The Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UVEA) opened its 2026 webinar series with an event dedicated to one of the most relevant topics for the sector today – the implementation of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles. The event, titled “ESG in Wind Energy Projects: From Theory to Financing,” brought together leading market players for a professional discussion on how global sustainability standards are becoming the foundation for the development of the Ukrainian energy sector. The event was moderated by Yaroslav Petrov, a partner at the law firm Asters, who set the tone for the discussion by emphasizing the irreversibility of changes in the rules of the game on the capital market.
The legal dimension of the issue was outlined by Marta Halabala, an advisor to Asters. She warned developers against a frivolous attitude to the new requirements, emphasizing the direct connection between non-financial indicators and the economics of the project. “Today, ignoring ESG factors poses direct financial threats to business. “This is not only the risk of being denied credit, but also a significantly higher cost of capital due to the so-called “risk premium.” ESG is increasingly becoming a tool for assessing risks and long-term business sustainability,” the expert noted.
The banking sector’s perspective was presented by Svitlana Semenovich, Head of the ESG Principles Implementation Office of JSC UKREXIMBANK, who explained in detail the difference between mandatory and voluntary assessment criteria. According to her, banks clearly distinguish between the concepts of ESS and ESG. “Environmental and social standards (ESS) are our mandatory requirements, a kind of “admission filter” for financing. At this stage, we analyze real physical and legal risks: whether the intended purpose of the land has been changed, whether easements and access roads are properly designed, whether there are any conflicts with communities. ESG is a broader tool for assessing the maturity of the entire company, which directly affects the value of money, but without compliance with basic ESS standards, the conversation about financing a project will not even begin,” explained Svitlana Semenovich.
Iryna Bernatska, Director of Fenix Repower in Ukraine, spoke about how these standards affect investment attractiveness. She emphasized that for international partners, the abbreviation ESG is synonymous with reliability. “For a foreign investor, ESG equals risk management and protection of the project’s value. The quality of documentation preparation, and primarily the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, is critical: we care not just about the formal availability of papers, but about the real depth of research, in particular the assessment of the impact on biodiversity and taking into account cumulative effects. It is the project’s compliance with ESG criteria that determines its bankability and significantly speeds up the process of closing financial transactions,” the speaker emphasized.
The practical side of the environmental component was revealed by Maria Lopushanska, an ecologist at the Eco-Optima group of companies. She advised businesses to move from theory to concrete steps. “ESG is not about beautiful reports or numbers, it is primarily a tool for managing project risks. The implementation of ESG should begin with an honest internal audit and systematization of existing data in the company. “The environmental aspect of the transformation goes far beyond the popular topic of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is daily painstaking work to determine all the restrictions at the project planning stage: from sanitary protection zones to taking into account coastal protection strips of water bodies, habitats of Emerald Network sites, objects of the nature reserve fund and bird migration routes,” the ecologist summed up.
The webinar emphasized the key conclusion: in the context of active integration into the European context, for the Ukrainian wind energy sector, adherence to the principles of transparency, environmental and social responsibility acquires the status of an imperative, which determines its ability to exist and develop in the market.
The webinar recording is available at the link.
You can read the speakers’ materials at the link.
