In St. Petersburg and the regions, unlike Moscow, small businesses are not yet ready to embrace the ESG agenda, particularly when it comes to animal welfare topics.
This was stated by Natalia Avlasevich, head of the charitable foundation “Devoted Heart,” during the roundtable discussion “Optimal Strategy for Uniting to Implement the ESG Agenda and Create New Meanings Through Marketing,” held at Expoforum as part of the International Business Exhibition of Goods and Services for Animals “PETINDUSTRY-2025.” “Businesses are well aware of the need to help people, but they understand far less that helping animals is also part of the ESG agenda,” she explained.
Not all companies are prepared for the social agenda, and, accordingly, not all implement it. However, as soon as a business decides it wants to grow and begins looking for growth points, the social agenda becomes relevant, said Andrey Ponomaryov, head of project management at the charitable foundation “Nika.” He agreed that most major charitable initiatives are implemented in Moscow, as the concentration of large businesses is higher there.
Typically, large companies have a developed strategy for social responsibility, which makes it easier for charitable foundations to build productive dialogue with them, shared Andrey Ponomaryov. At the same time, he noted, charitable foundations can help companies shape their social agenda.
“Often, a company wants to do something in this direction but doesn’t know how or what exactly, as it lacks the necessary expertise. However, charitable organizations have this expertise and can help fill in the gaps in a company’s social strategy,” explained Andrey Ponomaryov.
For example, he suggested that companies could identify two or three social issues most relevant to their employees, which would encourage people to actively participate in charitable initiatives.
For successful collaboration, charitable organizations should approach different companies with tailored proposals, as business needs vary. Large companies are interested in large-scale systemic projects, while small and medium-sized businesses prefer projects aimed at increasing brand loyalty or recognition, said Andrey Ponomaryov. It is also crucial for charitable organizations to communicate with businesses in a language they understand—the language of numbers. “A charitable organization doesn’t provide a company with a business plan for a project but should offer a marketing description: what exactly the company will gain as a result of the project,” said Andrey Ponomaryov.
Overall, he believes that the alliance between businesses and charitable organizations in Russia has a promising future.
“Russia has always had a culture of philanthropy. The question isn’t whether to participate in charitable projects but rather what exactly and how to do it,” said Andrey Ponomaryov. He also noted that “for people, the presence of a social agenda in a brand is becoming increasingly important. Statistics show that having a social agenda increases sales by 5%.”