Ukrainian businesses at COP29 prove the positive outcomes of sustainability

Business leaders globally should look to their Ukrainian peers and consider what they might achieve for sustainability and their firms—when building on a baseline that isn’t an escalating invasion. The efforts of Ukraine’s businesses are increasingly proving sustainability is not a “nice-to-have” despite Russia’s invasion, but an overwhelmingly positive approach that leads to tangible outcomes for people, the environment, and the economy—now and for the country’s future.

I was privileged to chair a discussion at the Ukrainian Pavilion at COP29, the 2024 UN climate summit held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Kernel, a Ukrainian agriculture giant (which HFS Research has highlighted previously for aligning to the UN Sustainable Development Goals [SDG]), set up the discussion. This report summarizes key takeaways structured across the environmental, social, and economic spectrum of sustainability’s positive outcomes, focusing on both the immediate response to Russia’s invasion and Ukraine’s future recovery.

Exhibit 1: The discussion at the COP29 Ukraine Pavilion focused on innovation for sustainability now and looking to the future

Source: Ukraine Pavilion, COP29

Environment, now: A Russian attack on a hydro power plant, impacting 16,000 people, 80 settlements, 20,000 animals, and costing nearly $4 billion in environmental damage

In 2023, Russia attacked and destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. In addition to losing the electricity supply, farmland and biodiversity in the area were devastated due to the 14.4 billion cubic meters of water released and the toxicity of that water built up in the reservoir.

Regina Urazmanova, Product Manager for Carbon Solutions, at EOS Data Analytics outlined on the panel how satellite data is helping measure the attack’s impact and analyze the wider area, including unearthing nature’s incredible recovery after the disaster. Inbal Becker-Reshef, Program Director at NASA Harvest also explained ongoing efforts to assess the impacts of the war—environmental and social, for example, through stolen land and food supply. Using satellite data, Ukraine is discovering how best to manage damaged land and help maximize its potential for farming while protecting nature and growing biodiversity over the coming years and decades. The understanding gained from new data and analytics is guiding infrastructure projects, including innovative research in modern agricultural techniques—versus rushing to rebuild the dam, for example.

The loss of the dam also meant a loss of power. Far too many global governments and fossil fuel companies use “energy security” to lock in fossil fuel production the climate emergency cannot afford. But decarbonized electricity is proving extremely resilient in the face of Russia’s aggression. Despite heavy damage, solar panels are being replaced in three hours (see Exhibit 2). Globally, solar, wind, and other forms of clean energy are showing their worth in detaching electricity from volatile global fossil fuel markets and producing states.

Exhibit 2: Don’t tell me fossil fuels mean “energy security”—especially when oil and gas are also Russia’s economic weapon of war

Source: Ukraine Pavilion at COP29

Environment, for the future: Scaling renewables and innovating for batteries, biomethane, and solar

DTEK, a large Ukrainian energy company, is investing in the country’s energy transition with 1.7 GW of renewables planned for Ukraine alone. The Tyligulska wind power plant is the first wind farm constructed during wartime and will power 200,000 homes. Phase two will reach 900,000 homes and include developments in battery storage to move toward a grid capable of managing a renewables-focused future.

Ukraine has outlined the potential to produce up to 20 billion tons of biomethane—critical for removing dependency on Russian natural gas as well as decarbonizing energy more broadly. The gas is produced through waste from sectors such as farming and agriculture. Moreover, the Naftogaz Group has secured funding from the European Investment Bank. It is currently producing power at two solar plants, with new generations of technology being developed through the initiative alongside two onshore wind projects.

Social, now: Bees don’t detonate mines

Kateryna Shavanova, R&D Team Lead at Kernel, and Danylo Polyakov, Head of Data Science at Kernel, illustrated an example of social sustainability through technology and innovation. Minefield Honey (see Exhibit 3) is harvested from mined lands to engage the international community and support communities. Drone technology is used to plant a specifically selected mix of nectar-bearing plants onto mined fields.

Exhibit 3: Explosive mines and other debris make traditional farming impossible—but for honey on the other hand…

Source: The jar of Minefield Honey I got to take home

Social, for the future: Supporting employees, veterans, and their families

The final sections will explore in part the environmental, social, and economic positives of “healthy and green” jobs being generated in Ukraine’s energy transition.

Kernel’s social sustainability work stands out among its efforts—supporting veterans and their families as well as its 10,000 total employees in immensely difficult times as they move back to the workforce and civil society, including the physical and mental challenges many must overcome. Financial assistance and health support form the crux of Kernel’s programs. Read more about this in its sustainability report here.

Economy, now: Still producing food

Ukraine has exported over 170 million tons of grain and oilseed during the war (enough to feed over 11 million people for a month) despite farmland being devastated by direct strikes and spillover damage from attacks on people and infrastructure, as we saw above. To achieve this output, new technologies are being embraced. Kernel accounts for 9% of global sunflower oil production, with 5,000 fields covering over 360,000 hectares. Drones, AI, and Internet of Things (IoT) sensor technology are playing roles in collaboration with technology partners such as EOS and NASA Harvest, while also incorporating support from global agronomists. Kernel’s farmers are improving their efficiencies while minimizing emissions.

Economy, for the future: 4.2 million green jobs

Supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a green recovery project has been developed to drive the transition to green electricity, low-carbon construction, industrial decarbonization, and environmental restoration. Within the program, 85 pilot ESCO (energy service company) projects have been implemented in 20 cities, creating 4,500 green jobs. In the future, 4.2 million green jobs through a sustainable reconstruction are estimated to be in the making across transport, energy, healthcare, education, and water supply.

The Bottom Line: Imagine what can be achieved in creating resilient, sustainable businesses starting from a baseline that isn’t an ongoing and escalating invasion.

There are some very specific examples here related to wartime and agriculture. Business leaders facing down their own barriers to sustainability should take these stories as motivation and proof that they can make sustainability work immediately and achieve positive outcomes for the environment, people, and the wider economy.