KMG ranks first in Top 50 ESG disclosure rating

JSC NC KazMunayGas took first place in the ranking of the 50 best companies for disclosing non-financial information in corporate reports.

The rating was carried out by PwC Kazakhstan among 96 organizations. As part of the study, an assessment was made of the quality and availability of ESG information in annual reports and sustainability reports of Kazakhstani companies for 2022.

The purpose of the rating is to assess how Kazakh companies disclose ESG information, identify best practices, and provide recommendations for further development.

The rating methodology includes 129 criteria. A score is given for each criterion (from 1 to 10). The evaluation criteria included such disclosure blocks as sustainable development strategy, corporate governance, society, ecology, and reporting practices. Moreover, additional points were awarded for clarity, timeliness, and quality of presentation of information.

“This year, we have significantly increased the requirements for assessing the level of disclosure of ESG Information of Kazakhstani companies, placing greater emphasis on approaches to management and strategy, and adding industry indicators. However, we see that the development of Kazakhstani non-financial reporting as a whole is catching up with these international trends that we have introduced, and a significant number of companies withstand even the increased assessment criteria. In our view, this suggests that sustainability leaders in Kazakhstan are keeping up with the evolving sustainability agenda and are working successfully to incorporate these innovations into their ESG Practices generally and into their disclosure practices.” - noted in the PwC Kazakhstan report.

The top 50 Kazakhstani companies, on average, have the best ratings for disclosing their sustainable development strategy. At the same time, the strategic section assessed disclosures on the process of identifying significant issues of sustainable development, the presence of goals, as well as interaction with stakeholders and integration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Also, one of the most difficult tasks is the disclosure of information on social impacts, i.e. understand these impacts: determine how the company affects people's lives, and evaluate the extent of this impact. Here KMG also received high marks from experts and a special nomination for the best disclosure of social issues.

The subsidiary company KazTransOil JSC was also included in the top 10 leaders of the rating.

You can view the rating at https://www.pwc.com/kz/en/assets/esg-2023-final-draft.pdf