A round table on social investments was held on the roof of the Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan
For the first time, at the site of the Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan, with the participation of SIBUR, a round table was held dedicated to the social role of business in the development of territories. Representatives of big business and government, during an open discussion, shared their opinions on the impact of social investments on the development of cities and regions.
Participants of the event were presented with the results of a study conducted by the social planning center "Platform", ESG-Alliance and the Center for Strategic Research in four industrial regions of Russia. The results of the study indicate that the quality of the living environment is becoming one of the key arguments and factors in attracting residents to cities where large businesses are present. Social support for regions is moving to the stage of social investment.
As Alexey Firsov, general director of the social planning center “Platform”, said, Russian companies are in a situation of increasing competition for human resources. It is no longer possible to win it only by increasing personnel costs - a spiral of costs arises that reduces business efficiency. At the same time, not only the size of the salary is important to the employee, but also the environment in which he will spend it, the study notes.
In this context, Tatarstan is interesting because of its atypical social investment model for the country, which has its own specific features. Thus, the republic has a long planning horizon - a strategy is in place to secure people in the region for several generations. Large-scale investments are being made here in education and housing as part of the human capital development strategy. Therefore, the region is a benchmark for a number of factors, including the organization of social investments.
The Republic of Tatarstan has a high chance of continuing to be one of the Russian benchmarks in the competition between territories for personnel, the expert noted. However, it is important not to stop here - new practices are appearing in various centers, and this competition will not be easy.
Successful cases
General Director of the social planning center “Platform” Alexey Firsov spoke about several successful examples where a business has a qualitative impact on the development of the territories where it operates. Among them are the work of the SEZ Alabuga and Tatneft in Tatarstan, SIBUR in Tobolsk. For example, moving to the special economic zone “Alabuga” is influenced by the presence of an educational center on its territory. An international school is an argument for moving the whole family, as well as a social lift for children. One of the key factors of the SEZ is a modern village with comfortable housing for relocants, basic household infrastructure and recreational and sports facilities.
The Tatneft company is currently going beyond the image of a regional company. The company's experience and approach are beginning to be perceived as an industry benchmark, from both a business and social investment perspective. At the same time, such experience of the company is known to a greater extent in the industry and professional environment. One of the goals is to bring Tatneft and other Tatarstan companies to the federal level, talking about their successful practices and broadcasting them to others.
One of the examples of successful federal interregional practices was identified by the expert community as SIBUR. As an example, the authors of the study cited the experience of co-investing a company in Tobolsk, where the company’s industrial facilities are located. Implemented initiatives (new airport, development of public spaces, support for social entrepreneurship) influenced the reduction of population outflow and the plans of citizens to stay in Tobolsk.
Exchange of practices
During the discussion of the research results, the discussion participants spoke about their social investing practices. Thus, according to the director of the Tatneft charitable foundation, Renat Mamin, the company is working to improve the efficiency of social investments.
“For us, a very pressing issue is assessing the effectiveness and assessing the impact of our social investments both on society and on the quality of life of our population. It is important for us to be responsible for the region where we work and where our people live. The issue of metrics is very important in this. Rating is very cool, these are some metrics that a business can focus on and understand whether its social investments are successful,” Mamin noted.
Director of Sustainable Development at SIBUR Maxim Remchukov said that the social part of ESG strategies is coming to the forefront. In the company, this direction is divided into two components - employee development and programs in the regions of presence. The “Formula of Good Deeds” grant program, which together with the company came to Tatarstan, became an instrument for the development of territories. According to him, cooperation between business and government is important. “We share our practices and are ready to interact with partners in Tatarstan,” he shared.
In the current conditions, SIBUR continues to make major investment decisions worth hundreds of billions of rubles, and this has a multiplier effect for the region where it operates. Because the company invests in construction, job creation, and also tries to ensure that suppliers are localized. This is also an important factor in social investment.
“We are going through a difficult period, which began at the beginning of last year, from an economic point of view as a country. And in many ways, the business that has emerged in the country over 30 years provides this strength. It seems to me that this is a key factor in social investments,” added Maxim Remchukov.
Deputy head of the KAMAZ representative office in Kazan, Damir Galiev, agrees with the opinion that companies need to exchange best practices and implement projects together. “We are working with Tatneft, SIBUR and other companies to ensure that people stay in the cities where we operate,” he said.
The mayor of the city of Innopolis, Ruslan Shagaleev, considers it important that the municipality does not forget its main function - taking care of the social infrastructure and social capital of the territory, and does not shift it entirely to business.
The head of the Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan, Talia Minullina, summed up: “First of all, we need to think about what to improve structurally in Tatarstan, how to build communication between all participants in the process, how we can, in the context of creating social facilities and landscaping the territory, not only cover the basic needs of the population, but to form a new idea of the quality of life. If large businesses want to grow and retain professionals in their companies, they need to think today about what can be done tomorrow.”