Comparative assessment of the environmental sustainability of Russian companies producing mineral fertilizers

Subject. Environmental sustainability of Russian companies producing mineral fertilizers. Objectives. Development of an integral indicator of the environmental sustainability of Russian companies in the industry, taking into account the multifactorial environmental burden, technological level and maturity of ESG approaches, identification of differences in the levels of environmental sustainability of companies, identification of their strengths and weaknesses and the formation of grounds for further optimization of environmental policy. Methods. General scientific research methods were used. The empirical base includes official reports from PhosAgro, EuroChem, Uralchem, Akron and KuibyshevAzot. Results. A system of criteria for environmental sustainability has been defined, reflecting key aspects: the total costs of environmental protection and compensation of environmental impacts, greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, water use, waste management, biodiversity conservation, the use of environmentally friendly technologies and the introduction of sustainable fertilizers, compliance with environmental standards, the quality of ESG disclosure and the assessment of ESG indicators of mineral producers fertilizers in industry and international ESG ratings. An integral indicator is formed based on certain weighting coefficients. The study revealed a pronounced differentiation of the industry in terms of environmental sustainability. The leaders are companies with active implementation of eco-friendly technologies and high-quality ESG technology. Conclusions. Increasing the level of environmental sustainability of industry enterprises is possible with a combination of technological modernization, ESG transformation and improvement of corporate strategies. The developed integral indicator can serve as a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of environmental solutions and supporting industry regulation.