Overview

Sustainable development is development that satisfies the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

This Report has been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative Standards (GRI Standards): Core option.

The Report for the year 2021 is the tenth Sustainability Report of the Gazprom Group. The previous Report was published in June 2021.

Gazprom has been publishing Sustainability Reports since 2008. Starting from 2017, the reports undergo assurance for compliance with the GRI Standards: Core option.

The Reports also disclose:

• RUIE performance indicators;
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicators for entity reporting on contribution towards implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The following documents are taken into account when preparing the disclosure:

• The Principles of the United Nations Global Compact;
• AA1000 Accountability Principles (AA1000AP, 2018) and AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard (AA1000SES, 2015);
• recommendations and principles of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD);
• ISO 26000 guidance on social responsibility;
• Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) documents;
• recommendations of the Bank of Russia on Disclosure by Joint Stock Companies of Non-Financial Information Pertaining to Their Activities;
• PJSC Moscow Exchange’s ESG Best Practice Guide for Issuers.

When preparing Sustainability Reports, Gazprom works in close collaboration with its stakeholders. At the first stage, we conduct a stakeholder survey to identify material topics, followed by public consultations on draft Reports, their independent public assurance at RUIE, and endorsement.

Since 2021, the Gazprom Group’s Sustainability Report has been included in the documents provided to the participants of Gazprom’s annual General Shareholders Meeting.

Regular and timely publication of Sustainability Reports in accordance with the above principles enables Gazprom to:

• confirm the Company’s transparent and comprehensive approach to sustainable development and ESG matters;
• update the disclosed information based on the audience’s needs;
• build stakeholder confidence;
• ensure external evaluation and analysis of material non-financial information (by the investment community, rating agencies, public authorities, etc.);
• increase the Company’s investment appeal.

To prepare the Report, the Company set up a Task Force involving members from various structural units and subsidiaries of PJSC Gazprom who coordinate the activities on the focal areas of sustainable development and engage with stakeholder groups. At the end of 2021, to further improve the non-financial reporting framework, the Procedure for Preparation, Publishing and Distribution of the Gazprom Group’s Sustainability Report was updated.

The information included in the Report is confirmed by the heads of dedicated units. The Report is approved by the Chairman of the Management Committee of PJSC Gazprom.

The Report includes the information about the Gazprom Group companies in line with the scope of consolidated statements under IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial StatementsNote 35, page 71, unless specified otherwise. Due to the existing differences in data gathering and consolidation, certain groups of disclosures may have their individual boundaries.

The Report is publicly available in the Russian and English languages on the Company’s website and is also available in an interactive version. The printed version is distributed to the key stakeholders by direct mail.

In 2021, the list of Gazprom’s stakeholder groups was updated following public consultations on the 2020 Report and based on the decision by the Task Force for the Report Preparation. The Gazprom Group identifies eleven stakeholder groups:

Following the analysis of feedback from the Company’s stakeholders in 2021, the following key topics were identified: climate change (GHG emissions), social responsibility (extension of the Gazprom Group’s policies to its contractors, engagement with local communities), corporate governance.

Also, in 2021, an online survey of stakeholder groups was conducted with automatic results processing.

The survey covered 1,766 respondents (representatives of ten stakeholder groups with the exception of foreign energy market regulators), who were asked to rank each topic using a three-point importance scale.

The significance of the Gazprom Group’s actual impact within potential material topics was assessed by Task Force members using expert judgements. The activity involved 24 Task Force members.

The survey results and judgements formed the basis for developing a materiality matrix. The topics in the upper right-hand quadrant of the matrix were identified as the priority topics mandatory for disclosure. The threshold value for a topic to be included in this quadrant was 2.4 points.