter of 2019.

HEADLINE NEWS & ANALYSIS FINCHANNEL.COM | May 23, 2022

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corporate social responsibility

Restructuring of vineyards in the EU continues

By The FINANCIAL In 2020, there were 2.2 million vineyard holdings in the EU cultivating 3.2 million hectares (ha) of vines. Between 2015 and 2020, the area of vines in the EU as a whole remained relatively stable (-1.1%). However, there was a sharp reduction in the number of vineyard holdings (a loss of 257 000 holdings, equivalent to 10.3%).

Most of these holding losses came from the very smallest vineyard holdings; there were 226 000 fewer holdings than in 2015 in the size class with less than 1 ha of vines.

This information comes from the data on the structure of vineyards published recently.

This 5-yearly data collection monitors the market for grapebased and wine products as well as the production potential of vineyards in the EU. The article presents a handful

Spain has the largest area for wine in the EU

of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on vineyards in the EU. The vast majority (82.4%) of the EU’s vineyards in 2020 were

dedicated to the production of grapes for quality wine. Quality wine refers to products of both protected designation of origin (2.1 million ha, equivalent to

65.3% of the EU’s vineyards) and protected geographical indication (0.5 million ha, equivalent to 17.1%).

USD 20 million totalled in CSR projects, Joining UN Global Compact and RMGs path towards being a green company continued from p. 2 In March, Wine Bolnisi held an exhibition tasting of Bolnisi wines in the Polish city of Katowice, where about 70 types of wine from 25 Bolnisi wineries were presented.

Wines from the Bolnisi household are sold in China, Germany, Poland and even Australia.

In 2020, we have purchased an old German house in Bolnisi, which is being restored by the "Union for the Protection of German Cultural Heritage in the South Caucasus." At the end of the year 2022, guests arriving at Tsiskvili Street #8 in Bolnisi will be greeted by a Georgian-German wine house where they can taste the finest Bolnisi wines. The goal of the GeorgianGerman Wine House is to promote Bolnisi wines and bring them to the international market.

Q. What projects is RMG implementing in terms of education. Who can participate in it and do successful students have the opportunity to work for the company?

A. Education is among the top priority areas of corporate responsibility, therefore we come up with projects suitable for students at the different levels of education.

The program starts as early as school age, scaling up to the doctoral program. The project is partnered with the Georgian Technical University, since 2017. Last year, based on the GTU Faculty of Mining and Geology, we opened the Mining and Geological Technology Center, which allows students of all levels to take advantage of new, state-of-the-art multifunctional space and explore cutting-edge mining, and geoengineering, geology and related digital programs. For the most motivated and successful students, RMG has introduced scholarships since 2018 which were received by a total of 65 students.

Summer School, is yet another important professional development project which involves more than 100 high-achieving students from GTU. The School provides a one-month internship in RMG enterprises for the highest scoring students selected through a competition. A career-oriented project offers a 1-year individual develop-

ment plan for competitively selected participants. Upon the successful completion, project participants will be allowed to join RMG. And lastly, there are educational initiatives targeted at school students. The nonformal educational projects implemented together with partner organizations, such as "RMG Ideas Lab", “Didgoreli” School Competition in Georgian History, and "Debate Club" in Kazreti, opened in cooperation with the Georgian Institute for Debate and Education.

Our business is based on the principles of sustainable development, which dictates the appropriate use of resources and development of the region where we operate in.

We intend to do a great job of providing a great social responsibility, taking care of people, the environment and the country's economic development. We have thought well of challenges for the mining industry and have responded accordingly. The goal of us and our more than 3,700 employees is to conduct environmentally friendly, safe business.

Spain, France and Italy together accounted for three-quarters (74.9%) of the area under vines in the EU and about two-fifths (38.7%) of vineyard holdings in 2020. However, Romania had the highest number of vineyard holdings in the EU (0.8 million holdings, equivalent to 37.9% of the EU total in 2020).

Between 2015 and 2020, there were sharp reductions in the number of vineyard holdings in a number of Member States, but particularly in Portugal (a loss of 98 000 holdings, although this is also partly due to a change in data source and coverage), in Italy (a loss of 78 000 holdings) and in Spain (a loss of 34 000 holdings).

Protected areas: over a quarter of EU land The EU has the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world, known as Natura 2000, consisting of around 27 000 terrestrial and marine sites protected under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive (known as “the Nature Directives”). In addition, EU Member States have protected large portions of their territory under national protection schemes.

In 2021, around 1.1 million km² of the EU Member States’ land area was designated for the preservation of biodiversity as Natura 2000 sites or nationally protected sites.

This represents over a quarter (26%) of the total EU land area.

The highest share of protected land area in Luxembourg, lowest in Finland In 2021, protected areas represented 20% or more of the total land area in 20 of the 27 EU Member States, with the highest shares recorded in Luxembourg (52%), Bulgaria and Slovenia (both 41%).

In contrast, the lowest shares of protected areas were observed in Finland (13%), Ireland and Sweden (both 14%).

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HEADLINE NEWS & ANALYSIS May 23, 2022 | FINCHANNEL.COM

Americans’ Concerns About War in Ukraine: Wider Conflict, Possible U.S.Russia Clash

Share of adults saying the U.S. isn’t providing enough support to Ukraine has declined since March

By Pew Research As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine enters its third month, most Americans say they support actions taken by the Biden administration in response to the Russian invasion, such as placing strict economic sanctions on Russia, sending military equipment and weapons to Ukraine and stationing large numbers of U.S. military forces in NATO countries near Ukraine.

In general, more U.S. adults approve (45%) than disapprove (34%) of the Biden’s administration’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Views of the administration’s response are largely unchanged since March (when 47% approved and 39% disapproved).

The new Pew Research Center survey, conducted April 25-May 1, 2022, among 5,074 U.S. adults found that the public has multiple concerns over possible consequences from the war in Ukraine. Roughly six-in-ten (59%) are extremely or very concerned about the possibility of Russia invading other countries in the region, while another 25% are somewhat concerned; 15% are not too or not at all concerned.

Similar shares are at least very concerned about the war in Ukraine possibly continuing for a long time (57%) and Ukraine being defeated and taken over by Russia (55%).

About half of Americans also say they are either extremely (24%) or very (26%) concerned about the pos-

sibility of U.S. and NATO support for Ukraine leading to a U.S. war with Russia, with about one-third also saying they are somewhat concerned about this. Only about one-in-five (18%) say they are not too or not at all concerned about this.

Opinions about the level of support the United States is providing to Ukraine have changed since March. Currently, 31% say the U.S. is not providing enough support to Ukraine, while 35% say its support is about right; 12% say the U.S. is doing too much. The share of Americans who say the U.S. is doing too little to support Ukraine has declined 11 percentage points since March, from 42% to 31%.

In late April, President Joe Biden proposed a massive package of military and economic assistance to support Ukraine and U.S. allies in the region, more than doubling the aid the U.S. has provided thus far during the conflict.

The public’s views of the Biden administration’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have changed little since March. However, these opinions have shifted somewhat within each party.

Chart shows more U.S. adults continue to approve than disapprove of Biden administration response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, the share who disapprove of the Biden administration’s response to the Russian invasion has declined since March.

Two months ago, two-thirds of Republicans said they disapproved of the administration’s response; today, a smaller majority (55%) disapproves. The share of Republicans who strongly disapprove of the Biden administration’s handling of the situation has declined by 15 points (42% in March, 27% now).

Among Democrats and Democratic leaners, there has been a decline in the share saying they approve of the Biden administration’s response to the Russian invasion. In March, 69% approved, including three-in-ten who strongly approved. That is down to 63% today, with 23% who strongly approve. Equal shares of Democrats say they disapprove today as did in

March.

Large majorities of Americans support various actions taken by the U.S. in response to the Russian invasion. Three-in-four Americans approve of the U.S. placing strict economic sanctions on Russia, including more than half who strongly approve. About one-in-ten say they disapprove (12%), while a similar share is unsure (13%).

The U.S. decision to send military equipment and weapons to Ukraine also draws strong support from the public: 71% say they approve this action, while just 16% disapprove.

About one-in-ten (12%) say they are not sure.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) also approve of the U.S. decision to station large numbers of U.S. military forces in NATO countries near Ukraine.

One-in-five Americans disapprove of this decision, while 15% are not sure.

Wide support in both parties for U.S. actions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Large majorities of both Republicans and Democrats say they approve of all three U.S. actions included in the survey.

Sizable majorities of both Republicans (73%) and Democrats (80%) say they approve of the U.S. placing strict economic sanctions on Russia. Similar shares say they approve of sending military equipment and weapons to Ukraine.

About seven-in-ten Democrats and six-in-ten Republicans also say they approve of stationing large numbers of U.S. military in NATO countries near Ukraine.

While there is bipartisan approval on all three U.S. actions surveyed, Democrats are somewhat more likely than Republicans to say they strongly approve of each of the actions.

For example, 61% of Democrats strongly approve of placing economic sanctions on Russia, compared with 48% of Republicans who say this. There are similar differences in strength of opinion on sending weapons to Ukraine and stationing U.S. military forces in nearby NATO countries.

Overall, about a third of Americans (35%) say that the U.S. is providing

about the right amount of support to Ukraine, while a somewhat similar share (31%) say the U.S. is providing not enough support. Just 12% of Americans say the U.S. is providing too much support, while roughly one-in-five are not sure.

Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, roughly similar shares say that the U.S. is either providing too little (34%) or about the right amount (30%) of support to Ukraine. About one-infive Republicans say that the U.S. is providing too much support.

Conservative Republicans are somewhat more likely than liberal and moderate Republicans to say that the U.S. is providing too little support to Ukraine (40% vs. 24%).

Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, nearly four-in-ten say that the U.S. is providing about the right amount of support for Ukraine. Three-in-ten say that the U.S. is providing too little support, and 8% think the U.S. is giving Ukraine too much support.

There are not substantial differences among Democrats by ideology.

While opinions about U.S. efforts to support Ukraine do not differ widely along partisan lines, this also is generally the case for concerns about the conflict. For example, while 62% of Democrats say they are extremely or very concerned about the possibility that Russia could invade other countries in the region, 56% of Republicans also express that level of concern. Comparable shares in both parties also say they are extremely or very concerned that U.S. and NATO support for Ukraine could lead to a war with Russia (51% of Democrats and 48% of Republicans are at least very concerned).

Chart shows concerns about conflict in Ukraine cross partisan lines, but Democrats are more concerned than Republicans over possibility of a lengthy war, Russian victory Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be at least very concerned about the war in Ukraine continuing for a long time (63% vs.

51%) and Ukraine being defeated and taken over by Russia (60% vs.

51%).

Pandemic has made young people more depressed, research finds A new study measuring the impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing and mental health of adolescents has found that the pandemic has made them more depressed and less satisfied with their lives.

Despite widespread concern about the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent mental health, little research has been done before now which could attribute any changes directly to the pandemic – the study aimed to address this gap in knowledge.

Researchers from The University of Manchester, University College London, University of Dundee and the Anna Freud Centre surveyed thousands of school pupils aged 1115 about their mental health before the pandemic, and followed up with them afterwards.

Online surveys were completed by the young people which asked them to identify with phrases including “I feel lonely”, “I hit out when I’m angry” and “my life is going well”.

They found that depressive symptoms were higher and life satisfaction scores lower in the young people surveyed midway through the pandemic, compared to the scores of those surveyed before the pandemic started.

Had the COVID-19 pandemic not occurred, the researchers estimate that there would be 6% fewer adolescents reporting high depressive symptoms Analysis of the impacts also suggested that the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent mental health may have been greater for females than males – the findings indicated that females exposed to the pandemic exhibited greater depressive symptoms, behavioural issues and lower wellbeing.

“Given the widespread concern over rising adolescent mental health difficulties prior to the pandemic, our paper quantifies the additional impacts of the pandemic. A properly resourced, multi-level, multi-sector public health approach for improving adolescent mental health is necessary.”Dr. João Santos, a lead author on the study

Milley: West Point Cadets Should Be Ready for Robot, Drone-led Wars The top U.S. military officer challenged the next generation of Army soldiers on Saturday to prepare America's military to fight future wars that may look little like the wars of today.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, painted a grim picture of a world that is becoming more unstable, with great powers intent on changing the global order. And he told graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point that they will bear the responsibility to make sure America is ready.

"The potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing, not decreasing," Milley said in prepared remarks. "Whatever overmatch we enjoyed militarily for the last 70 years is closing quickly, and the United States will be, in fact, we already are challenged in every domain of warfare, space, cyber, maritime, air, and of course land."

America, he said, is no longer the unchallenged global power. Instead, it is being tested in Europe by Russian aggression, in Asia by China's dramatic economic and military growth as well as North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, and in the Middle East and Africa by instability from terrorists.

HEADLINE NEWS & ANALYSIS FINCHANNEL.COM | May 23, 2022

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EY on CSR - EY Provides Financial Support to Thousands of Students Worldwide to Access Education and Defeat Diseases

By The FINANCIAL “We support thousands of students, children and elderly people to access education, to defeat diseases and live happily, our company continues donating money to the children with special needs and giving them hope for a better future.”

The purpose of EY is to build a better working world. The insights and quality services EY provides help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. EY develops outstanding leaders who work to deliver on promises to all our stakeholders. In doing so, EY plays a critical role in building a better working world for people, for its clients and for communities.

Natia Meltauri, head of brand, marketing and communications of EY, talked about interesting projects, their vision of the future, and plans of EY in terms of CSR. Q: Nowadays CSR & environmental care has become one of the most important topics for companies. What is EY's role in this regard?

“EY is committed to making business work for sustainability and making sustainability work for business. When business works sustainably, the world works better - for business, people and the planet. At EY, we believe sustainability is the innovation of our lifetime.”

Q: EY has been actively involved in CSR campaigns in the recent past. What are the specific projects EY is involved in?

“Our global corporate responsi-

bility efforts positively impact millions of lives. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, local charity and CSR activities were planned accordingly; however, for obvious reasons, many events were canceled and our contributions to sport or ecological projects were postponed as team volunteering was banned, and we shifted our focus to more acute challenges we all faced during the outbreak: we supported students, children and elderly people; our employees continued donating money to children with special needs and gave them hope for a better future. At EY we all know and remember - what we do now, may change someone’s life forever.”

Q: What activities can you name as an example of supporting business activities in Georgia in 2020-2022?

“During COVID-19, many companies and organizations faced challenges and one of them is our old friend and beneficiary – First Step Georgia (https://firststep.ge/ge).

First Step has been providing services to children with special needs since 1998. The organization runs four programs (a specialized Day Care center, Home-based Care, Autism and Early Intervention) and, within the framework of these programs, 760 children with special needs, including 60 children with severe disabilities and behavioral disorders, receive high quality services. Due to the COVD-19 situation, they had to close their doors and experienced financial difficulties. In order to support the livelihood of their employees and continue payment of the salaries throughout this period, they had to reduce salaries,

but even those payments proved to be difficult to make. We decided to support First Step by transferring the budget of our canceled event to them. Thanks to EY's financial support, the children were able to be involved in special therapy programs, which help children and their families regulate perceptions and make children engaged in those daily activities which are so essential and helpful for them. – This is one of the best examples I can name.”

Q: Why does EY consider it so important to support business and be involved in CSR activities?

“At EY, we’re passionate about turning our purpose – building a better working world – into meaningful progress to help shape and improve the future of our communities, our clients and our people.”

Q: How do you measure employee satisfaction?

“We measure employee satisfaction by quarterly surveys. The survey helps us to understand what is important for our employees and enables us to make decisions and take actions to enrich the exceptional EY experience.”

Q: Do you have a business system which ensures the professional development of your employees (career-development plans)?

“Creating a sense of belonging in our diverse, equitable and inclusive work environments is how we can best position our people to make a meaningful impact on our clients, societies, and one another. It’s also why we invest in building transfor-

mative leaders of the future and cultivating a culture of health and wellness. Our full-time employees can get free corporate EY MBA and Masters in Tech, Sustainability and Project Management. Also, individualized awards are presented through our internal employee recognition system as well as many more benefits for career development at EY.” Q: What is EY's contribution to developing Georgian business?

Our ambition reflects the changing expectations of our stakeholders to create long-term value. The CSR strategy builds on multiple core topics, for which we define measurable targets and indicators, a clear communication plan and inspiring actions.

Q: What is the impact of your business on the local community and environment?

“We continue to challenge ourselves to embed responsibility, inclusiveness and sustainability more deeply in everything we do. This includes through global commitments to upholding and promoting human rights, and to innovating toward a net zero future. Together with clients and other like-minded organizations, EY people use their distinctive skills, knowledge and experience to bring positive change across three focus areas: supporting the next generation workforce, working with impact entrepreneurs and accelerating environmental sustainability. These are the areas where we believe our combined capabilities can make the biggest impact — where each ripple we start has the potential to grow and join with others to create waves

of change.”

Q: How many micro businesses were financially supported by EY over the last two years?

“Helping to scale small and growing businesses which are driving progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals to tackle inequality and empower people to change their lives. After signing WEPs principles, we supported Keti Tsilosani, one of the beneficiaries of UN Women in Georgia. Keti lives in Lanchkhuti, Guria. Only 30 years old, owing to her enthusiasm, she has become an example to all women in her region. She started her own business - Lanchkhuti’s very first café, “Ketostan” (“At Keto’s”), where she employs five local women. Social Cafe „Ketostan“, aimed at empowering people with disabilities. Thanks to an EY donation, Keti was able to buy additional equipment for the café and receive more guests, overcoming the difficulties caused by the Covid pandemic.”

Q: What are some of the project’s EY is planning for the future?

“With the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, CSR initiatives have had to step up and be at the forefront as the world faces turbulent and unprecedented times. EY is planning to continue supporting all existing beneficiaries, to deliver long-time value to our community, supporting education, women and youth empowerment projects, helping the elder generation in need, pro-bono activities, etc. “

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HEADLINE NEWS & ANALYSIS May 23, 2022 | FINCHANNEL.COM

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HEADLINE NEWS & ANALYSIS

corporate social responsibility Investor Statement on the Crisis in Ukraine

FINCHANNEL.COM | May 23, 2022

We, the 56 undersigned investors and their representatives with more than 1.7 trillion USD in combined assets under management or advisement, strongly condemn the Russian military invasion and ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. We unequivocally support the Ukrainian people, their protections under international humanitarian law, and their recognized rights to life, freedom, democracy, and territorial integrity. Russia's human rights abuses and violations of international law have manifested in salient and material risks that should compel investors to take measures to help protect both the rights of the Ukrainian people and the integrity of our investment portfolios.

The February 2022 invasion is the most recent act of Russian aggression against Ukraine since the occupation of Crimea and Donbas War in 2014. The Russian state, business oligarchs, and state- owned or -affiliated companies have played a critical role in directing, financing, and equipping the armed conflict, occupation, and displacement of millions of Ukrainian civilians. Russian and Belarusian soldiers and Russian-backed separatists have violated international humanitarian and human rights law through attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure. National governments, multilateral institutions, companies, and investors have responded to the invasion and rights violations with an unprecedented array of economic sanctions, export controls, termination of business activities, and commitments to divest from Russian securities.

We are committed to reviewing our portfolios to ensure compliance with relevant sanctions and export controls targeted at Russian and Belarusian economic actors. However, we do not consider legal compliance a sufficient response to the urgency of this crisis. As investors committed to human rights, we endeavor to conduct enhanced due diligence of our respective portfolios as called for by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Guiding Principles) and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines). While the singular tragedy of what is happening in Ukraine is enough to implore action, we also believe that aligning with the specific responsibilities set forth in these international standards is vital for the longterm effective functioning of our global society and a corresponding healthy economy.

Therefore, in line with our commitment to addressing human rights risks in our portfolios, and specifically those associated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we call on companies across all sectors with business activities or business relationships in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus or other conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRA) to take immediate steps to align their operations with the Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines. Those steps include:

• Take all possible measures to protect their workers and the communities in which their direct operations and those across their value chain take place in Ukraine; • Publicly affirm their support for the democracy, territorial integrity, and fundamental rights of the people of Ukraine with accompanying public support for the international rule of law; • Map their business activities, relationships, and/or investments across their value chain to identify and assess any human rights harms they are causing, contributing to, or are linked to including: o any and all business relationships, activities, and communications involving the Russian and Belarusian states or any of their agencies, state-owned and -affiliated entities, business oligarchs, or Russian separatists in occupied eastern Ukraine; and o any revenues from such business relationships and activities that may enrich militaryowned, -controlled, or -affiliated business and/or provide funding or support to the Russian or Belarusian military made before or after the February 2022 invasion.

• Prevent and mitigate their exposure to human rights risks based on these findings, including through the termination of business activities in the event that such risks prove to be immitigable; • Design and implement processes to enable the remediation of adverse human rights impacts including those impacts on their incountry staff and local stakeholders; • Report regularly and publicly on their human rights policy, including due diligence efforts and procedures in place to cease, prevent,

and mitigate negative human rights impacts; • Adopt policies and practices that identify, assess, and address the heightened human rights risks inherent in CAHRA; and • For those companies not causing or contributing to human rights harms but considering withdrawing or closing operations in Russia, weigh such decisions against the potential negative impacts on the human rights of employees, local communities, and other stakeholders not party to or in support of the invasion.

Sustained government and business action to support the protection of human rights remains essential as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. The undersigned asset owners and managers believe the above steps advance the investor and corporate accountability necessary for a functioning global economy and the international rules-based order.

It is a moral, legal, and financial imperative for the private sector to take action and demonstrate leadership by supporting the human rights of the Ukrainian people, their democracy, and their struggle for peace and security.

Investor Signatories: ACTIAM Adrian Dominican Sisters, Portfolio Advisory Board AP Pension Augustine Asset Management Australian Ethical Investment Azzad Asset Management B.C. General Employees' Union Boston Common Asset Management Boyle Family Office Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc. Church Investment Group

ClearBridge Investments Comitato Lady Lawyer Village Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. Congregation of St. Joseph Corporate Responsibility office - Province of St Joseph of the Capuchin Order Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Louise Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids EFG Asset Management Ethical Partners Funds Management Ethos Foundation Everence and the Praxis Mutual Funds First Affirmative Financial Network Friends Fiduciary Corporation Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart Heartland Initiative Kiwi Wealth Lady Lawyer Foundation Maryknoll Sisters Mercy Investment Services, Inc. Miller/Howard Investments, Inc. Natural Investments RA Capital Management, LP Region VI Coalition for Responsible Investment Riverwater Partners Robeco Schroders Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary - General Administration Sisters of the Humility of Mary Sisters of the Precious Blood Sisters of the Presentation of the BVM of Aberdeen, SD Socially Responsible Investment Coalition Storebrand Asset Management The Episcopal Church (DFMS) The Pension Boards-UCC, Inc. The Sustainability Group of Loring, Wolcott & Coolide Trillium Asset Management Unitarian Universalist Association United Church Funds Vancity Investment Management (VCIM) Wespath Benefits and Investments Zevin Asset Management

Recycled Plastic Content Pledges by CocaCola and Pepsi Won’t Save the Oceans

By The FINANCIAL

A new study commissioned by Oceana has exposed the weakness of plastic recycled content pledges by giants like The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. The analysis, conducted by Eunomia Research & Consulting, found that if the top five beverage companies meet their pledges – and it’s far from certain that they will – these pledges would only reduce aquatic pollution from single-use plastic bottles by 7%. In response, Oceana is calling on major beverage companies to adopt or expand strategies that prioritize refillable bottles.

“This report uncovers some worrying realities. It seems improbable that the recycled content pledges by large soft drink companies will be met and regardless, they won’t go far in helping the oceans,” said Dr. Dana Miller, Oceana’s Strategic Initiatives Director. “Adding more recycled content doesn’t stop a single-use plastic bottle from reaching the seas, but replacing that bottle with one that will be reused does. Recycling alone is not the solution that our oceans need. Our oceans need us to return, refill, and reuse our bottles instead.”

The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone, and Keurig Dr Pepper have pledged to increase post-consumer recycled content in their polyethylene terephthalate plastic (PET) bottles by targets ranging mostly from 25 to 50% by 2025. But, according to Eunomia’s analysis, achieving these targets would require collecting

an additional 2.57 million tonnes (2.83 million U.S. tons) of plastic bottles for recycling each year. However, there is no coherent strategy in any global region apart from Europe to reliably increase the supply of recycled PET for the production of bottles and achieving this would likely require significant government intervention. Recycled PET sourced from plastic bottles is also high in demand for other uses like making other plastic packaging, clothes, and toys, and this demand is steadily growing.

Of the approximately 511 billion PET bottles used in 2018 in the 93 coastal countries included in the analysis, an estimated 35.8 billion bottles entered aquatic systems. Even if the companies could live up to their pledges, their current commitments would have little impact on reducing aquatic plastic pollution, Eunomia found. This is largely because bottles used for recycling are expected to predominantly be derived from already collected and managed waste streams rather than from mismanaged waste or littering. On this basis, if all brands reached their targets, 33.4 billion bottles (93%) would keep flowing into rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Project Director for Eunomia Chris Sherrington stated that, “Our study found that significantly reducing the flow of used PET bottles to aquatic environments requires collection infrastructure to be introduced in places where none currently exists. While increased demand for recycled content can be expected to lead to a greater focus on obtaining used bottles, it

doesn’t necessarily follow that this will all translate into the establishment of new collection infrastructure while opportunities continue to exist to divert already collected bottles from going to landfill or incineration.”

Eunomia’s study also discusses how to increase the beverage sector’s collection rates, including the use of refillable bottles. In 2020, Oceana published a report which found that increasing the market share of refillable bottles by just 10% in all coastal countries in place of single-use PET bottles could reduce PET bottle marine plastic pollution by as much as 22%. If major soft drink companies actually want to reduce the billions of plastic bottles entering the oceans each year, Oceana calls on them to provide a refillable option to consumers worldwide.

Miller added, “Leading soft drink brands need to stop distracting consumers concerned about ocean plastic pollution with pledges about recycled content. The companies responsible for this crisis facing the oceans need to focus more on solutions that can go further in tackling the problem – like refillable bottles.”

Refillables have proven to be very effective at reducing waste. Companies own, track, and collect these bottles, and people who buy refillable bottles typically return them to the place of purchase in exchange for a ‘bottle deposit’.

The bottles are then collected, washed, refilled, and delivered back to stores where they can be purchased again. Refillable bottle systems cre-

ate less plastic waste as each bottle can be used up to 20 times if PET or up to 50 times if glass.

Following campaigning by Oceana and its allies, in February of this year, The Coca-Cola Company announced a major commitment to reach 25% reusable packaging by 2030, leading the way for other companies to follow suit.

A month later, PepsiCo announced that they would be making their own time-bound goal on reusable and refillable bottles by the end of 2022. Oceana celebrates these announcements but underlines the importance of these commitments being met and for the companies to embrace refillable bottles as a core business strategy, leading a global revolution back to a former, less wasteful way of living.

To create meaningful change, Oceana is calling for: The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper, Nestlé, Danone, other beverage brands, and the bottlers they work with to expand refillable systems in existing markets and create new major markets for refillables.

Investors to seek investment opportunities with beverage companies and bottlers to fund the development and build-out of refillable bottle systems.

Governments to introduce quotas for refillable bottles, mandatory sales of refillable bottles, and legal provisions to use universal bottles for different brands.

corporate social responsibility

HEADLINE NEWS & ANALYSIS May 23, 2022 | FINCHANNEL.COM

Advertiser: Radio Commersant. Contact FINANCIAL Ad Dep at marketing@finchannel.com

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HEADLINE NEWS & ANALYSIS FINCHANNEL.COM | May 23, 2022

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corporate social responsibility

Leaders at Davos 2022 explain how business can deliver on ESG promises ESG - Environmental, Social and Governance - reporting is increasingly essential – and even required.

Ahead of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos 2022, business leaders provided insights on how companies can track and deliver on ESG promises.

There are, allegedly, $2.7 trillion in assets now managed in more than 2,900 ESG funds. No wonder the FT’s Gillian Tett describes auditors and accountants as suddenly “wildly trendy”.

Despite growing momentum toward a coherent system for corporate disclosure, tracking and measuring ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) commitments and performance remains uneven.

Academics at MIT Sloan School of Management say the lack of standardization on ESG scoring is leading to “aggregate confusion,” according to a recent report. This calls for greater attention to how the data underlying ESG ratings is generated.

The World Economic Forum’s Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism: Towards Common Metrics and Consistent Reporting of Sustainable Value Creation, launched in 2020, enabled businesses to track their contributions towards the SDGs on a consistent basis. But confusion persists.

Punit Renjen, CEO, Deloitte Global Helping address the climate crisis may be the defining challenge of our lifetime. While governments and social institutions have important roles to play, business has the opportunity to lead the change the world needs now. Seizing that opportunity requires taking meaningful action – and reporting on it.

Currently, companies use an array of voluntary sustainability reporting frameworks. However, without the adoption of consistent standards, it is difficult for stakeholders to make the “apples to apples” comparisons that are critical for capital investments and understanding companies’ impact. These voluntary frameworks can be a barrier to transparency, enabling selective reporting and potential greenwashing.

Deloitte and the other Big 4 collaborated with the World Economic Forum's International Business Council to identify 21 existing ESG metrics used by leading standard setters to give businesses a common framework for evaluating impact.

This marks an important step toward the ultimate goal of globally consistent ESG standards. Companies that measure their progress against these ESG metrics can position themselves to create greater long-term value for stakeholders.

Deloitte continues to deliver on its ESG commitments – both within our organization and in collaboration with clients through our Deloitte Sustainability & Climate practice, which helps companies define their path to a more sustainable future.

'Elevate the S agenda and leverage social reporting' John Schultz, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

When it comes to ESG, Environment and Governance issues are relatively easy to define in comparison to the Social dimension. When it comes to Social, there are questions around what's best to measure and how to capture company performance with a lack of data.

It’s time we elevate the “S” agenda and leverage social reporting to accelerate business transformation in ways that advance responsibility throughout our value chains. I recommend three urgent steps: 1. Shift ESG considerations from compliance to value-creation by explicitly understanding how your company’s core business can concurrently contribute to social outcomes.

2. Ensure a social impact lens is embedded throughout your value chain beyond your direct workforce and supply chain, from responsible product design to how products can be used for good.

3. Build trust with the right stakeholders by identifying the right goals and metrics and ensure engagement and governance all the way to the Board level.

Applying these principles, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has embraced our responsibility to develop and sell responsible technology, including through our AI Ethical Principles and by contributing our solutions to social outcomes like accelerating COVID-19 treatments. We hope to build momentum to help drive greater transparency for input performance indicators — such as social impact investments — and outcome indicators that measure the results on society.

'Effective ESG strategies require top-down driven change' Laura M. Cha, Chair, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) Investors are mobilizing around ESG. At the end of 2021, Morningstar estimated that global sustainable funds’ AUM reached US$2.74 trillion.

But a lack of credible and comparable data, and the risk of greenwashing, remains a barrier to both progress and investing that capital in companies driving the low-carbon transition.

Effective ESG strategies require top-down-driven change to oversee and assess an organization’s environmental and social impact.

As HKEX Chair, I see this as my responsibility, and that of the Board, to develop a clear ESG, sustainability and climate vision.

Leaders must understand the impact of ESG on an organization’s operating model, align themselves with stakeholders’ expectations and enforce a materiality assessment and reporting process.

As a regulator, we have been promoting ESG among our 2,500+ listed companies by ending single-gender boards, requiring disclosure of ESG KPIs and educating issuers about ESG principles via our ESG Academy.

As a market operator, we have created platforms providing information, access and transparency on a wide range of sustainable, green and social investment products, like green bonds.

As a corporate, we joined the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), pledged to reach net zero by 2050, and made full carbon emissions disclosures in our annual CSR report.

Through HKEX Foundation, our charitable arm, we help invigorate our communities and drive societal change, raising over HK$138 million in 2021 to fund community projects to help needy individuals.

'What gets measured gets done' Bill Thomas, CEO, KPMG Consistent and transparent financial reporting standards have helped investors measure business success for decades, but we need to expand their scope to mobilize the power of capital markets to help build a more sustainable future. What gets measured gets done, and with the launch of the ISSB and the publication of its first proposed standards, we’re that much closer to achieving transparency of sustainability performance.

KPMG just released its first update to Our Impact Plan, a catalogue of our organization’s ESG commitments and a roadmap of how we’ll meet them. By using the World Economic Forum's stakeholder metrics as a guide, we now have a much clearer understanding of our business and are having detailed conversations about where we need to go.

And ultimately, we are making better decisions that I am sure will help to strengthen our global organization over the long term for the benefit of all our stakeholders.

As the world faces many serious challenges — from climate change and nature loss to social injustice and inequality – business has a responsibility to change, but also a real opportunity to lead on important issues that can help to shape future prosperity for all. Consistent and transparent sustainability reporting will certainly help, and the businesses that start today will be better off tomorrow.

Sustainability, corporate governance, ESG How is the World Economic Forum helping companies track their positive contributions towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals?

Measuring the impact companies have on society and the planet is essential if practices are to be managed and improvements to be made.

To promote alignment among existing environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks, the Forum, with partners including Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, has drawn on existing frameworks and identified a set of universal disclosures – the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics.

During the Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2021, the Forum announced that over 50 companies have begun including the Stakeholder Capitalism ESG reporting metrics in their mainstream materials, including annual reports and sustainability reports.

We need a 'sciencebased target approach' to Social reporting, too Ruth Harper, Chief Sustainability Officer, ManpowerGroup We are inching closer to shared measurement around "Environment," but when it comes to "Social" reporting, we are still at the beginning of this journey.

Metrics like the IBC’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics could be seen as another ingredient in the alphabet soup of reporting, but more optimistically interpreted as a significant nudge forward, helping to drive harmonization of standards, metrics and reporting and, ultimately, scale our collective impact.

The more CEOs, CFOs, CSOs and other business leaders leverage data that demonstrates target setting, milestone monitoring and progress reporting, the better. And impor-

tantly, the more our ambitions and achievements can be correlated with attracting and retaining the best talent while demonstrating business effectiveness and results, the better for ESG. ManpowerGroup's Working to Change the World Plan is fully aligned with our business plan to ensure we can deliver on our ESG promises. For E, we’re delivering on our validated science-based targets by addressing our scope 3 emissions and are currently piloting work to measure and ultimately reduce the environmental impact of our millions of associates we place into work every year.

'Link compensation to specific, numerical targets' Michael Froman, Vice Chairman and President Strategic Growth, Mastercard There has been significant progress in standardizing reporting on ESG issues, but there is still a lot of work to be done if we are to use the tools of disclosure, metrics and ratings to encourage the kind and scope of action needed by the private sector.

And while there has been much discussion about the role of the corporation in society, the standards for measuring a company’s impact on society — the “S” of ESG —lag behind other metrics.

If we want to incentivize corporations to include the goal of progressing positive social impact in their business strategy, we need to develop metrics that reflect that.

That’s hard. It’s difficult to compare what one company does to broaden financial inclusion to what another might do to further education. Yet, that is precisely the type of commitment we want to encourage.

It is going to take collective effort among companies, accounting firms, investors and regulators to get this right.

Even as we work toward that goal, one step we can each take is to embed sustainability goals into the core of our business and culture – that includes how we operate, what we measure and how we reward employees.

At Mastercard, our ESG strategy belongs to everyone. That’s why we recently announced that for all employees globally, we’re now linking compensation to specific, numerical targets linked to our ESG priorities: reducing emissions in accordance with our approved science-based targets, engaging with additional suppliers on their decarbonization, increasing financial inclusion and narrowing the median gender pay gap.

With shared accountability, we can better connect the "why" of our purpose to the "what" of our fundamental business strategy to ensure we deliver long-term growth for our shareholders, build trust with stakeholders and contribute to a more equitable and prosperous world.

Together, we can work toward a sustainable, inclusive economy.

'Document the financial impact of nonfinancial indicators' Daniel Schmid, Chief Sustainability Officer, SAP SE For business leaders to make appropriate decisions for a company’s long-term success, they need access to comprehensive data and performance metrics that go beyond only financial measurements. This nonfinancial data enables holistic steering and reporting, providing the visibility required to mitigate negative

ESG impact and increase positive ESG impact.

The broad range of reporting frameworks and standards, as well as national and transnational regulations, presents spiralling complexity which limits the ability to compare performance across companies and industries. Consolidation is needed to avoid ESG reporting becoming an end in itself and distracting companies from investing their resources in sustainable value creation.

Double materiality assessments enable leaders to regain focus by identifying a company’s key social and environmental impacts to be addressed. Additionally, applying an impact measurement methodology like that from the Value Balancing Alliance allows the calculation of ESG impacts in monetary terms which can be integrated into business decision-making.

Documenting the financial impact of non-financial indicators has helped SAP move closer to achieving our sustainability goals. The approach paves the way to achieving goals like our commitment to netzero emissions by 2030. Our impact measurement experiences also feed into our investments in digital technology and solutions, such as the SAP Sustainability Control Tower, to provide transparency and reporting with greater speed and accuracy.

'Consistent, comprehensive and transparent reporting' Scott Tew, Vice President, Center for Energy Efficiency & Sustainability, Trane Technologies With a heightened focus on how companies combat climate change – particularly reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – businesses of all sizes must prioritize producing consistent, transparent and measurable sustainability performance data, holding them accountable for environmental progress with the same vigor as with financial performance.

ESG reporting is one of the most impactful avenues for Trane Technologies to demonstrate actionable progress toward our 2030 Sustainability Commitments, as well as long-term environmental and social targets. The 2021 ESG report, Transform Tomorrow, Today, also details our decision to link executive and senior leader compensation to ESG metrics, including emissions reductions, women in management and diversity.

With a longstanding history of industry leadership in voluntarily delivering comprehensive and informative data for investors, customers, employees, NGOs and other stakeholders, our annual ESG report adheres to more frameworks – including the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the World Economic Forum Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics – than any other company in the sector. This provides a deeper level of transparency for diverse stakeholders seeking to understand and review our performance, processes and data – and their link to the company’s strategy and broader societal narrative.

Many companies have yet to calculate their entire emissions footprint, with others selectively sharing only portions of their environmental and social impact data. We urge business around the world to join us in dedicating the resources necessary for consistent, comprehensive and transparent reporting – enabling a more environmentally and socially conscious future for generations to come.

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