Project: Strengthening Russia’s Engagement with Market-Based Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Conclusions and Recommendations from Experience in Forestry and Lessons for Other Sectors Period: February – December 2005 The project is held with financial support of the European Union and FIAS. The current research is one of the first attempts to analyze the cost and results of CSR and forest certification particularly. The research has demonstrated some possibilities for Government of Russia for removing administrative barriers and improving conditions for developing market driven CSR in forest industry. This experience can be adopted in other branches of economy. The goal of the project is to analyze voluntary forestry certification in Russia, given progress to date, and consider the potential consequences for the market-based voluntary certification and/or CSR reporting in other industry sectors. This experience can be adapted for the use in other industries. Components: 1. Overview of voluntary certification to date in the forestry sector (2005)
The project analyzed process/costs of voluntary certifications completed to date, using a value chain analysis model and identified potential efficiency gains (time, cost, service provision), as well as opportunities of streamlining the investment required for upgrading forest management practices and production processes to meet the certification standards. It has explored the feasibility of using simplified standards and streamlined procedures in order to reduce unintended distortions (e.g. prohibitive costs for smaller leaseholders) in getting properly managed forests certified. 2. Enhance public sector roles
The project considered options for stimulating increased market reward (e.g. increased financial market interest in eco-rating schemes, public procurement weighting for sustainably harvested wood products). That was build on FIAS’ existing analysis of administrative barriers to investment in Irkutsk, Tomsk and Perm oblasts, and identification of options for reducing administrative barriers in the forestry sector when voluntary certification is being applied, based on best international practice. 3. Explore application in other industry sectors:
The starting point for the project was CSR issues in the forestry sector. Lessons learned from this experience were applied and modified to other economic sectors, including oil and gas, marine, agriculture, mining. The final report to the Ministry of the Economic Development and Trade and the Federal Forest Agency has drawn recommendations and conclusions from the forestry sector's experience with voluntary certification, and offered recommendations for public sector role's to stimulate these market-based CSR approaches in other key industry sectors.
Project participants:
Government agencies which initiated the project: > Ministry of Economic Development and Trade
> Federal Forest Agency
Participating regions: North-West Federal District
> Komi Republic
> Arkhangelsk Oblast
> Leningrad Oblast
Volga Federal District
> Kirov Oblast
Siberian Federal District
> Irkutsk Oblast
Participating companies:
> Ilim Pulp Corporation
> Archangelsk Pulp and Paper / Titan Group,
> Solombala LDK,
> Onega LDK,
> Continental Management,
> IKEA Russia,
> Hornbach AG (Germany)
> Axel Springer (both Germany)
> Maiskles, et al. Project \consultants: John Park (Wallenberg Gmbh.)
Peter Yee (Consilium International)
Andrei Ptichnikov
(Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences).
Nadezhda Raichenko
(Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences).
For more information about the project and FIAS please contact:
Igor Artemiev, Project Manager, iartemiev@worldbank.org
Amanda Blakeley, Project Co-Manager ablakeley@worldbank.org
Tatyana Ponomareva. FIAS Project Coordinator for Russia, tponomareva@ifc.org
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