The USAID Energy Security Project (ESP) delivered a workshop on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Best Practices to the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU).
The workshop is the first step in developing the ESG Strategy by GTSOU with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Kathleen Kirsch, Energy Team Lead of the Office of Economic Growth of USAID/Ukraine, emphasized that ESG is gaining momentum, as compliance with ESG standards helps energy sector companies to modernize their assets, make their business sustainable, raise private investment, and attract international aid.
GTSOU’s CEO, Dmytro Lyppa, underlined that developing an ESG strategy in line with the best global practices will become a critical milestone for the Gas TSO of Ukraine, pioneering sustainable transformation and post-war green recovery of Ukraine.
The USAID ESP ESG Consulting Team Manager Jenny Warfield and her colleague Rukshana Faiz presented ESG standards for energy companies. They also highlighted the key aspects covered by ESG, such as adoption and compliance with globally recognized standards, cross-border supply chains and operations, investment diversification and risks, global stakeholder engagement and collaboration, transparency and reporting, and international advocacy and leadership.
The participants were also informed about the key ESG drivers (government regulations, decarbonization, risk mitigation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and related changes) and benefits (access to investments/funding associated with ESG strategy, sustainability of future business models, innovation, security, use to Ukrainian consumers) for the Gas TSO of Ukraine.
Developing the ESG Strategy for GTSOU will include benchmarking the Operator’s activities on 16 different parameters with one European Gas TSO.
The ESG standards, incorporated into the ESG Strategy, will ensure the GTSOU’s compliance with EU requirements and best practices of TSOs’ sustainable development, ultimately helping Ukraine fully integrate into the European gas market.