“Since 2011, we have been the initiators of the assessment of the level of disclosure of information about corporate governance, employee relations, environmental protection, and other CSR issues on the websites of Ukrainian companies. This helps to demonstrate the importance of transparency and openness for businesses,” noted Maryna Saprykina, Chairman of the Board of the Centre for CSR Development Ukraine.

Participants of the assessment included websites of companies that were among the TOP-100 largest taxpayers of Ukraine in 2019 according to the State Tax Service. 86 websites were analyzed (14 companies do not have websites), including 63 private companies and 23 state-owned enterprises.

Oleksandr Okuniev, Chairman of the Board of the Professional Association of Corporate Governance, said, “For the first time we decided to also pay attention to personal leadership of senior executives, because, in our opinion, in a company that, for example, supports environmental projects, a director shall share these ideas and personally support projects in this area as a citizen, rather than just “for work purposes”.

The following companies became the leaders in the aforementioned rating: Ukrgasbank, Carlsberg Ukraine PJSC, FUIB JSC.

Ksenia Sikorska, Director of FUIB's Marketing Department, emphasized, “FUIB is trying to be open and understandable to all its stakeholders. We pay great attention to the placement of relevant and reliable information on the bank's website. Transparency is becoming a requirement of the time. Everyone should be able to find answers to their questions on the company's website. A website is a company's face, so it must be constantly improved. We are grateful for the recognition of our work; this is an award for the entire team!”

According to sectoral analysis, the highest level of information disclosure was demonstrated by companies in the financial sector, as well as transport companies and electricity suppliers. The level of transparency of websites of the TOP-10 companies in 2019 was 52.3%, while the level of the TOP-100 companies is 25.5%.

About the Index of Transparency of Ukrainian Companies' Websites:
The assessment is based on information posted on the company's website. The evaluation methodology was developed by Beyond Business (Israel) in cooperation with the Centre for CSR Development Ukraine and has been updated in the following years. For example, in 2019 new criteria were added to the assessment: responsible leadership and gender equality; corporate governance indicators were also extended. Companies receive points for policies and results related to such issues as corporate governance, fair operational practices, human rights and labor practices, environmental protection, responsible consumption, and community relations. In addition, Management Reports, non-financial reports of companies posted on websites, website navigation, and availability of CSR information are evaluated.