Strategic priorities of JSC “Russian Railways” in the sustainable development

Aim: to determine the relationship between the adoption of a sustainable development policy and the effectiveness of the implementation of infrastructure development projects of the JSC Russian Railways. We prove that the functioning of the Holding within the framework of the established principles of sustainable development Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) contributes to the improvement of its operational activities. Methods: The research methodology is based on the analysis of international approaches and assessment criteria for ESG factors using analytical procedures for identifying cause-effect relationships of the strategy for the development of railway transport in the Russian Federation within the framework of ESG. The work was carried out with a focus on the current state of the railway industry in the Russian Federation in the context of sustainable development goals and is based on the analysis of reports from international organizations and data from the JSC Russian Railways, indicated in the Concept of financing sustainable development projects. Results: The evaluation of the strategic priorities of JSC Russian Railways in the strategy of sustainable development with the justification and criteria of development trends. The format of compliance of the strategy for the development of railway transport in Russia with the goals of sustainable growth was established with a comparison of national projects, government programs and strategic goals for the development of the transport complex of the Russian Federation. Conclusion: The analysis confirms the possibility of using the main results of the study when making decisions on sustainable development of infrastructure sectors of the economy and, in particular, transport to attract green investments in projects for the development of backbone infrastructure with priority settings for energy efficiency, environmental friendliness and safety of the railway transport system.