Yelena Novikova discusses how she’s implemented Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria within the businesses practices of her country.
Date: 21 February 2018
A London Met alumna has recently given a TEDx talk on her research into Environmental, Social and Governance issues (ESG) in Kazakhstan.
Yelena Novikova, who studied MA International Security studies at London Met, gave her talk as part of the TEDxAbayStWomen 2017 conference. Originally from Kazakhstan, Yelena has been working within the ESG industry since graduating from London Met in 2009.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria is a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen investments. Environmental criteria looks at how a company performs as a steward of the natural environment. Social criteria examines how a company manages relationships with its employees, suppliers, customers and the communities where it operates. Governance deals with a company’s leadership, executive pay, audits and internal controls, and shareholder rights.
Yelena said: "ESG integration is essentially a “magic wand” that can positively affect environment, society, stock exchanges, companies and financial institutions all at once."
Her talk focused on her determination to bring ESG integration practices into Kazakhstan. Since she started, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) began in 2017, and minor developments have started taking place. In December 2016, Kazakhstan Stock Exchange introduced Voluntary Methodology on ESG Reporting.
Yelena said: "I am convinced that in the future, people are going to treat TEDx Talks as some sort of video encyclopaedia, a tool to get a basic education on a certain issue. That's why it was particularly important for me to use this platform to talk about ESG issues."
Watch Yelena's talk on YouTube.
