On June 26, the ESG Alliance, together with Polyus and Kept, held an extended in-person meeting of the “Natural Capital Fridays” Expert Club on the topic “Coalition for Action: Joining Forces to Conserve Biodiversity.”
Ahead of COP17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in Armenia, representatives of business, government, international organizations, and the expert community discussed how to move from individual conservation initiatives toward systematic cooperation and joint models for managing natural capital.
The discussion focused on the development of Russian corporate biodiversity conservation practices, partnerships between business, government, NGOs, and other companies, opportunities to showcase Russian experience on international platforms, and the role of expert infrastructure in shaping the national agenda. Participants also discussed how to make successful practices scalable and turn companies’ accumulated experience into effective mechanisms for coalition-based action.
Andrey Sharonov, CEO of the ESG Alliance, noted that the meeting was an important step in preparing the expert community for COP17:
“Today’s meeting was essentially an attempt to model a kind of Pre-COP within our expert club. In this format, we are not only aligning our approaches but also seeking to develop a consolidated position among different stakeholders ahead of COP17. This is why it is so important for the discussion to build on the expert infrastructure that the ESG Alliance has been consistently developing. The classification system for corporate biodiversity projects has already been tested by 10 companies and has demonstrated its effectiveness. At the same time, this is only a starting point, and we plan to further develop the classification system.”
Daria Grigorieva, ESG Alliance Committee Coordinator for Ecology, Climate and Environmental Protection and Director for Sustainable Development at Polyus, emphasized that over two years the club has built a strong interdisciplinary community and is now ready to move to the next stage:
“Over two years, the ‘Natural Capital Fridays’ club has brought together a strong expert community comprising business representatives, scientists, government officials, consultants, engineers, and financial professionals. This diversity of participants gives us a basis for moving to the next level. Today’s meeting was held in person, and our next in-person club meeting will essentially take place at COP17. That is why, in preparing for this event, we chose the topic of partnerships. Unique projects implemented by individual companies are extremely important and valuable, but a true transition from quantity to quality occurs only when different stakeholders act in synergy — whether through business-to-business partnerships, cooperation between businesses and NGOs, technology companies, or government. This was the focus of today’s meeting: to turn unique experience into scalable tools that the Russian delegation can present at COP17 as working models of coalition-based action for conserving natural capital.”
One of the key conclusions of the discussion was the shift from viewing biodiversity primarily as a collection of individual conservation projects toward a broader management approach that takes into account the institutional environment, distribution of roles, risks, and opportunities for long-term partnerships.
Svetlana Sheynfeld, Director of Operational Risk and Sustainable Development at Kept, said:
“One of the important conclusions of today’s discussion was the understanding that, ahead of COP17, the conversation around biodiversity is gradually shifting from individual conservation initiatives toward questions of governance and cooperation. For business, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the institutional landscape: who is a partner and who is a regulator, what mechanisms for interaction already exist, and how proximity to specially protected natural areas can be transformed from a potential source of risk into an opportunity for long-term cooperation. This logic underpins the modern approach to natural capital management.”
The international dimension of the agenda also remains important. Participants discussed areas where there is still room for professional cooperation and for presenting Russian practices at the global level.
Jorge Ignacio Sorro Sanchez, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia to the Russian Federation, emphasized the importance of public and local community participation in biodiversity conservation.
Natalia Dorpeko, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network Russia, highlighted opportunities for practical cooperation within the framework of the Rio Conventions and sustainable development initiatives.
The extended meeting continued the work of the “Natural Capital Fridays” Expert Club as a permanent ESG Alliance platform where representatives of business, science, government, and the professional community jointly develop practical approaches to natural capital management.
The club’s next stage of work will include preparations for COP17, the development of coalition-based formats, and further testing and improvement of tools that companies can use to systematically address biodiversity issues.
