GEARING UP FOR THE FUTURE
Sustainability Report 2022

Sustainability Report 2022

1. Company overview

Content

1
2
3

1. ROSTELECOM TODAY

4.1.4. Digital Equality integrated social programme________________ 98

1.1. Company overview______________________________________________8

4.1.5. Promoting cybersecurity__________________________________ 104

1.1.1. Key 2022 figures______________________________________________9

4.1.6. Supporting our regions of operation______________________ 106

1.1.2. Indices and ratings__________________________________________ 11

4.1.7. Philanthropy and volunteering______________________________ 114

1.2. Chairman’s statement_________________________________________ 13

4.2. Employees__________________________________________________ 124

1.3. Letter from the President_____________________________________ 16

4.2.1. Our approach______________________________________________124
4.2.2. HR management system___________________________________125

2. STRATEGIC VISION

4.2.3. Employees_______________________________________________ 130

2.1. Our approach to sustainability_________________________________ 22

4.2.4. Corporate culture and internal communications___________ 146

2.2. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals________________ 24

4.2.5. Employee training and development_______________________152

2.3. Stakeholder engagement______________________________________ 40

4.2.6. Ensuring workplace safety________________________________ 162

2.4. Engagements during the Report’s preparation_________________ 48

3. E — ENVIRONMENTAL
3.1. Our approach_________________________________________________ 54
3.2. Environmental initiatives_______________________________________ 59
3.3. Waste management___________________________________________ 60

53.4. Emission management________________________________________ 62

5.1.1. Corporate governance system_____________________________ 168
5.1.2. Governing bodies__________________________________________175
5.1.3. Control bodies_____________________________________________189

5.1.5. Information disclosure_____________________________________197

3.6. Area improvements___________________________________________ 65

5.1.6. Securities and shareholder and investor relations__________ 198

3.7. Digital solutions_______________________________________________ 66

5.1.7. Risk management_________________________________________ 202

3.8. Energy efficiency______________________________________________ 68

5.1.8. Responsible supply chain _________________________________ 208

3.9. Occupational safety___________________________________________ 76

4

5.1. Corporate governance_______________________________________ 168

5.1.4. Remuneration______________________________________________ 191

3.5. Water consumption___________________________________________ 64

4

5. G — GOVERNANCE

5.1.9. Protection of human rights________________________________ 222
4. S — SOCIAL
4.1. For customers, for society, for the nation______________________80
4.1.1. Our approach______________________________________________ 80
4.1.2. Digital service ecosystems_________________________________ 88
4.1.3. Contributing to the digital economy.
Bridging the digital divide_______________________________________ 92

6

6. APPENDICES

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Sustainability Report 2022

1. Company overview

01
ROSTELECOM
TODAY

6

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Sustainability Report 2022

1.1. Company overview

1. Company overview

1.1.1. KEY 2022 FIGURES
Rostelecom conducts its business responsibility, as telecom
services have a wide-ranging impact on many aspectsof public life.

GRI
(2–1)

Our progress on key sustainability performance metrics is detailed below. For additional metrics
and comments on progress, see respective sections of this Report. Key operational metrics canbe found in our Annual Report.

Rostelecom is Russia’s largest integrated provider ofdigital services and solutions operating in all segmentsof the telecommunications market. The Company serves
millions of households, public entities, and private
enterprises.

Employees
Average headcount,
thousand people

128.6

135.2

136.7

126.8

115.0

-9.3 %The Company is a key participant in the Digital Economy of the Russian Federation programme,
implementing nationwide technological and IT projects, and opening up new opportunities in allareas of Russian citizens’ lives.

114,988

Employee training costs,
RUB m

496

575

443

479

456

-4.8 %EMPLOYEES IN THE ROSTELECOM GROUP

Rostelecom continuously expands the penetration of its networks and services, pursuing
projects and programmes that make a difference across Russia. With a unified approach acrossall regions, we can deliver large-scale and highly efficient projects. We focus our efforts on
ensuring digital equality and affordable communications not only in cities but also in the mostremote and the smallest communities.

Rate of work-related
injuries per 1,000
employees

0.51

0.44

0.38

0.33

0.31

-6.1 %

Rostelecom Group comprises 65 regional branches and over 200 subsidiaries and affiliates
engaged in providing services across Russia.

2018

8

2019

2020

2021

2022

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Sustainability Report 2022

PlanetDirect (Scope 1) GHG
emissions, tonnes of CO2
equivalent

181,429

Society
184,436

180,943

173,249

Charity expenses,
RUB m

158,823

192

201

211

177

275

+55.4 %

-8.3 %

Energy consumption,
GWh

1,344

3,042

2,817

3,225

Income tax,
RUB m

3,186

4,427

5,513

8,659

8,984

10,098-1.2 %+12.4 %

2018

Waste generated,
thousand tonnes

34.1

1. Company overview

34.1

31.8

33.3

2019

2020

2021

2022

36.0

+8.1 %

1.1.2. INDICES AND RATINGS
Rostelecom is included in the Sustainable Development Vector Index of the Russian Union
of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

Water withdrawal,
thousand cu m

Rostelecom ranked 41st in the ESG ranking of the independent
European rating agency RAEX-Europe. The agency’s current ranking includes
160 Russian companies.
2,496

2,368

1,824

1,938

1,685

-13.1 %

Rostelecom made it to the top of the Corporate Philanthropy Leaders rating (Group A)
for its performance in 2022. The competition is held by the Donors Forum with the supportof Russia’s Federation Council, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Ministry of Culture,
Ministry of Economic Development, and RSPP among other partners. The Company won
the Best Corporate Social Investment Programme in the Area in the Terms of Sustainability
and Business Strategy category with its Digital Region 2021–2023 programme to digitalise
the economy and social sphere as well as public and municipal administration acrossthe Russian regions.
Rostelecom’s ABC of the Internet project became the champion at the World Summit
on the Information Society Prizes 2023 in the AL C4 category: Capacity Building(Action Line C4 Capacity Building).

2018

10

2019

2020

2021

2022

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Sustainability Report 2022

1. Company overview

1.2. Chairman’s statement

Dear Shareholders,Over the course of 2022 Rostelecom continued to deliveron the corporate Strategy 2025, cementing its leadership
across core markets and developing the priority businesssegments.
The Company remains the flagship of the Russian telecom industry both by volume
and the quality of services provided to society, businesses, and the state but also
in terms of contribution to developing a nationwide digital environment and designing
unique Russian products and services. As such, Rostelecom has already become
the partner of choice for leading government and business customers as well as fora vast number of households across Russia.
Our choice of development areas has proven successful as witnessed by the steadyrise in the key performance metrics from revenue to profitability. Even amidst
the unprecedented pressure on Russia and the industry in 2022, Rostelecom
demonstrated sound progress in the most innovative and promising market segments,
creating new products and services and ensuring seamless operation of criticalinfrastructure.
For many years, we have been the government’s key partner in implementing the Digital
Economy programme. Throughout 2022, Rostelecom provided data services forpreviously connected social infrastructure facilities and continued installing basestations under the second phase of the Bridging the Digital Divide project.
In 2022, we ensured video surveillance and online broadcasting services at the primaryand secondary periods of the Unified State Examination by using over 132 thousand
cameras to support seamless data transmission and providing a secure single
data network for educational institutions. Other projects of Rostelecom included
the continued development of the Unified Biometric System.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Our digital projects for various sectors of the economy
and the public administration change the livesof millions of people for the better and contributeto the improvement of the existing telecom architecture,
boosting information security, bridging the digital divide,and bringing communications services and internet
access to public authorities, local governments, healthcare
facilities, and other social infrastructure facilities.

At the end of 2022, Rostelecom telemedicine services were successfully deliveredin 16 regions of Russia, with over 100 thousand consultations provided in total. Over8,000 new CCTV cameras were connected, over 1,000 new traffic enforcement
cameras were installed, and 22 new weigh stations were built during the year.
As one of Russia’s largest employers, Rostelecom is committed to providing
comfortable working conditions for its people and the Company creates opportunities
for development and self-fulfilment. During 2022, Rostelecom’s labour costs exceeded
RUB 111 billion while occupational health costs came in at RUB 934.5 million.

>111
RUB BN ROSTELECOM’SLABOUR COSTS IN 2022

We consistently invest in human capital development, all the more so, because today
progress in areas that are key to the business and the industry is driven by the mosttalented and motivated employees. Rostelecom provides its employees with a wide
range of training programmes and drives labour productivity by improving working
conditions and by implementing social support and process digitisation programmes.
In the course of 2022, the Company invested RUB 456 million in employee training.

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1. Company overview

132

THOUSAND CAMERAS WERE USED TO SUPPORT SEAMLESSDATA TRANSMISSION DURING THE UNIFIED STATE EXAM

Rostelecom has been successfully adopting sustainable business development
practices and using advanced technologies to train employees and educate customers
as well as protect the environment and better the well-being of society. Rostelecom
strictly complies with all applicable laws, the Company is guided by the principles oftransparency and accountability and is committed to ethical stakeholder engagement.
Rostelecom seeks to reduce its environmental footprint and foster an environmental
culture in society. During the year, the Company invested RUB 175 million inenvironmental projects and activities.

175

RUB M INVESTED IN ENVIRONMENTAL
PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIESOn behalf of the Board, I would like to thank my colleagues and all of Rostelecom’s
employees for their outstanding performance. The direction that we have set – to growRostelecom into a leading integrated provider of digital services and products and a
premium partner for all customers – will remain unchanged in the coming years.
Sergey Ivanov. Chairman of the Board of Directors PJSC Rostelecom

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Sustainability Report 2022

1. Company overview

1.3. Letter from the President

Dear Shareholders, Partners, and Colleagues,
Over 2022, Rostelecom’s team continued to work hard,delivering steady growth in key financial and operational
performance metrics.
More crucially, we maintain the high quality of the services and proprietary products
we provide to our customers, confirming our status as an industry leader, Russia’s
largest integrated provider of digital services and solutions and a reliable partner forsociety, businesses, and the state.
In the course of 2022, Rostelecom’s revenue hiked by 8%, OIBDA – by 15%, free
cash flow – by 39%, and net profit – by 11%. The management’s efforts to ensure
operational resilience in the new economic environment boosted our operationaland financial performance and helped achieve our targets. Rostelecom markedly
bolstered its flexibility, adapted to the new economic environment, and has a safetymargin both technology-wise and financially. At the same time, we continued to hone
our operational efficiency and streamline our real estate portfolio, with its total area
down by 4% by 2022-end. During the year, the Company also succeeded in reducing
its leverage from 2.3x to 2.0x of net debt (including lease liabilities)/OIBDA.
A logical intermediate outcome of our progress on the corporate Development
Strategy 2025 is the accelerated growth of revenue from digital products andservices. Our focus on prospective growth as a digital customer-centric businessdriven by people and innovative data processing and transmission technologies ispaying off. The key contribution to revenue growth in 2022 came from digital clusters,
the promotion of end-to-end digital products in the B2B/B2G segment, and themobile business.
Revenue from digital services rose by 38% in 2022, driven by the development ofplatform solutions for the digital government and the promotion of the Digital Region
project as well as information security services and cloud solutions.

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Sustainability Report 2022

GRI
(2–22)

Rostelecom continues to work on and operate
the e-government infrastructure providing citizens
and organisations with digital access to public services.

The Company is actively adding in-demand public
services to the Public Services Portal, which is becoming
increasingly popular among Russians. The number ofregistered portal users has already topped 100 million,
with a daily audience of over 10 million, while the numberof monthly services provided over the past three years
has tripled to 18 million. In 2022, the Company also
further ameliorated the functionality of the PublicServices Portal-related mobile apps. The Gosuslugi
Auto mobile app now offers the Europrotocol Online
service across Russia, whereby drivers can complete
road accident reports without traffic police officers andpresent their driving license in a digital format (as a QRcode). The Gosuslugi Culture mobile app can now be
used to buy movie tickets (over 5.7 million tickets weresold using this feature in 2022).
On top of this, Rostelecom carried on to expand thefootprint of its seamless digital healthcare solutions.
Rostelecom’s Health products are featured across 49
Russian regions and include medical and laboratory
information management systems, a unified radiology
information system, a central archive of medical images,
an integrated emergency medical care information
system, and a platform for telemedicine consultations
and the remote monitoring of patients with chronic
diseases. Over 50% of the country’s doctors arecovered by our digital healthcare products, whilesome of them have started using telemedicine
consultations in their practice, with over 100 thousandsuch consultations provided in 2022. During the year,
Rostelecom launched the Become a Blood Donor
service on the Public Services Portal and createda unified bone marrow donors registry. One of theCompany’s undisputed social-impact milestones inthis area has been the digitisation of conventional
healthcare services: we have organised electronic
medical appointment bookings for as many as 5 million
patients, with as many as 35 million health insurance
policies, 10 million birth or death certificates, and
1.5 million weapon possession certificates issued
electronically to date.
As part of its efforts to deliver strategic priorities in
2022, Rostelecom consolidated its leadership in thedata centre market, both in terms of active rack countand revenue growth, and in innovative cloud technology,

18

primarily through a 39% revenue increase in the cloudservice segment. The Company’s promotion-driven
revenue from private cloud services almost quadrupled.
Our revenue from VPN services grew by 18%, including
thanks to contracts with major customers.

15%
OIBDA HIKE IN 2022

Rostelecom’s mobile business also remains our key
growth driver. Our engagements with high-value
customers both to further enlarge the existing customer
base and win new subscribers as well as betteredcustomer loyalty and a high quality of services drove
the accelerated growth of our mobile operator’s financial
performance. Over 2022, our subscriber base went up
to 48.1 million amid more extensive mobile data traffic
and reduced churn. We maintain our focus on driving
quality base growth by targeting active data users, ourbiggest profit generator.
During all of 2022, the Wink platform, which combines
IPTV and online video streaming functionalities,
continued to rapidly win new customers by offering
unique subscriptions and exclusive content. Throughout
the course of 2022, the base of active Wink users
skyrocketed by 57% to almost 5 million, while thenumber of paid subscriptions more than doubled overthe same period. As a result, Wink ranked second among
Russia’s largest online video streaming services by the
number of paying subscribers. In the year in question,
Rostelecom and National Media Group set up a strategic

alliance to merge the Wink and more.tv video services
into a joint venture operated under the Wink brand.
We receive high satisfaction scores from our retailcustomers for the quality of services from our Smart
Home product offering. The Rostelecom Key service
is used by more than 400 thousand households all
across Russia. We sold over 800 thousand cameras toretail customers during the year to set up cloud video
surveillance for home security, which also contributed
to a more than twofold year-on-year increase in service
revenue.
Our Information Security cluster’s positive revenue
momentum continued during the year I would
particularly emphasise the 47% increase in revenue
from the JSOC family solutions and the 19% rise inrevenue from our proprietary products, consolidating
Rostelecom’s leadership in the Russian cybersecurity
market.
In 2022, the number of fibre-to-the-home customers
grew faster than the market. The steady rise in thecustomer base for our B2C fibre broadband service was
supported by Rostelecom’s market leadership by grossadditions. The number of business and government
customers with fibre-optic connectivity also grew
noticeably.

>40

MILLION HOUSEHOLDS WERE COVEREDBY MODERN HIGH-SPEED FIBRE

1. Company overview

During the year, we continued to execute priority strategic
projects, including those within the Digital Economy
national programme. Each of these initiatives makes adifference for millions of people and is a milestone inbuilding a common, advanced digital space in Russia.
Rostelecom makes a significant contribution to thesustainable development of society and the telecom
industry. We create long-term economic, environmental,
and social value for both current and future generations.
Investing in human capital is one of our top priorities.
Rostelecom has in place a range of programmes for
employee motivation and skill upgrading as well as for
onboarding young talent. The Company provides its
employees with a wide range of training courses anddrives productivity by ameliorating working conditions,social support, and process digitisation programmes.
Rostelecom made it to the top of the 2022 Corporate
Philanthropy Leaders rating in a competition heldby the Donors Forum with the support of Russia’sFederation Council, Ministry of Science and Higher
Education, Ministry of Culture, and Ministry of Economic
Development among other partners. The Company also
won the Best Corporate Social Investment Programme in
the Area in Terms of Sustainability and Business Strategy
category with its Digital Region social investment
programme.
The main challenge for the management team in the near
future is to adapt to the changing market conditions, inparticular, in terms of selecting key investment projects
and finding new sources of business growth.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to theentire Rostelecom team for their consistently soundperformance despite all headwinds. We continue todevise unique products and solutions that are in demandin the market by leveraging advanced and, substantially,
Russian technologies.
We are looking forward to pursuing new ambitious
projects, which means more exciting challenges for ourteam that we are sure we will pass with flying colours!
Mikhail Oseevsky

During 2022, Rostelecom significantly extended thecapacity of its backbone network to 43.4 Tbps toprovide customers with high-quality digital services
driven by modern communications technologies. Over40 million households were covered by modern highspeed fibre.

President of PJSC Rostelecom

19Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

02
STRATEGIC VISION

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Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

2.1. OUR APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY
GRI(2–23)

GRI(2–24)

Rostelecom builds its business responsibly,
guided by sustainability principles.
As a systemically important telecom major, Rostelecom aims not only to deliver outstanding
business performance but also to contribute to the social and economic development ofsociety. Reconciling commercial, social, and environmental interests is an important element ofour development.
The Company fully embraces the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and iscommitted to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

GRI(2–25)

Rostelecom provides households with access to high-quality communications and digital
services while promoting fairness and inclusivity among its workforce and in wider society
and striving to cut down its environmental footprint. These efforts are underpinned by ourcommitment to responsible business practices, transparency, and ethical conduct of theCompany.
Our core sustainability activities in 2022 included:∙ Russia’s digital economy project∙ digital Equality integrated social programme∙ protecting employees and creating comfortable working conditions∙ offering customers enhanced innovative services∙ supporting social, volunteering, and charitable projects∙ training and providing career guidance for young people∙ enhancing technology to tackle environmental challenges∙ maintaining corporate transparency in a highly turbulent environment.
PJSC Rostelecom has set up a Sustainability section (https://www.company.rt.ru/en/social/)
on its corporate portal, highlighting the Company’s key sustainability metrics, documents, andpolicies.
Rostelecom’s approach to sustainability management is aimed at:∙ сompliance with laws and regulations∙ effective sustainability risk management∙ an ongoing dialogue with stakeholders to effectively address the most significant sustainability
matters∙ consistent implementation of industry best practices and recommendations of internationalsustainability standards.
Our sustainability approach is consistent with Rostelecom’s corporate values.
∙ Development: creating the future∙ Simplicity: making complex things simple∙ Human touch: working for people∙ Adaptability: adapting technology to find a solution
Sustainability is an integral part of the Company’s strategy, under which Rostelecom continues
to consistently implement ESG principles and integrate economic, environmental, and social
goals and objectives into its key processes and corporate decision making.

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Sustainability Report 2022

2.2. UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Goal

Rostelecom strives to contribute towards the UN SDGs
by integrating them into the management of the Company’s
operations and considering them when designingsustainability projects. We also embrace the Social
Charter of Russian Business.
Apart from striving to expand its business and improve its equity story, Rostelecom is a major
contributor to the sustainable development of the country, society, and the telecommunicationsindustry.

Sustainable Development Goals prioritised by Rostelecom
Goal

2. Strategic vision

Company contribution
Goal 10
Reduce inequality within
and among countries

Rostelecom supports small-size enterprises in Russia.
The Company organises competitions and educational programmes
for entrepreneurs while financially supporting the most prominentand promising initiatives. Rostelecom also helps socially vulnerable
groups to integrate into the digital environment.
Selected projects:∙ Social Impact Award international programme∙ ABC of the Internet

Goal 17
Strengthen the means of
implementation and revitalise
the global partnership forsustainable development

Rostelecom also expects its contractors and suppliers to integratesustainability principles. We work with universities, non-profit
organisations (NPOs), and the government on sustainability projects.
We also develop technologies and specific solutions to enable ourcustomers to improve their environmental and safety performance.

Goal 16
Promote peaceful andinclusive societies forsustainable development,
provide access to justicefor all, and build effective,
accountable, and inclusive
institutions at all levels

Rostelecom is required to ensure legal compliance and expects thesame from its stakeholders. A number of independent assessments
have shown that the Company maintains a high level of transparency
and compliance.

Goal 12
Ensure sustainableconsumption and production
patterns

Rostelecom is committed to reducing its resource consumption
and increasing its recycling rate. The Company is putting theGreen Office concept into practice. We also advocate responsible
consumption among the population and have installed recycle bins
at our stores to collect used batteries and old mobile phones.

Goal 13
Climate action

Rostelecom has designed and deployed a forest fire monitoring
system across several Russian regions to detect forest fires early on,
thus significantly reducing fire response times.

Goal 15
Life on land

Rostelecom has developed solutions to detect illegal logging
activities. Video recording systems are used to recognise the typeof vehicle and cargo, in particular round timber. Video surveillancedata are transmitted to government services, where specialists
monitor the legality of each haul of timber trucks.

Second priority goals

Company contribution

First priority goals
Goal 9Build resilient infrastructure,promote inclusive andsustainable industrialisation,and foster innovation

Rostelecom recognises that digitalisation is central to the socialand economic development of the Russian regions.
Selected projects:∙ A unified platform for managing transport systems∙ Digital twins and artificial intelligence in the utilities sector

Goal 8Promote sustained, inclusive,and sustainable economic
growth, full and productive
employment, and decent
work for all

Rostelecom offers fair remuneration, additional social benefits,
and work safety. The Company maintains a strong focus on equal
rights and also supports the Vision Zero concept. On top of this, wedevelop digital solutions for workplace safety and injury monitoring.
Selected projects:∙ Digital Worker platform∙ Industrial digital outsourcing of occupational health services

Goal 4
Ensure inclusive andequitable quality educationand promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all

Goal 11Make cities and humansettlements inclusive, safe,
resilient, and sustainable24

We cooperate with universities and schools, hold competitions andolympiads, and organise internships. Rostelecom was appointed
the single source contractor to build sustainable information andcommunication infrastructure at schools.
Selected projects:∙ Cybersecurity activities∙ Publication of the book A Beautiful, Dangerous, CybersecureWorld

Rostelecom is piloting the Smart City standard in several Russiancities. The standard involves digital transformation of almost all
aspects of urban life: road safety, maintaining courtyards, enhancing
education platforms, etc. In the future, the Company plans to roll out
the project to other cities.
Selected projects:∙ Smart City
∙ A road safety system∙ A waste management monitoring system

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Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

STRATEGY FOR 2021–2025

Over the course of 2021, Rostelecom adopted a new strategy for 2021–2025,1
maintaining the focus of its development direction on its transformation into
an integrated provider of digital services and a reliable partner for society,business, and the state.

Under Rostelecom’s updated strategy for 2021–2025,
the Company’s main priorities are to:1

Pursue a smart growth in traditional
businesses to provide a higher returnon investment and a stronger cash
flow

3

Maintain and expand Rostelecom’srole as the key partner in digitalisationof socially significant services andprojects

1

26

2

Rostelecom’s ambition is to maintainits leadership in all traditional communications
segments while successfully developing digitalbusinesses, including through new strategic
partnerships.

WHO
WE ARE

Increase operational efficiency
in traditional business segments

A DIGITAL PARTNER FOR SOCIETY, BUSINESS,
AND THE STATEA CUSTOMER-CENTRIC DIGITALGROUP OF COMPANIES

Outperform the market in selected
new business segments – achieve
leading positions

4

Rostelecom’s vision for its future development is focused on
becoming a digital customer-centric group of companies
driven by human capital and cutting-edge digital dataprocessing and transmission technologies (for more details,
see 2021 Annual Report).

HOW
TO GETTHERE

1

2

A powerhouse that shapes the Russian
telecommunications market

The No. 1 player in selected new businesssegments

3

4

Customer-centric transformation, cost
efficiency leadership

Sustainable financial growth

PEOPLEDIGITAL FRAMEWORK
1

2

Network infrastructure and distributed
data centre network

New solutions: information security
and cloud services

3

4

Leading role in digitising public services

Own IT cluster

Approved by the Board of Directors on 19 April 2021 (Minutes No. 9. dated 20 April 2021).

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Sustainability Report 2022

1

Pursue a smart growth in traditional businesses
to provide a higher return on investment
and a stronger cash flow

According to the strategy for 2021–2025, Rostelecom istransforming itself into a powerhouse that shapes the Russian
telecommunications market. The Company plans to secure its
leadership in traditional telecommunications services in terms

2

2. Strategic vision

Outperform the market in selected new businesssegments – achieve leading positionsof subscribers and revenue with a target base of over 100
million retail customers, while maintaining a leading position asa partner for business and the state.

Rostelecom will not build a wide ecosystem at its own expense. When developing new
digital businesses, the Company will focus on a limited number of adjacencies to its
key IT and telecom products, with a priority objective to become the No. 1 player ineach selected market by 2025.
In addition to the Company’s own resources, Rostelecom plans to use venture projects,
partnerships, and M&A to develop new businesses.

MARKET SHARE¹

Revenue
CAGR

28 %

25 %

1.1

B2C²
Rostelecom+3 p.p.

RUB tnOthers1.2~4 %RUB tn47 %47 %No. 1 player
28 %The strategy provides for developing five new businesses in the cluster format.

No. 1

Market
CAGR

>1 %

25 %

Information
security

40 %B2B/G³Rostelecom
Others46 %295+6 p.p.

RUB bn

Revenue
CAGR

307

~4 %

RUB bnMarket
CAGR

>1 %
60 %

Others

No. 1

85 %
15 %

Rostelecom

Public sector
digital services
and products

Digitalhealth

54 %

78 %

B2O⁴

No. 1

72

RUB bn22 %+7 p.p.

66.5
RUB bn

Revenue
CAGR
stableMarketCAGR
slightdecline

2020

1
2
3
4

2025

Source: market forecasts by TMT Consulting, J’son & Partners Consulting, IKS-Media, operators’ filings, Company data.
B2C includes fixed telephony, broadband, mobile, cable TV, and IPTV services.
B2B includes fixed telephony (including virtual PBX and IP), broadband, mobile, VPN and channel lease, and M2M.
B2O includes interconnection and traffic transit services, IP transit, VPN and channel lease, and infrastructure services.

28

DigitalregionNo. 1

Data centres
and cloud services

No. 1
29

Sustainability Report 2022

3

Maintain and expand Rostelecom’s roleas the key partner in digitalisation of sociallysignificant services and projects

KEY PRIORITIESWWW

2. Strategic vision

Be the No. 1 operator of choicein all traditional services

Become the No. 1 mobile operator
for government customers

TARGETS

No. 1
MAINTAIN LEADERSHIPIN PROVIDING TRADITIONALSERVICES TO GOVERNMENTCUSTOMERS

Support the implementationof healthcare projects

2025 TARGETS

Reduce the share of personnel costs
in revenue, including by increasing
labour productivity

No. 1
MAINTAIN AND EXPANDROSTELECOM’S ROLE
AS THE KEY PARTNERIN DIGITALISATIONOF SOCIALLY SIGNIFICANTSERVICES AND PROJECTS20 %TARGET SHAREOF PAYROLL IN REVENUE

Optimise other indirect costs,
including:materials, repairs,
and maintenanceother operating expenses.¹

Develop the E-Government projectand interdepartmental cooperation
systems

Achieve leadership in the provisionof Digital Region services

KEY LEVERS

Better operational
efficiency:

UP TO

2

P.P.

OIBDA MARGIN HIKEDUE TO THE OPTIMISATIONOF OTHER COSTSReduce the numberof management levels
Streamline the asset portfolio,
including the sale of real estate
Review and simplify
key processes throughthe operational efficiency
improvement programme>40 %TARGET OIBDA MARGIN

Participate in the Digital Economy
national project and address
tasks around the provisionof communications services(the Bridging the Digital Divide project,connecting social infrastructure
facilities to the Internet, etc.)

30

31

Sustainability Report 2022

4

2. Strategic vision

Increase operational efficiency
in traditional business segments

KEY LEVERS

2025 TARGETS

Reduce the share of personnel costs
in revenue, including by increasing
labour productivity

20 %TARGET SHAREOF PAYROLL IN REVENUE

Optimise other indirect costs,
including:materials, repairs,
and maintenanceother operating expenses.¹

Better operational
efficiency:

UP TO

2

P.P.

OIBDA MARGIN HIKEDUE TO THE OPTIMISATIONOF OTHER COSTSReduce the numberof management levels
Streamline the asset portfolio,
including the sale of real estate
Review and simplify
key processes throughthe operational efficiency
improvement programme>40 %Enhancedefficiency
in traditional
businesses
will be achieved
through:∙ cost optimisation, including costs associatedwith organisational transformation (reduction ofmanagement levels)∙ changes in the approach to investment∙ a customer approach in building development
and optimisation models∙ optimisation of the asset portfolio, including thesale of real estate∙ review and simplification of key businessprocesses∙ reduction in the share of personnel costs
in revenue, including by increasing labour
productivity.

A smart approach to investment 2
136

135

25

19

2020
СAPEX, RUB bn

2025
CAPEX/Revenue, %The Company will strive to implement a smart
approach to investments, which involves:∙ transition to a less capital-intensive growthmodel in traditional businesses∙ investment focused on priority regions in
traditional businesses∙ larger investment in the development of thefastest-growing products.

TARGET OIBDA MARGIN

2
1

Including maintenance expenses; security services; support and maintenance of software and databases; third party services; administration-related expenses;
and fees for audit, information, and consulting services, etc.

32

The forecast takes into account investments only in existing/known government projects.

33

Sustainability Report 2022

ROSTELECOM GROUP’S
2025 STRATEGIC TARGETS

2. Strategic vision

ESG INITIATIVES
As part of its strategy to 2025, Rostelecom
continues to consistently pursue its stated
ESG goals, highlighting the importanceof the Company’s sustainability initiatives.

>700

REVENUErevenue increase

RUB bn1.5

OIBDA
OIBDA increase

2

NET PROFIT
net profit increase

NET DEBT
achieve the target
Net debt1/OIBDA

< 2.5

CAPEX
ensure that capital expenditure (CAPEX)
in absolute terms is at the 2020 levelgrowth

growthE
S∙ Reduce energy consumption (excluding the Data Centres and Cloud Services
cluster) by 15 % by 2025-end∙ Increase the use of renewable energy∙ Implement programmes to collect and recycle old cable networks, network
equipment, and subscriber devices∙ Launch Green Office environmental management systems across all offices by 2025

Environmental∙ Gender equality: achieve female representation both in management and acrossthe Company at 40 % by 2025
∙ Regional equality: functional decentralisation through Company-wide competence
centres in the regions and creation of equal opportunities for career migration

SocialgrowthG∙ Integrate ESG in procurement and supply management by 2025
∙ Promote and instil ESG principles among customers, including by offeringcommercial products and solutions that enable their ESG journeys

Governance1

Net debt includes lease liabilities.

34

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Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

Summary report on the strategy results in 2022
No.

Priority

2022 Result

2025 Ambition

Comment

1

Pursue smart growthin traditional businesses
to provide a higher
return on investment anda stronger cash flow

Revenue overRUB 627 bn

Revenue
RUB 700 bn+

Targets achieved aheadof plan2

Outperform the market
in selected new businesssegments – achieve
leading positions

Revenue growth from new
business areas 26 %Become the No. 1 playerin each selected market

Growth rate above /in line with the market

3

Maintain and expand
Rostelecom’s roleas the state’s key
digitalisation partner

Implemented projects:∙ Fan IDs
∙ Gosuslugi Auto app∙ Digital health projects

Remain the state’s key
digitalisation partner

Rostelecom successfully
implemented important
projects to digitise public
services

4

Increase operational
efficiency in traditional
business segments

CAPEX/Revenue 19 %

СAPEX of RUB 135 bn(CAPEX/Revenue < 19 %)The CAPEX to Revenue
ratio is within the targetedrange

Long-Term Development Programme
In 2021, Rostelecom started implementing a new Long-Term
Development Programme for 2021–2025, developed in line with
Rostelecom’s updated Development Strategy for 2021–2025,
directives of the Russian Government, and methodologicalrecommendations of the Russian Ministry of Economic
Development.

business areas, infrastructural and innovative development,
digital transformation, and business efficiency.
The activities outlined in the Programme are supported by
the necessary resources and are balanced in terms of theCompany’s financial capabilities.

The Long-Term Development Programme covers all aspects ofRostelecom’s activities both in strengthening market positions
in traditional businesses and achieving leadership in new36

37

Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

BUSINESS MODELVALUE CREATIONFOR STAKEHOLDERSCUSTOMERSLEADERSHIPIN KEY MARKETSRESOURCESSEGMENTS

BRAND AND REPUTATION

No.1 No.1

B2C

by awarenessin the broadband
and Pay TV segments¹

Broadband, Pay TV / Wink,
mobile, gaming services

by NPSin the mobile
services²

Advanced, high-performance
digital ecosystems
covering a wide rangeof tasks

CLUSTERSDATA CENTRES AND CLOUD SERVICES

IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, TIONIX,NGENIX, co-location, CDN,BASIS cloud platform

EMPLOYEES

1,000

INFORMATION SECURITY

Solar JSOC, Solar Dozor, Solar
addVisor, Solar appScreener
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

B2B/G

Stable growth
in revenue fromproprietary products

40.3
EMPLOYEES

119

thousand – total
headcount

FINANCE

116.9
1
2

38

Source: IRС Group.
Source: IPSOS.

Traffic enforcement cameras,
electricity meters, weight anddimension compliance, ACS,
Safe City
PUBLIC SECTOR DIGITALSERVICES AND PRODUCTS

million households
have access to fibre

Public Services Portal, Unified State
Examination, Unified Biometric System,
All-Russian Population Census,
Bridging the Digital Divide

B2O

DIGITAL HEALTH

Unified digital platforms of medical
information systems, laboratory
information management systems,
radiology

Traffic routing, interconnection,and traffic transit services,
O2O services

STRATEGIC PRIORITIESRUB bn –
CAPEX

1.4

DIGITAL REGIONS

Broadband + VPN, virtual PBX,
Wi-Fi, telephony

INFRASTRUCTURE

participants of the shareoption programme

RISK MANAGEMENT

RUB bn invested
in our people

SHAREHOLDERS

4.56

RUB – total dividend
per share

GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY

11.5

RUB bn – taxes, environmental
spending and charity expenses
in 2022ESG INITIATIVES
39

Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

2.3. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

Rostelecom advocates regular open
communications with stakeholders
driven by corporate social
responsibility.

PJSC Rostelecom’s stakeholder map

Shareholders
and investors

Legislative andexecutive federal
authorities

Our consistent approach to managing
social investments helps us reduce oursocial risks and improves our relations
with the regions in which we operate.

GRI(2–26)

State control
and supervisory
bodies

Mass
media
GRI
(2–29)As one of the largest
providers of digital andcommunications services
in Russia, Rostelecom hasa significant impact on
stakeholders. The Company
seeks to foster mutually
beneficial relationships with
its stakeholders.
In early 2023, we ran
a questionnaire-based
stakeholder survey toupdate our stakeholder
map. Stakeholders mostly
impacted by the Company
include its employees,
business partners, andcustomers.

Socialnon-profit
organisations

Regional
government
authorities

Local
communities
within the
Company’s
footprint

5

10

15

INFLUENCED
BY THE COMPANY
40

All Group subsidiaries and affiliates
also have their own programmes forengaging with local communities.

Local
self-government
authorities

Business
partners,
suppliers,
contractors

Expertcommunities,
ratingagencies,
business
associations

INFLUENCE
THE COMPANY

20

Key areas of focus in Rostelecom’s
stakeholder engagement:∙ General Shareholders’ Meetings∙ Congresses and exhibitions∙ Presentations∙ Updates via mass media, social
networks, and corporate publications∙ Employee hotlines∙ Federal communications projects∙ Regional projects

Company
employees
and trade unions

Researchand educational
institutions

Environmentalorganisations

Customers
and consumers
41

Sustainability Report 2022

Information transparency

Communication channels

Rostelecom considers openness and transparencyof its activities to be crucial to meaningful engagementwith its stakeholders.

Rostelecom Group uses a wide range of communication
channels to engage with stakeholders, publishing
information on all material aspects of its business on the
Company website https://www.company.rt.ru/en/.

We promptly respond to stakeholder requests and expectations and provide them with material
information on our performance, impact on society and the environment, and report on theeffectiveness of our corporate governance. This approach helps us to balance the interests ofall stakeholders and avoid potential risks associated with trade secrets.

1,200
journalists qualified
for the Together into
the eFuture competition

2. Strategic vision

Rostelecom Group discloses information in line with:∙ Russian laws
∙ requirements and recommendations of the Bank of Russia∙ requirements of the Moscow Exchange∙ international sustainability standards∙ internal documents of PJSC Rostelecom, its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Rostelecom mainly discloses information by publishing:∙ resolutions of the Board of Directors∙ information on stages of the procedure to issue securities∙ annual reports∙ annual accounting (financial) statements∙ sustainability reports.
Our Board of Directors establishes the rules of, and approaches to, disclosures, which areformalised in the Company’s Information Disclosure Policy.
Key principles of the Information Disclosure Policy are:∙ timely, consistent, and prompt provision of information∙ accessibility, objectivity, completeness, accuracy, and comparability of disclosed information∙ equal rights of all stakeholders to obtain information in compliance with all applicable laws,
standards, and regulations∙ information disclosure regardless of specific individual or group interests∙ reasonable balance between the Company’s transparency and protection of its businessinterests∙ confidentiality of information that constitutes a state secret or a trade secret in accordancewith the Company’s internal documents∙ control over the use of insider information.
Rostelecom is improving the performance of its press service. The service’s KPIs include thenumber of publications and quality of texts. We interview media about the performance of ourpress office.
Rostelecom had more than 207 thousand media mentions in 2022, of which 87.5 thousand
publications were focused on the Company. Our total audience reach was 329.4 million potential
users.
Regional media accounted for the largest share of mentions – 105.3 thousand publications(50.8 % of the media flow), federal media came second with 100.4 thousand stories (48.5 %),and foreign media carried 1,400 materials (0.7 %).

Rostelecom and its subsidiaries maintained a total of five social media accounts with anaggregate subscriber base of about one million in 2022. Every day, our employees promptly
handle queries submitted via social media, fielding over 450 thousand questions in 2022.
Rostelecom publishes news on corporate projects, incentive programmes, and employee
benefits on its intranet portal. In 2022, the portal had 32 million visits. Our corporate TV
covers all regions within Rostelecom’s footprint. In 2022, we created 64 pages featuring news,
widgets, photos, and announcements from our regional branches. We continue developing thefunctionality of our regional pages. These efforts have enabled us to boost online presence of
all Company branches and increase the number of regional news updates by almost four times.
As at 2022-end, news of our regional branches were viewed 52.5 thousand times.

1,000,000
FOLLOWERS – THE COMPANY’S TOTAL SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIENCE

In 2022, we ran 43 weekly surveys on our corporate portal, with participation averaging close
to 2,000 employees. The survey results are published on the portal in the Weekly Surveys
section and get multiple comments from users. Insights from the surveys help us adjust ourcommunication strategy.
In 2022, 10 new sections were added to the portal, and 14 existing sections were tweaked.
The Company also discloses information on the corporate information disclosure website
run by Interfax (www.e-disclosure.ru). Annual and sustainability reports also serve as a public
communication vehicle to engage all stakeholders.

Every year, the Company implements a number of projects to engage with federal and regional
journalists. The 11th Together into the eFuture regional journalist and blogger competition washeld in 2022. The competition involved 2,100 publications from over 1,200 journalists fromall Russian regions. The most popular categories included Internet Media (884 publications),
TV (491 publications), and Print Media (323 publications).

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Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

Engagement methods

Stakeholders

Core interests

Engagement mechanisms

2022 highlights

Shareholders and investors

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

Strategy implementation
Financial results
Stable position in a competitive market
Dividend Policy
Robust corporate governanceCompliance with high business ethics
standards∙ Openness and transparency∙ Risk management∙ Participation in investment forums
and conferences∙ General Shareholders’ Meetings∙ Disclosures via an external website∙ Regular reporting∙ Communications with investmentbank analysts

∙
∙
∙
∙

A total of RUB 15.6 billion was paid in dividends in 2022
ACRA affirmed the Company’s rating at AA(RU), with a stable outlook
NCR upgraded the Company’s rating to AAA.ru, with a stable outlook
The Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting was held on 30 June 2022

Company employees
and trade unions∙ Decent pay∙ Safe and comfortable work conditions∙ Fair remuneration and social programmes
for employees∙ Respect for human rights∙ Opportunities for professional
development and career growth∙ Performance-based monetary
incentives for employees∙ Incentive programmes∙ Corporate training programmes∙ Social benefits∙ Brand ambassadors∙ Gamification of business processes

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

The collective bargaining agreement for 2022–2023 was signed
Rostelecom was included in Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index 2022
Rostelecom was named the best employer among Russia’s telecom companies by hh.ru
Rostelecom was named platinum employer in Forbes ranking
The total number of accidents dropped by 15 %The average training time per employee was 32.2 hours
Employees took part in 243 philanthropy and social volunteering projects

Business partners, suppliers,
contractors∙ Transparent competitive procurement∙ Market-based pricing∙ Compliance with high business ethics
standards∙ The Company’s long-term sustainability∙ Mutually beneficial engagements∙ Anti-corruption∙ Agreements signed with
manufacturers∙ Handling complaints and queries∙ Participation in exhibitions andconferences, joint workshops∙ Satisfaction monitoring∙ Bilateral visits∙ Open tenders∙ Signing long-term agreements withtransparent pricing rules∙ In 2022, the Group engaged with 41 thousand counterparties and completed 6,700 procurement procedures∙ Rostelecom confirmed its leading position in the key solutions for business customers market (B2B broadband, Virtual
PBX, and 8 800), according to a rating by TMT Consulting∙ Rostelecom froze attractive service bundle prices for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for two years∙ In 2022, through a partnership with Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation (RSMB Corporation), the Company
held 20 workshops on SME participation in procurement in line with Federal Law No. 223-FZ, On Procurement of Goods,
Works, and Services by Certain Types of Legal Entities, dated 18 July 2011, which were attended by 2,065 SMEs
∙ Rostelecom launched a website for operators, securing an inflow of orders for connecting facilities under the BDD
project

Customers and consumers∙ High-quality and reliable services∙ Information security∙ Engagements under contracts,
agreements, and cooperation
arrangements∙ Regular consumer surveys∙ Security of services∙ Higher service quality∙ Enhanced customer experience∙ Communication through blogs∙ Ensuring service accessibility

∙
∙
∙
∙

Legislative and executive
federal authorities∙ Delivering projects and programmes ofnational significance∙ Tax payments and social investments∙ Cooperation agreements∙ Participation in public events∙ Working as experts on committees
and commissions∙ Participation in national programmes∙ Rostelecom completed phase 1 of the Digital Education project∙ Rostelecom joined the Interdepartmental Electronic Document Management System∙ The Russian Government, Rostelecom, 1C, and VK signed an agreement of intent to develop high-tech projects under
the New System-Wide Software roadmap∙ The Russian Government, Rostelecom, KNS Group, and the Rostec state corporation signed an agreement of intent todevelop high-tech projects under the Modern and Promising Mobile Networks roadmap

State control and supervisory
bodies∙ Legal compliance and improvements to theregulatory framework∙ Information transparency∙ Timely reporting∙ Addressing deficiencies identified byaudits∙ The Company’s operations were audited

44

Rostelecom ranked first in Russia in B2B pay TV services, according to J’son & Partners Consulting
Rostelecom confirmed its leadership in the public Wi-Fi access market, according to a ranking by TMT Consulting
Rostelecom launched a single technical support number for major business customers
Improved customer care and better service quality led to a significant increase in NPS of Rostelecom’s key services(broadband fibre up 5 p.p. and TV fibre up 3 p.p.) and lower subscriber churn, including in broadband down 15 % yearon-year and in pay TV down 11 % year-on-year∙ The number of fully satisfied Wink users (giving a score of 10 out of 10) increased by 67 %. NPS of the online video
streaming service reached 41 % in the first half of 2022, up 35 % year-on-year45

Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

Engagement methods
Stakeholders

Core interests

Engagement mechanisms

2022 highlights

Regional government
authorities∙ Tax payments∙ Social programmes and investments∙ Contribution to the development of theCompany’s regions of operation∙ Promoting employment and supporting
entrepreneurship∙ Cooperation agreements∙ Participation in public events∙ Developing platform solutions for the digital government∙ Implementing Digital Region projects

Local self-government
authorities∙ Tax payments and social investments∙ Contribution to the development of theCompany’s regions of operation∙ Creating jobs
∙ Supporting local entrepreneurship∙ Cooperation agreements∙ Participation in public events∙ Rostelecom has ensured data transmission for social infrastructure facilities∙ The Company continued implementing the Digital Equality social programme

Environmental organisations∙ Reducing environmental impact∙ Cooperation agreements∙ Public reporting∙ Rostelecom and CoreСlass presented a digital environmental monitoring platform

Research and educational
institutions∙ Partnership programmes and projects∙ Social and charitable programmes∙ Public reporting∙ Cooperation agreements∙ Academic conferences∙ Public reporting∙ Rostelecom and MIREA – Russian Technological University opened a scientific and educational IT Import Substitution
Centre∙ Rostelecom provided video surveillance for the early Unified State Examination 2022

Expert communities,
rating agencies, businessassociations∙ Promoting science and technology∙ Adopting innovations∙ Compliance with, and promotion of,sustainability principles

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

Local communities within
the Company’s footprint∙ Transparent information about theCompany’s services and outlooks∙ Social and charitable programmes∙ Creating jobs
∙ Supporting local entrepreneurship∙ Working and expert teams∙ Cooperation agreements∙ Joint activities, cleanup days,
trainings, and drills∙ Sponsorship and charitable
programmes∙ Public reporting∙ Providing communications services to small and ultra-small communities. In 2022, 655 base stations were installed insmall communities with populations between 100 and 500 people∙ Cybersecurity initiatives∙ Volunteering and philanthropy events

Social non-profit
organisations∙ Compliance with, and promotion of,sustainability principles∙ Social and charitable programmes∙ Joint projects∙ Cooperation agreements∙ Sponsorship and charitable
programmes∙ Public reporting∙ Rostelecom and the Pension Fund of Russia launched Online Services of Government Bodies and Agencies, a newmodule for the ABC of the Internet programme∙ Rostelecom received the highest score in the Corporate Philanthropy Leaders ranking compiled by the Donors Forumassociation

Mass media∙ Transparency of business processes∙ Ensuring quick access to information on
the Company’s activities∙ Organising media events (briefings,
media scrums, press conferences,etc.)∙ Prompt update of websites and social
media∙ Handling requests and queries frommass media∙ Media tours for mass media andbloggers∙ A media tour to the Iriklinskoye Reservoir∙ A media tour to Optic Fibre Systems, Fibre Optics Engineering Centre based at Technopark-Mordovia, andSaranskkabel-Optiсa∙ A press conference on the completion of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky–Anadyr submarine FOCL construction project∙ A media tour to Murmansk to cover the opening of the first data processing centre in the Russian Arctic zone
∙ A media tour to Moscow for the awarding ceremony of the 11th Together into the eFuture competition∙ A media tour to the Komi Republic to cover the completion of a project to construct the Usinsk–Kharyaga advanced
high-speed internet link
∙ 11th Together into the eFuture regional journalist and blogger competition∙ A media tour to the Murmansk Region to showcase the region’s digital capabilities (for winners of a federal artistic
project)∙ Annual performance evaluation of Rostelecom’s press service

46

ForumsConferences
Exhibitions
Round tables
Working and expert teams
Public reporting∙ AK&M affirmed Rostelecom’s top sustainability reporting rating∙ Rostelecom topped the national Anti-corruption Ranking of Russian Business47

Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

2.4. ENGAGEMENTS DURING THE REPORT’S PREPARATION

Rostelecom incorporates stakeholder views in its
Sustainability Report. The Company has been holding
annual stakeholder dialogues since 2018.
Our stakeholder dialogue held on 25 January 2023 aimed to:∙ update stakeholders on the results of the 2021 reporting campaign∙ collect stakeholder suggestions regarding the content of the 2022 Report, including material
topics.
The dialogue was maintained in line with the AA1000SES Stakeholder Engagement Standard andrecommendations of the Global Reporting Initiative’s standards for sustainability impacts (GRI
Standards).
The online event featured speakers in a studio environment and was live-streamed. The meeting
gathered partners, experts, representatives of non-profit organisations (including RSPP), industry
media, the heads of Rostelecom’s business units, and employees of the Company’s regional units.

Materiality assessment
In line with the GRI Standards, Rostelecom annually carries out its materiality assessment to identify
topics that are material to its internal and external stakeholders.
Steps in the materiality assessment process
Step 1Analysing the context

Making a list of topics based on the Company’s businessenvironment and the global agenda
Making a list of stakeholders

Step 2
Identifying realand potential impacts

Analysing materials from industry experts and assessing
the Company’s risks to identify its impacts. Updating
metrics for measurement

Step 3
Assessing the significanceof impacts

Assessing the significance and scale of impacts using
stakeholder surveys and internal expertise

Step 4
Prioritising significant
impacts

Conducting a stakeholder dialogue to prepare a listof material topics to be disclosed in the report

Following the stakeholder dialogue step, an online survey was launched in early 2023.
Management and stakeholders assessed the Company’s impacts against two criteria:∙ The significance/severity of Rostelecom’s impact – the impacts were divided into three groups(moderate, major, or critical impact)∙ The remediability/irremediability of negative impact – the impacts were also divided into threegroups (reversible, difficult and expensive to compensate, or irreversible)
Based on the materiality assessment results, we have prepared a matrix of the most significant
impacts. Topics that scored over 1.5 points against at least one criterion were classified asmaterial. The final list included eleven topics, including nine that were also recognised as material
in the previous year and two new topics: responsible procurement and safe internet.

48

49

Sustainability Report 2022

2. Strategic vision

MATRIX OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS
OF PJSC ROSTELECOM

Economic
performanceRoll-outof innovations

Safe internet

2.0

2.1.4. PLANS FOR 2023
Indirect economic
impacts

Responsible procurement

Providing quality,
affordable services

1

Review the latest global trends
in preparing sustainability reports

1.5

Responsible businesspractice andanti-corruption

Human rights

1.0
2

Evaluate opportunities and relevanceof additional reporting standards(SASB, ISSB)

0.5
Contribution
to the developmentof the Company’s
regions of operation

Employeedevelopment

3

Employee upskillingMarkets
and competition

Healthand safety

4

Energyconsumption

Employment

Environmental|compliance

REMEDIABILITYSIGNIFICANCE
AND IMPACT

50

Water resources

Conduct social and questionnaire
surveys of stakeholders, includingin the regions of operation

5

Promote sustainability reporting
principles and approaches at various
events and through the media
and social media platforms
Air emissions

Biodiversity
Materials

Waste

51

Sustainability Report 2022

03. E – Environmental

03
E — ENVIRONMENTAL

52

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Sustainability Report 2022

03. E – Environmental

Environmental protection and safety management
Rostelecom’s environmental protection activities and environmental safety efforts are part of theGroup’s wider occupational health and safety agenda. Rostelecom’s environmental management
system fully complies with governmental regulations as well as international best practice on thetelecommunications market.

3.1. OUR APPROACH

Rostelecom’s environmental protection management is based on:∙ Environmental Policy∙ HSE and Fire Safety Policy.
These policies have been implemented across the Group subsidiaries and affiliates.
In 2022, Rostelecom’s environmental management system was aligned with the two-tiergovernance model introduced a year earlier.

Principles of Rostelecom’s Environmental Policy

Rostelecom takes a responsible approach to environmental
conservation. The Company reduces its environmental
footprint by enhancing energy efficiency, utilising alternative
energy sources, and practicing resource conservation.
Additionally, the Company develops digital solutions for effective environmental impact
management while fostering widespread environmental awareness.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
In environmental protection, Rostelecom has chosen SDGs 8 and 11 as its first priority goals.
In line with SDG Target 8.4, the Group seeks to enhance energy efficiency and promotes
responsible use of materials. The Company has established a robust control system, ensuringthat its facilities are operated in compliance with sustainability standards and the requirementsof fire, industrial, and environmental safety laws.
Under SDG Targets 11.3 and 11.6, Rostelecom deploys energy-efficient lighting systems
for municipal areas and public spaces, works to foster environmental responsibility acrosscommunities, and designs integrated digital solutions for municipal waste management.
Rostelecom’s second priority goals include SDGs 12, 13, and 15.
To achieve SDG Target 12.5, the Group has built a system of separate waste collection, throughwhich we are increasing the amount and number of types of materials sent for recycling every
year. Under the Pereplavka (Melting) project, cell phone drop box recycle bins have been
installed in the Group’s stores across 64 regions in Russia, facilitating the collection and recyclingof electronic waste.

∙ Compliance of the Company’s operations with the requirements, standards, and commitments
established by Russian laws and ratified by international treaties as regards environmental
protection, sustainable use of natural resources, and environmental safety∙ Commitment to sustainability principles in Rostelecom’s planning and operations: the Company’s
economic endeavours should not worsen the existing environmental situation, compromise thequality of life and health of people, or harm the environment∙ The unimpeded exercise by Rostelecom employees as well as by Russian citizens affected by
the Company’s operations of their constitutional right to a favourable environment∙ The Company’s responsibility for the environmental impact of its operations, including in thelong term∙ Mitigating negative environmental impacts and promoting sustainable use of natural resourcesin the Company’s operations∙ Incorporating potential environmental risks into management decisions shaping Rostelecom’s
development strategy. Integrating environmental risk management and environmental
operational control into the Company’s overall business management system∙ Transparency and availability of environmental impact information to all stakeholders∙ Building and promoting an environmental culture and environmental values across the Company
and raising Rostelecom’s profile as an environmentally responsible businessRostelecom’s key environmental protection and environmental safety objectives∙ Sustainable use of natural resources∙ Minimising negative environmental impacts from Rostelecom’s operations∙ Sustaining the environment for future generations
In 2022, Rostelecom continued to pursue its priority environmental protection objectives definedin its five-year ESG strategy, which was approved a year earlier. The objectives focus on reducing
electricity consumption, increasing the use of renewable energy, implementing waste management
programmes, and promoting the Green Office concept across the Group.

To prevent climate change (SDG 13), Rostelecom strives to improve its energy efficiency andupgrade local urban infrastructure.
Under SDG 15, the Company contributes to protecting terrestrial ecosystems: it runs voluntarycleanups across its units and develops digital solutions to timely detect and respond to forest
fires, combat illegal logging, and monitor waste removal.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Precautionary Principle

Organisational structure for environmental protection
management at Rostelecom Group
President of PJSC
Rostelecom

Administrative Director
of PJSC Rostelecom’s
Headquarters
Operational Control
Division of PJSC
Rostelecom’s Headquarters

Rostelecom is applying the Precautionary Principle
in its environmental protection efforts.

∙ Provides general supervision of Rostelecom’s environmental protection and environmental
management system (EMS)∙ Approves environmental protection and environmental safety policies∙ Evaluates the Company’s environmental performance∙ Manages the Group’s environmental protection efforts∙ Analyses the Group’s environmental protection performance∙ Informs top management of the Group’s environmental performance∙∙∙∙

Ensure environmental safety across the Company
Implement environmental operational control (within their respective areas of responsibility)
Manage environmental protection training
Prepare statistical and corporate reports

03. E – Environmental

The Company’s unified risk management system evaluates environmental risks at defined intervals.
Qualified experts identify the impacts and potential effects of projects that may affect theenvironment, in line with Russian environmental laws.

Environmental operational control

397

Environmental operational control (EOC) is a partof environmental safety measures.

internal audits
completed in 2022
EOC seeks to reduce the risk of negative environmental impact to an acceptable minimum.
The Regulations on Environmental Operational Control in place define the composition, structure,organisation, and operational procedure for the EOC system.
In 2022, the Company completed 397 internal audits (295 on-site and 102 desk audits),with 629 facilities audited and 710 gaps identified and closed.

Operational Control
Directorate of the WestAD1 Operational Control
Directorate of the East AD

Structural units of regional
branches and subsidiaries
and affiliates

∙
∙
∙
∙

Ensure environmental safety across the Company
Implement environmental operational control (within their respective areas of responsibility)
Manage environmental protection training
Prepare statistical and corporate reports

∙
∙
∙
∙

Implement environmental initiatives
Monitor negative environmental impact sources on a day-to-day basis
Manage waste
Respond to incidents with environmental risks

The Company operates a total of 4,412 negative-impact facilities. During 2022, a total of 151 facilities
were removed from the registry, 54 new sites were added to it, and 1,499 sites updated their
negative impact data.
Negative-impact facilities are divided into four categories depending on the degree of impact:∙ Category 1 – significant∙ Category 2 – moderate∙ Category 3 – insignificant∙ Category 4 – minimal

Negative-impact facilities by category

Group’s key documents regulating environmental protection
In 2022, the Company
successfully passed an
external audit, obtaining
a renewed certificate ofconformity to GOST R ISO
14001-2016, valid until
2025 subject to annual
confirmation throughaudits.

1

56

AD – Administrative Department.

∙ International standards (ISO 14001, etc.)∙ Russian environmental laws
∙ Regulations (orders of ministries and agencies, procedures, guidelines, Russian GOST standards
and SanPiN (Sanitary Rules and Norms), etc.)∙ PJSC Rostelecom’s Environmental Policy∙ PJSC Rostelecom’s Energy Policy∙ PJSC Rostelecom’s HSE and Fire Safety Policy∙ Regulations on Environmental Operational Control at PJSC Rostelecom∙ PJSC Rostelecom’s Procedure for the Operation of Water Wells∙ Waste Management Procedure∙ Orders appointing employees to coordinate environmental safety and safe waste management∙ Environmental operational control programmes for negative-impact facilities∙ Approved environmental impact rates and limits (for Environmental Hazard Category 2 facilities)∙ Documents establishing buffer zones and sanitary protection zones∙ Action plans for adverse weather conditions (for sources of air emissions)

3

3,186

1,223

Category 2

Category 3

Category 4

57

Sustainability Report 2022

Employee training in environmental protection

03. E – Environmental

3.2. ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES

Rostelecom arranges specialised training for employees tasked with coordinating environmental
safety management. Employees are trained at certified centres under programmes tailored totheir specific skill levels. Furthermore, we employ remote learning formats, such as online courses
and webinars.
In 2022, this training covered 93 employees. A significant part of employees received the required
training in previous reporting periods, leading to lower training needs in the reporting year.

Specialised
training(upskilling)
programme

Durationof training,hours

Numberof people
trainedTraining costs,
RUB thousand,excluding VAT

2020

2021

2022

2020

2021

2022

2020

2021

2022

Environmental safety
for managers andgeneral business
management
specialists

72

72

72

121

70

75

474

178

268

Environmental
safety for managers
and specialists
with environmental
protection andenvironmental
control functions

112–200

Specialised training
required for Hazard
Category 1–4 waste
management

72–200

Other programmes
Total

112

200

10

35

7

283

106

174.5
RUB m Rostelecom
Group’s total
environmental protection
expenditures andinvestments in 2022

The Group’s environmental protection costs amounted to RUB 174.5 million in 2022, with mostspending (72 %) directed to waste management. A total of RUB 7.6 million (4.3 %) was allocated toair pollution control and climate change mitigation.
No audits of Rostelecom’s environmental activities were conducted by state supervisory authorities
in 2022.

34

Rostelecom’s total environmental protection expenditures and investments,1 RUB m

4–40

112

3–72

112

16

302

143

9

1,038

321

25

7

44

2

94

301

30

440

292

93

1,889

906

357

Management performance evaluation
The President of PJSC Rostelecom evaluates the effectiveness of the Group’s environmental
safety and environmental protection management during quarterly meetings with Senior Vice
President – Chief of Staff of Rostelecom’s President. Rostelecom management evaluates progresson scheduled environmental initiatives, EOC results as well as the status of corrective actions on
a quarterly basis.

Focus area

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Waste management

99.8

100.6

108.7

106.0

126.0

Soil, surface water, and groundwaterpollution control

5.9

6.5

7.0

3.8

8.4

Air pollution control and climate change
mitigation

5.8

5.7

9.8

8.4

7.6

Area improvements and urban greening

2.1

2.5

5.2

2.9

2.8

Employee training

1.6

1.6

1.9

0.9

0.4

Payments to the state budget forenvironmental pollution

11.2

8.4

7.1

2.6

3.3

Other focus areas

33.1

37.0

34.5

39.2

26.0

Total environmental expenditures

159.5

162.4

174.0

163.9

174.5

In addition to minimising its own environmental footprint, Rostelecom also develops solutions
that assist business and government in addressing this pressing concern.

The Operational Control Division of PJSC Rostelecom’s Headquarters reviews and updates
environmental protection policies at least once every two years. No environmental policies were
updated during 2022.

In 2022, the Group introduced a system to track and analyse environmental indicators.
The software platform collects data from disparate environmental monitoring stations andcombines them into metric dashboards on water, soil, air, and ecosystem components. The
solution uses these metrics, including deviations from quality standards, to generate statistics
and projections to inform environmental decision making.
1

58

The Group mitigates its environmental impact by decreasing
the consumption of fossil fuels, implementing separate
waste collection, reducing water withdrawal from natural
sources, and engaging in various environmental initiatives
and actions.

The indicators presented in
the table include data for PJSC
Rostelecom and the Group’s
most significant subsidiaries
and affiliates.

The system will enable Russia’s regions to promptly address environmental issues, reducing
associated risks by 20 % to 30 % while also accelerating the implementation of the Comprehensive
Environmental Quality Monitoring System federal project.
59

Sustainability Report 2022

3.3. WASTE MANAGEMENT

Responsible consumption

Sustainable waste management is essential for Rostelecom. The Company aims to reduce waste
generation and increase the proportion of waste sent for recycling. Over 99 % of the Company’s
waste falls under the categories of low-hazardous and virtually non-hazardous waste (classified
as Hazard Categories 4 and 5).
In 2022, the total mass of waste generated by Rostelecom increased by 8.1 % from 2021, including
Hazard Category 5 general office waste sent for landfilling by 25 %, Hazard Category 5 constructionwaste by 100 %, and Hazard Category 5 wood waste sent for landfilling and recycling by 50 %.

Rostelecom provides a service to monitor waste container sites.
This solution enables monitoring of waste sites and detectionof unauthorised waste sites.

GRI(306–2)

GRI(306–3)GRI(306–5)

Hazard category

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

1 – extremely
hazardous

40.27

40.05

35.43

25.06

15.64

2 – highly hazardous

28.52

15.77

21.22

64.67

2.52

3 – moderately
hazardous

39.27

33.4

26.38

23.53

23.75

4 – low-hazardous

20,616

21,502

21,281

26,35325,8555 – virtually
non-hazardous

13,386

12,524

10,474

6,843

10,117

Total

34,10934,11531,83833,31036,014

13.18
Paperless Office

34,109201934,115

2020
31,8382021
33,3102022
36,014

Sent to third parties forlandfilling

30,61730,591

28,88831,024

31,664

Sent to third parties forneutralisation or recycling

3,221

3,319

2,878

2,225

4,339

Reused for own operational
needs

272

205

72.0

The indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s most significant subsidiaries and affiliates.
The indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s most significant subsidiaries and affiliates.

60

86.1

60.5

tonnesof wood waste

tonnesof ferrous
scrap metal

The Company transfers all waste containing useful components and suitable for recycling andreuse to specialised organisations, along with waste possessing hazardous characteristics that
require treatment.

Total waste generated

2

564.4

1.8

2018

In line with the Green Office principles, Rostelecom:∙ uses automated power and water meters∙ provides separate waste collection∙ uses environmentally safe consumables∙ leverages electronic document management andvideoconferencing solutions.
The Group is phasing in separate waste collection across
Rostelecom’s business units and subsidiaries and affiliates.

Since 2018, we have been reducing the amount of Hazard Category 1 waste by cutting the useof fluorescent mercury-containing lamps. In 2022, Rostelecom decided to completely abandon
mercury-containing lamps. Spent fluorescent lamps will be replaced with LED lamps of the same
size.

Waste management at Rostelecom Group,2 tonnes

1

The Green Office concept holds a prominent place in
Rostelecom’s strategy for sustainable development. We are
expanding the number of offices where this concept has beenrolled out. By leveraging the electronic document management
system and electronic signatures for interactions withcounterparties and between its units, Rostelecom saves paperand consumables.

2,053

Waste generation by hazard category,1 tonnes

GRI(306–1)03. E – Environmental

tonnesof glassware

tonnesof plastic

tonnes of waste were sent forrecycling in 2022, including:

196.8

tonnesof paper

115.3

tonnesof car tyres
and inner tubes

34.15

tonnesof officeequipment

14.65

tonnesof waste oils

11.9

tonnesof cardboard

2.8

tonnesof aluminium scrap

1.18

tonnesof used batteries

0.8

tonnesof batteries

In 2021, Rostelecom launched a project aimed to reduce theuse of paper sevenfold and increase the share of electronic
document flow within the Company to 90 %.
In 2022, the Company was able to save 55 % on paper costs
through the following measures:∙ Disconnecting 17 % of printers∙ Migrating all printers to domestic software for printeranalytics and control∙ PR campaigns to promote digital solutions∙ Moving a range of documents to an electronic format
The Company intends to further reduce paper-based processes
and promote environmental values among employees.

11.2

In 2022, the Company procured 499 tonnes of writing paper,marking a 57 % decrease compared to the 2021 figure of
1,155 tonnes. A total of 197 tonnes of paper waste was generated,
and all of it was sent for recycling.

Savings by region of operation, %Ural
52
Central

76

Volga

59

Southern and North-Caucasian45

Northwestern

52

Siberian62

Far Eastern

36

Handling of paper waste by Rostelecom Group, tonnes
Indicator

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Paper waste

745.8

321.1

211.3

187.7 196.8

Paper sent
for recycling

269.5

321.1

211.3

187.7 196.8

61

Sustainability Report 2022

03. E – Environmental

Greenhouse gas emissions

3.4. EMISSION MANAGEMENT
Emissions of air pollutants
The major sources of air emissions of Rostelecom are fossil fuel-fired boiler facilities. They areused to heat buildings not connected to public heating networks during the colder seasonsof the year. When burned, coal and wood emit sulphur and nitrogen oxides, soot particles, andcarbon monoxide. To mitigate our negative environmental impact, we are investing in upgradesof boiler facilities and converting them to more eco-friendly fuels, such as natural gas andrenewable fuels.

GRI(305–1)

GRI(305–2)

GRI(305–5)All boiler facilities and other sources of vented emissions have gas cleaning systems to keep
pollutant concentrations below their permissible limits.
Spent gas filters were replaced as scheduled during 2022. Rostelecom has developed actionplans for Hazard Category 2 and 3 emission sources to address potential adverse weather
conditions. These plans are designed to keep emission concentrations below permissible limits
in bad weather.
To prevent air emissions from motor vehicles, the Group is purchasing Euro 5 vehicles only andphasing out vehicles that do not comply with this standard.
No excess emissions were registered in 2022. The mass of significant air emissions totalled
1,159 tonnes, down 14 % from 2021. The decrease was attributed to reduced coal consumption
by boiler facilities. The mass of all pollutant emissions totalled 1,410 tonnes.

Rostelecom strives to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by cutting down its fossil fueluse, driving energy-efficient and energy-saving initiatives, and cutting waste sent for landfilling.

Significant air emissions of Rostelecom Group,1 tonnes
Air pollutant emissions
GRI(305–7)

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Carbon monoxide (CO)

857

769

843

814

697

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

131

141

217

214

185

Sulphur dioxide (SO2)

116

103

101

96

78

Nitrogen monoxide (NO)

23

24

38

37

35

Soot

179

160

164

181

164

1,306

1,197

1,363

1,342

1,159

In 2022, the Company achieved an 8.3 % reduction in its direct GHG emissions to 159 thousand
tonnes of CO2 equivalent (vs 173 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2021) due to lower
consumption of most fossil fuels.

Significant air emissions

Subtotal

Indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions decreased by 3 % to 1,419 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalent
due to a reduction in both heating and electricity consumption.
Scope 3 GHG emissions were up 5.6 % to 74 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The growth canbe attributed to a higher amount of waste sent to landfill and increased business travel.

GHG emissions by Rostelecom Group,1 tonnes of CO2 equivalent

Other substances1

The indicators presented in
the table include data for PJSC
Rostelecom and the Group’s
most significant subsidiaries andaffiliates.

62

Indicator

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Particulate matter, excluding soot

–

175

274

240

183

Direct emissions (Scope 1)

181,429

184,436

180,943

173,249

158,823

Methane

–

1

1

1

1

Indirect emissions (Scope 2)

973,255

1,402,598

1,261,440

1,462,888

1,419,476

Volatile organic compounds

–

71

69

76

65

Total emissions (Scope 1 and 2)

1,154,684

1,587,034

1,442,383

1,636,137

1,578,299

Other pollutants

–

4

4

3

2

Indirect emissions (Scope 3)

85,81280,11569,30370,326

74,243

Total

–

1,451

1,729

1,662

1,410

1

The indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s most significant subsidiaries and affiliates.

63Sustainability Report 2022

Wastewater discharge

3.5. WATER CONSUMPTION

GRI(303–1)03. E – Environmental

GRI(303–3)

GRI(303–2)

GRI(303–5)More than 90 % of Rostelecom units, subsidiaries,
and affiliates use water from municipal centralised
water supply systems.

67.7 %

Water wells, which are only used in some remote areas, have subsoil licences. Sanitary protection
zones are established around the wells in accordance with legal requirements. The Company
regularly monitors the quality of groundwater and ensures compliance with requirements for
sanitary protection zones around water supply sources.

reduction of water
discharge into water
bodies from 2018

GRI
(303–4)

Most of the wastewater used by Rostelecom is discharged into public sewage systems under
existing contracts. Less than 1 % of water is discharged into water bodies directly. This water ishandled by the Company’s treatment facilities before discharge.
Water bodies into which we discharge wastewater are listed below:∙ Lake Otradnoye (Priozersky District, Leningrad Region)∙ River Gzhat (Gagarinsky District, Smolensk Region)∙ Vassa Brook (River Klyazma, Noginsky District, Moscow Region)∙ Lyubuchanka Brook (River Rozhaika, Chekhovsky District, Moscow Region)∙ Bezymyanny Brook (River Darenka, Istrinsky District, Moscow Region)∙ River Gzhelka (Ramensky Urban District, Moscow Region)∙ River Dyorzha (Zubtsovsky District, Tver Region)∙ Bezymyanny Brook (Kashinsky District, Tver Region)

Total water discharge by Rostelecom Group, thousand cu m

Water consumption,1 thousand cu m
Indicator

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Total water withdrawal, including:

2,797

2,469

1,824

1,937

1,685

∙ groundwater

230

206

175

168

141

∙ municipal or other water utilities,
including:

2,267

2,163

1,649

1,769

1,544

– cold water

2,067

1,943

1,483

1,581

1,363

– hot water

200

220

166

188

181

Supply to third parties(individuals, organisations)

122

86

89

89

76

Total water consumption

2,375

2,283

1,735

1,848

1,609

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

planned

40.3

30.0

23.6

14.7

13.0

unplanned

0

0

0

0

0

Into public sewage systems (under contracts)

2,065

2,204

1,833

1,681

1,548

Total

2,105

2,234

1,857

1,696

1,561

Into water
bodies(water ejectors)

During 2022, the total volume of wastewater was down 8 %, while discharge to water bodies
decreased by 11.4 %. There have been no unplanned wastewater discharges at the Company inthe last five years.

3.6. AREA IMPROVEMENTS
Recognising the importance of groundwater conservation, we are actively reducing our relianceon groundwater resources. During 2022, Rostelecom operated 73 wells. The Group’s groundwater
withdrawal decreased by 15.8 % from 168 thousand cu m in 2021 to 141 thousand cu m in 2022.
The Group does not withdraw water in areas with water stress.
Rostelecom transfers some of its withdrawn water to third parties, with 76 thousand cu m handed
over in 2022.
To reduce water consumption, the Company is installing sensors on sink taps, swapping to dual
flush toilets, and encouraging employees to take positive steps to save water. At the end of 2022,
70 buildings with a total area of 315.1 thousand sq m, or 4.4 % of total floor area of Rostelecombuildings, were equipped with water saving systems.
In 2022, the Group’s water consumption decreased by 12.9 % year-on-year. One contributing
factor was the reduction in the number of properties owned by the Group.

1

Rostelecom improves its facilities by greening and enhancing the areas around them. In 2022,
13,550 sq m of land were improved, with 417 trees and shrubs planted and 3,632 sq m offlowerbeds and lawns made.
Group employees carry out regular cleaning of the surrounding areas. Throughout the year, theyalso took part in regional cleanup events, collecting and removing garbage, painting curbs as well
as planting flowers, trees, and shrubs.

The indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s most significant subsidiaries and affiliates.

64

65

Sustainability Report 2022

Upgrading urban lighting

3.7. DIGITAL SOLUTIONS
Rostelecom develops solutions to mitigate
the environmental impact of cities, including
systems for managing municipal solid waste (MSW)
and projects focused on energy-efficient urban lighting.
The Company’s solutions also help prevent large-scale
forest fires.

03. E – Environmental

Environmental challenge

Reducing energy use and carbon dioxide emissions
Outdated municipal lighting systems in some Russian regions consume significant energy andincur high maintenance costs.

Digital solutions for effective municipal
waste management

Our solution

Upgrading municipal lighting systems
Rostelecom undertakes to upgrade street and municipal lighting systems through energy service
contracts. Our lighting-as-a-service projects fit out the streets of Russian cities and towns
with modern, safe, and energy efficient lamps – all while saving natural resources and reducing
electricity bills for municipal authorities.

Rostelecom’s
2022 highlights
Environmental challenge

Management of MSW
According to statistics, a person generates up to 400 kg of waste per year. Russia has over
650 thousand MSW containers installed at apartment blocks, which are managed by different
entities. Their activities often lack coordination, resulting in the buildup of waste at container sites.

Our solution

An energy service project was successfully completed, encompassing the upgrade of a lighting
system and the retrofit of a heating system at Secondary School No. 12 in Anzhero-Sudzhensk,
Kemerovo Region. The school will now be able to save more than 70 % on electricity bills.

Forest fire prevention

Continuous monitoring of MSW sites
Rostelecom uses intelligent neural network modules for monitoring. These modules capture datato generate insights into the entire MSW management cycle, monitor compliance with the rules
for setting up waste collection sites, the sanitation status, and overall condition of container sites
as well as identify unauthorised waste sites.
Environmental challenge

Rostelecom’s
2022 highlights

66

According to WWF Russia, over the last two decades, an average of 10 million hectares of forests
in Russia have been affected by wildfires annually. In addition to direct economic losses, fires harm
public health, cause huge damage to biodiversity, and contribute to climate change by raisingatmospheric CO₂ levels.

∙ The video surveillance system in Lipetsk was expanded to 5,000 cameras.
∙ The Kaluga Region MSW landfill was equipped with video surveillance system.

Rostelecom launched a digital platform for environmental monitoring in
the Republic of Karelia. The system facilitates the collection and analysisof environmental data, encompassing air, water, and soil quality as wellas background radiation. Its functionality also offers fire and flood alerts,
forecasting, and modelling environmental changes. Based on the datacollected, the platform automatically generates prompts for authorised
individuals to mitigate potential risks.

Forest fire prevention

Our solution

Automated fire and smoke detection systems
Rostelecom’s fire and smoke detection systems include 360° tower-mounted video surveillancecameras for automatic forest monitoring. The system automatically detects smoke clouds against
the forest backdrop, determines the outbreak coordinates, and immediately sends data to aregional dispatch centre.

Rostelecom’s
2022 highlights∙ A video monitoring system was launched in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area – Yugra,
encompassing five ultra-sensitive smoke detection cameras.
∙ The Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area received an extension of the video monitoring system.
The system has been expanded to include four more video cameras.
67

Sustainability Report 2022

3.8. ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Total fuel and other energy consumption at Rostelecom Group1

The Company approved the Energy Policy of PJSC Rostelecom, establishing the Group’s ambitions
and key focus areas in energy efficiency. It covers all regional branches and was also adopted by
all subsidiaries and affiliates.

External consultants

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Total energy consumption

thousand kWh

2,854,350

4,478,408

3,988,342

4,448,304

4,316,761

Electricity

thousand kWh

1,344,116

3,042,452

2,817,344

3,224,728

3,186,399

Gcal

1,298,568

1,234,700

1,006,877

1,052,086

971,937

thousand cu m

27,20823,49921,69422,96921,445

Liquefied gas

l1,087,580

866,569

1,155,501

1,418,601

1,815,011

Coalt

10,695

10,846

7,375

5,815

4,115

cu m

9,238

7,367

6,100

6,077

4,456

Fuel briquettes (pellets)

t

503

231

260

291

331

Diesel fuell7,956,848

8,279,680

7,895,918

7,768,314

6,949,544

Gasolinel28,644,554

37,758,724

37,584,170

37,175,201

33,801,282

thousand kWh

24,197

18,55815,662

15,745

12,054

Electricity consumption
per sq m of total floor space

thousandkWh/sq m

0.166

0.343

0.326

0.366

0.384

Heat consumption per sq mof total floor space

Gcal/sq m

0.160

0.139

0.117

0.119

0.117

thousand kWh

238,869

282,544

310,017391,935

387,968

ratio PUE2

1.86

1.67

1.76

1.54

1.66

Natural gas

Rostelecom Group’s energy efficiency management structure

Regional branches andsubsidiaries and affiliates

Unit ofmeasurement

Heat

The Group creates organisational, legal, economic, scientific, technical, and technologicalconditions enabling energy-efficiency improvements and wider use of new energy sources
matching the specific profiles of the regions in which the Company operates.

PJSC Rostelecom
Headquarters Energy
Management Group∙ Defines the principles and strategic objectives for the Group’s energy efficiency measures∙ Reviews performance metrics at set time intervals

Firewood∙ Ensure the operation of the energy management system∙ Develop and implement energy efficiency projects to upgrade or repair energy consuming
systems, equipment, and buildings∙ Collect and analyse data to evaluate the outcomes of energy efficiency initiatives∙ Audits of the Group’s energy management system
Rostelecom’s performance targets for energy saving and energy efficiency improvement aim to:∙ equip the Group’s buildings, structures, and facilities with meters for water, natural gas, heating,and electricity∙ reduce the specific consumption of electricity and heat as well as natural gas, cold and hot
water across the Group’s buildings, structures, and facilities (per sq m of floor space)∙ reduce the specific consumption of fuels and lubricants across the Group (vehicle consumption
per km).

Renewable energy(combustion of biomass)

Energy consumption

GRI(302–1)

GRI(302–4)
Total energy consumption
by data centres

12,054thousand kWh
total renewable
fuel consumption
in 202268

03. E – Environmental

Rostelecom consumes electricity and heat as well as different types of fuel (gasoline, diesel fuel,natural gas, coal, and renewable fuels).

Average power usage
effectiveness at data centres

In 2022, the Company reduced its consumption of all types of energy, with the exception of liquefied
natural gas. The surge in LNG consumption by 28 % was driven by the increased use of vehicles
running on gas. This move has enabled us to proportionally reduce gasoline and diesel consumption.
In 2022, the Company managed to reduce its coal use by 30 %. Coal is a primary source of sulphur
and nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions, while its combustion generates coal ash.

1
2

Data for 2018 exclude Rostelecom’s mobile operator, while data for 2019–2020 include Rostelecom’s mobile operator.
Power usage effectiveness.

69

Sustainability Report 2022

03. E – Environmental

Rostelecom Group’s spending on energy resources, 2018–2022,1 RUB thousand

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Total expenses on fuel consumption
for self-generation of energy

386,531403,875

371,097366,611377,221Natural gas

145,719

133,847

128,442

142,008

144,644

Gasoline

30,90853,32943,98240,82545,569Coal

32,74933,89725,015

20,14819,174

Diesel fuel / oil

160,659

168,732

161,052

150,183

156,535

Firewood

14,047

12,221

10,683

11,257

8,734

Fuel briquettes

2,449

1,849

1,923

2,190

2,565

Total expenses on fuel for vehicles
and mechanical equipment

1,075,973

1,475,614

1,489,471

1,566,474

1,496,183

Gasoline

923,856

1,273,534

1,295,112

1,356,283

1,288,897

Diesel fuel133,210

186,123

172,514

176,917

171,566

Liquefied petroleum gas (propane)

18,907

15,957

21,84533,27435,720Total expenses on energy
purchased from third-party
suppliers

9,126,032

15,126,233

16,342,023

18,466,320

18,834,961

Electricity

6,929,256

12,903,849

14,207,152

16,103,002

16,528,761

Heat

2,196,776

2,222,384

2,134,871

2,363,318

2,306,200

198,131244,520

304,006

175,182

328,419

Spending on energy efficiency
projects

1

Data for 2018 are excluding Rostelecom’s mobile operator, while data for 2019–2020 are inclusive of Rostelecom’s mobile operator.

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03. E – Environmental

Specific energy consumption reduction targets of PJSC Rostelecom until 2023

Energy efficiency programmes and initiatives

Rostelecom has adopted an energy strategy. The Group upgrades networks and infrastructure,
deploys more energy-efficient equipment, and is committed to using natural resources
sustainably.

Unit of measurement

2018

2023

Change, %Specific electricity consumption per sq
m of floor space in buildings

kWh/sq m

157.2

134.0

–14.76

Specific heat consumption per sq m offloor space in buildings

Gcal/sq m

0.149

0.139

–6.7

Actual reduction in PJSC Rostelecom’s specific energy consumption
Unit ofmeasurement

The Company develops integrated solutions to reduce energy consumption within the utility
sector, upgrading gas, water, and heat supply systems and installing energy-efficient lighting.
The Group’s investments in energy efficiency totalled RUB 328 million in 2022.

Rostelecom Group’s investments in energy efficiency initiatives in 2022

2020

2021

2022

Plan

ActualPlan

ActualPlan

ActualSpecific electricity
consumption per sq mof floor space in buildings

kWh/sq m

152.5

162.5

147.5

156.7

141

173.5

Specific heat consumption
per sq m of floor spacein buildings

Gcal/sq m

0.142

0.125

0.141

0.125

0.140

0.128

Facilities

Expenditures,
RUB thousand

Installation of energy-saving light bulbs

7

6,363

Installation of sensor-based lighting controllers (in common areas)00Water supply system upgrades, installation of meters and water-saving systems

21

16,626

Electricity efficiency measures

Gas supply system upgrades, meter installation

5

1,233

District heating substation upgrades, including retrofitting weather compensatedheating systems

5

1,510

Installation and upgrades of heat meters

93

38,201

Electricity-saving measures include:∙ upgrades to power supply units (PSUs) with higher efficiencies and performance∙ introduction of balanced ventilation systems (BVS) that use outside air temperature to cool
process rooms and data centres∙ replacing legacy lighting with LED∙ installation of motion, light level, and presence sensors (LED-based)∙ rollout of automated meter reading (AMR).

Heat supply system repairs and upgrades(outdoor and indoor lines, heating systems)

70

107,030

Boiler facility upgrades(including shutdown of existing and construction of new facilities)

20

18,962Type of initiative

Key organisational activities include:∙ transition from a guaranteed electricity supplier to an independent electricity supplier∙ on-site audits to reduce costs∙ tariff optimisation.

∙ installation of PVC windows

85

91,988∙ thermal insulation of roofs

8

15,262∙ thermal insulation of facades

13

30,425∙ other works

1

819

328

328,419

The benefits delivered by the electricity-saving programme in 2022 totalled RUB 226 million;
its performance was assessed across the following areas:∙ The long-term estimated effect of the investment initiatives implemented between 2019 and2021 (PSUs, BVS, LED, and AMR), totalling approximately RUB 172.7 million in 2022, including:→ RUB 94.5 million – AMR rollout→ RUB 42.4 million – an estimated effect of energy supply contracts with an independent
electricity supplier→ RUB 12.3 million – savings achieved through lower power consumption in processequipment→ RUB 11.5 million – revenue generated from the sale and leasing of cable lines andtransformer substations→ RUB 12.0 million – other initiatives

PJSC Rostelecom is focused on implementing its Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency Programmefor 2019–2023, aimed to reduce energy consumption and curb the growth in energy expenses
through a range of technical and organisational energy-saving measures that take into accountelectricity rate increases and our network expansion.

∙ Investment measures totalling RUB 66.7 million in 2021, allocated to PSU upgrades (28 units)
and BVS installation (155 systems), with the total effect coming in at RUB 48 million in 2022
∙ The audit of electricity supply contracts yielded impactful outcomes: tariff-based voltage levels
were improved in 43 regional branches, and the level of subsided losses was reduced across48 branches. This collective effort resulted in a substantial overall effect of RUB 5.4 million

Building upgrades and renovations to reduce heat losses, including:

Total

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Sustainability Report 2022

03. E – Environmental

Energy service technologies

Energy-saving initiatives

In addition to investing in own energy-efficiency projects, Rostelecom is focused on tailoringcustomer-specific energy-efficiency solutions. The Company provides services to upgrade
lighting systems in Russia’s regions through energy service contracts. An energy service
contract is a special type of agreement designed to achieve operating expense savings throughthe implementation of energy-efficient initiatives and the rollout of energy-saving technologies.
By offering energy service contracts, Rostelecom performs the role of an investor who gets
paid for a project by capturing cost savings achieved through the rollout of energy-saving
technologies.

To save energy, Rostelecom is installing LED lights,
weather-compensated heating controllers,
and water-saving solutions across its officebuildings and spaces.

Rostelecom is running such projects in the Sverdlovsk and Smolensk Regions.

Energy efficiency of PJSC Rostelecom’s buildings and officesthat use saving systems
2020
Type of energy/resource-saving systems

Number of buildings

Total building area

2021
Number of buildings

Total building area

2022
Number of buildings

Total building area

units

%

sq m

%

units

%

sq m

%

units

%

sq m

%

Energy-saving light bulbs

3,901

12.6

1,125,824

13.3

3,922

12.7

1,189,842

15.0

3,929

13.1

1,191,966

16.8

Sensor-based lighting controllers (incommon areas)

425

1.4

519,949

6.2

426

1.4

522,281

6.6

426

1.4

522,281

7.4

Weather-compensated (climatic) heating
controllers

465

1.5

1,665,279

19.7

468

1.5

1,680,772

21.2

473

1.6

1,698,729

24.0

Control valves on heating appliances(manual or automated)

698

2.2

1,344,865

15.9

698

2.2

1,344,865

15.9

698

2.3

1,344,865

19.0

Water-saving systems (sensor taps, dual
flush toilets)

70

0.2

315,095

3.4

70

0.2

315,095

3.4

70

0.2

315,095

4.4

Integrated electronic heat and energy
control systems (Smart Office)

13

0.04

157,261

1.9

13

0.04

157,261

1.9

13

0.04

157,261

2.2

Free cooling (data centres, server rooms,
process equipment)

540

1.7

375,435

4.4

540

1.7

375,435

4.4

695

2.3

483,199

6.8

To provide cooling for data centres, server rooms, and process equipment, the Company isinstalling free cooling systems using outside air. In addition, we have continued to roll out smart
office technologies across our premises, including integrated electronic heat and energy control
systems.

Alternative sources of electricity
We use alternative energy sources (wind and solar) to power telecommunications equipment
installed in sparsely populated areas far from power grids.
In total, 62 facilities of the Company use alternative sources of electricity, including:∙ 48 solar installations∙ 14 hybrid wind and solar installations.

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03. E – Environmental

3.9. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

Rostelecom is responsible to its employees, customers,
and partners for ensuring occupational health and safety
and creating an enabling working environment.
The Group strives to minimise any potential negative impacts on people, natural resources, andthe environment. The Company complies with all applicable legal requirements for setting-up
safe work protocols.
The Company’s operational control system ensures sustainable operation of its facilities
and compliance with fire and industrial safety regulations.

98

Fire safety

facilities equippedwith fire protection
systems worth RUB
278 million in 2022

1,789
Rostelecom employees
participated in upskilling
and retraining fire safety
programmes in 2022

As part of its fire safety efforts, Rostelecom andits subsidiaries and affiliates upgrade and repair fire
protection systems. Fire safety compliance is subject
to regular monitoring, accompanied by audits conductedby supervisory authorities.

Industrial safety

Throughout 2022, a total of 35 facilities underwent audits by fire authorities. As a result of theaudits, 156 corrective actions were recommended to eliminate the identified gaps. A single fineof RUB 3,000 was issued to relevant officers for fire safety breaches; however, no fines werelevied against any legal entities.
Fire incidents at PJSC Rostelecom facilities

76

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Number of fires

32

22

22

23

24

including caused by third-party
organisations or individuals

18

4

7

6

9

29.06
RUB m spending on
industrial safety in 2022,
including RUB 1.2 million
on insuranceof hazardous facilities

In 2022, Rostelecom Group operated a total of
185 hazardous facilities, including 85 facilities classified
as Hazard Category 3 (gas grids). All of these facilities
are registered with the Federal Environmental, Industrial,
and Nuclear Supervision Service (Rostechnadzor) andinsured.
There were no accidents or incidents at Rostelecom’s hazardous facilities, and no fines or
warnings were received from supervisory authorities in the reporting period. A total of 336 internal
inspections were conducted in 2022, with 786 violations detected or prevented.
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Sustainability Report 2022

04. S – Social

04
S — SOCIAL

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Sustainability Report 2022

04. S – Social

4.1. For customers, for society,for the nation
4.1.1. OUR APPROACH

Rostelecom shapes the telecom market and provides digital
opportunities for Russian citizens. The Company’s projects
and strategic initiatives include building and developing
ecosystems of digital products and solutions for the society
and business

The Company is committed to improving the quality of life for its customers by actively deploying
advanced technologies and investing in infrastructure projects, including those supporting the
ESG agenda. Rostelecom establishes centres of excellence for data centres and cloud services,
creates solutions for cybersecurity, digital regions, e-government, video surveillance andanalytics, and smart services for households and businesses, and develops digital healthcare
services.
As part of its updated 2025 strategy, Rostelecom consolidated leadership position in its key
markets in 2022 while maintaining a strong focus on transforming itself into an integrated
provider of digital services and a reliable partner for society, business, and the state. The
Company is committed to developing products that meet both high technology standards andsustainability principles.
In 2022, key customer segments showed growth in service users. The Company also boosted
revenues from innovative digital clusters, primarily from platform solutions for digital public
services, cloud services, data centre-based services as well as other digital products.
The Company’s mobile business continued to outpace the market while showing a significant
growth in sales of its converged offers.
In the reporting year, the Company’s B2O revenue also showed growth thanks to wider fibre
coverage and a larger number of other mobile operators’ base stations serviced by Rostelecom.

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04. S – Social

Key achievements in the major segments and clusters in 2022

Retail customers(B2C)

Business/government
customers (B2B/B2G)

Services for operators(B2O)+8.3 %>4.8

Growth in fibre broadband
revenue

Wink’s active subscriber base(+57% year-on-year)

+13 %

+10 %

Hike in Virtual PBX subscribers

Broadband revenue growth

+26

+10 %

thousandkm

Increase in fibre coverage
under the O2O1 project

Mobile business

Data Centres and Cloud
Services cluster

Digital Region cluster
million

Boost in revenue fromthe O2O project

61 %

+5 %

CLS2 subscriber penetrationof the subscriber base

Mobile ARPU growth to RUB 395

>15

3х

thousandInformation Security
cluster82

Hike in the number of hosted
private cloud customers3

8,000

Traffic enforcement cameras
installed (5,500 in total)

CCTV cameras connected during
the year (380 thousand in total)

+47 %

+19 %

Revenue growth fromthe JSOC service4

Growth in recurring revenue
from proprietary products

Improved customer care and better service quality led to a significant increase in NPS of
Rostelecom’s key services (broadband fibre up 5 p.p. and TV fibre up 3 p.p.) and lower subscriber
churn, including in broadband down 15 % year-on-year and in pay TV down 11 % year-on-year.
2022 saw rapid development of speech analytics, including for the automatic customer service
quality control of all customer-facing teams. When an employee or a customer shows a change
in tone, the dialogue fraught with conflict is automatically flagged for human review, enabling
faster elimination of communication failures and refining of business processes.
In 2022, Rostelecom continued to integrate payment services into its products. Rostelecom
Moscow scaled the Faster Payments System (FPS) to customer accounts (web and mobile
applications) while also raising awareness of the service among customers and optimising
payment scenarios. As at the end of 2022, 51 % of retail customers, on average, used the FPS
to pay for the Company’s services.

1
2
3

Total racks at 2022-end(+10 % year-on-year)>1,0004

Operator-to-Operator.
Core Live Subs.
A private cloud is the opposite of a public cloud, where a pool of physical resources (a physical server) is leased
to one tenant or organisation only.
Security Operation Center.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Driving subscriber loyalty and improving customer experience

Rostelecom sees attracting and engaging new subscribers
as well as business and government customers,
including through social projects, as an importantfocus area. This approach has become an integral partof the Company’s efforts to build loyalty.

04. S – Social

Antivirus

5 p.p.

The Company retained its leadership in the antivirus product penetration of the Home Internet
user base. New partner solutions introduced in 2022 and rebundled into more customer-friendly
options boosted margins by 5 p.p. year-on-year to 72 %.

margin growth
for the Antivirus
service

Rostelecom Key
Over 20 tweaks were made to Rostelecom Key to enhance customer experience in 2022,
pushing the service’s NPS up 3 p.p. to 48 %. The Key’s active audience reached 198 thousand,up 87 % year-on-year.

Improving customer experience means that we prioritise customer needs and make every
effort to remove obstacles to high-quality connectivity and impeccable service. Rostelecom’s
ecosystem is built on a customer-centric model and grows through customer feedback andcontinuous improvement of customer journeys, enhancement of clear and relevant service
offerings, and the opportunity for customers to rate our performance.

As at the end of 2022, Key was installed in more than 3,300 apartment buildings (410 thousandhouseholds), with its door phones at more than 9,000 entrances.

Cloud Video Surveillance
Development of digital and promising products (B2C)
Moving-in

218

thousand customers
used the Moving-in
service in 2022

2022’s highlights in customer service included further progress on the Moving-in projectproviding a seamless moving experience to relocating customers wishing to keep the sametelecom services at their new home. Service relocation was provided to 218 thousand
subscribers in 2022. The Online Moving-in digital channel continues to benefit customers
wishing to apply for the relocation service online, which requires just completing a form on the
product’s webpage. The Company then contacts the customer and helps them with moving
their internet connection, IPTV, and home phone to a new location. Users of this communication
channel totalled 68 thousand in 2022, up 4 % year-on-year.

Gaming services
In 2022, the Gaming Services product at the igrovoy.rt.ru platform offered an opportunity toconnect the resources of Lesta Games, VK Play, 4game, GFN Cloud Gaming, and VK Play Cloudas well as to subscribe to Rostelecom Books from LitRes. The exclusive GFN Cloud Gaming daily
payment plan was also launched. Tournaments held jointly with Lesta Games have improved thecore audience awareness of the marketed gaming services.

Lyceum online educational platform
The Lyceum online educational platform’s accomplishments in 2022:∙ Integration into the mobile operator’s billing platform with a monthly fee: subscribers can now
take up Lyceum from their accounts at a special price∙ Integration of the Lyceum subscription into the Mixx multi-subscription platform∙ A career guidance section was added to the platform, offering newly developed vocational tests
and new career guidance courses∙ Development and launch of gamification systems on the platform: quests, points for completed
lessons, tests, and other activities on the platform, etc.

116 %increase in the Video
Surveillance service
revenue

The Video Surveillance service is part of the Smart Home ecosystem designed to provide
security and home automation. NPS of Video Surveillance and Smart Home grew 3 p.p. year-onyear to 51 % in the fourth quarter of 2022. A customer can install any number of smart cameras
anywhere in the world, receive alerts when a built-in motion sensor is triggered or a camera is
obscured, watch and save specific periods of video archive using a mobile app or their online
customer account from anywhere in the world. A cloud-based video storage and processing
platform allows archiving videos for a period of up to 30 days.
Cumulatively, the Company has sold over 820 thousand CCTV cameras. In the fourth quarter of2022, the active user base of Video Surveillance grew 13 % year-on-year. In 2022, the service
revenue surged by 116 % year-on-year, driven by robust customer demand for CCTV analytics,
monitoring, and record storage services.

Customer service excellence (B2B/B2G)

520

Wi-Fi access points
installed at Razumovsky
Saratov State Medical
University

The Company strives to constantly improve the quality of service for business and government
customers, including to promote the sustainability agenda. For example, Rostelecom launched
a 24/7 technical support hotline for businesses from all over the country in 2022. For all majorclient companies, the Company completed a seamless transition to a single service number. The
technical support employees were trained to a single standard. Rostelecom created a one-stop
shop platform to provide its customers with technical support.
In 2022, the Company provided Wi-Fi internet access at a number of major events.
∙ For the Eastern Economic Forum, Wi-Fi access was provided using the Wi-Fi 2.0 platformrunning upon the existing network of the event venue, Far Eastern Federal University. The
platform and service proved highly reliable: no authorisation or network connection failure wasreported during the days of the event.
∙ At Kazan Expo, the Company installed more than 300 Wi-Fi hotspots across the exhibition
centre to provide high-speed internet, enabling online broadcasting, interactive TV, and IP
telephony.
∙ At Razumovsky Saratov State Medical University, Rostelecom installed 520 Wi-Fi access points,
making the university’s network the largest in the region.

Warranty Plus
The Warranty Plus service (extended warranty) increased the penetration of the user baseof the Home Internet service by 23 % year-on-year, with revenue up 46.3 % year-on-year.

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Sustainability Report 2022

B2C customer base,million subscribers

Service04. S – Social

2022

2021

Change, %Fibre broadband

10.3

9.8

5

IPTV

6.6

6.3

5

Local telephony services

8.9

9.9

–11

xDSL broadband

2.2

2.5

–13

Cable TV

4.3

4.4

–2

Service

2022

2021

Change, %Fibre broadband

391

380

3

IPTV

304

304

0.3

Local telephony services

221

222

–1

xDSL broadband

475

461

3

Cable TV

193

189

2

Service

2022

2021

Change, %B2B/B2G: Fibre broadband

0.7

0.7

3

Print service

B2B/B2G: Fibre broadband + VPN

1.1

1.0

8

In 2022, the Company launched Rostelecom Print Service, based on the Rostelecom SKIT1
multifunctional software platform and included in the Unified Register of Russian Programmes forElectronic Computers and Databases. Developed in-house, the system can be adjusted or adapted
to third-party solutions to meet customer requirements. The software solution is designed forcompanies operating a large fleet of printing equipment and looking to optimise consumables. The
service allows users to monitor printer consumables online and receive alerts when cartridge levels
are low, which helps to optimise the costs of printing and consumables, thus making a positive
impact on the environment while preventing possible data leaks.

Virtual PBX

0.245

0.218

13

2.5

2.6

–3

xDSL broadband

0.138

0.183

–24

Service

2022

2021

Change, %B2B/B2G: Fibre broadband

2,876

2,819

2

B2B/B2G: Fibre broadband + VPN

4,121

4,086

1

Virtual PBX

844

948

–11

Local telephony services

575

571

1

xDSL broadband

1,472

1,376

7

Fibre-optic services

Traditional services

B2C ARPU,
RUB

Fibre-optic services

Traditional services

Videoconferencing
Rostelecom launched Web-Videoconferencing, a new cloud-based service, providing a secure
videoconferencing platform with a user-friendly interface to businesses of all sizes. Basedentirely on Russian solutions, the service uses the Company’s cloud capacity and provides asecure environment for communication. The product targets organisations that use remotecommunications, from small and medium-sized enterprises to large corporations. The best choicefor SMEs is the standard functionality version, while large companies or organisations may want
to opt for a Personal Video Server with advanced features.

Voice assistantIn the Irkutsk Region, the Company completed a project to automate handling of citizens’ calls tonumber 122 based on the AI-driven Voice Assistant service. Patients can now request a house call,make an appointment, or find out whether their medical test results are ready – all via the single callcentre at 122. In contrast to voice response, a voice assistant handles over 80 % of calls, passing
on just 20 % of them to a human operator. Thanks to this solution, healthcare facilities are now
able to handle more requests from citizens during peak illness periods.

Customer basein the corporate
and government
segments, million
subscribers

Fibre-optic services
Internet accessTraditional services
Local telephony services

ARPU in the corporate
and government
segments, RUB

Fibre-optic services
Internet accessTraditional services

1

86

A system for control, stock counting, and technical support.

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Sustainability Report 2022

4.1.2. DIGITAL SERVICE ECOSYSTEMS

04. S – Social

Development of Rostelecom’s innovative products in 20221

B2C | Wink video service

B2B/G | Print service

In 2022, the Company maintained its focus on the productadoption, entering a new market in Armenia’s OTT segment
and adding Wink to all bundles offered by its mobile operator(Movie Tariff).

In 2022, the Company launched Rostelecom Print Service,
based on the Rostelecom SKIT multifunctional software
platform. The software solution is designed for companies
operating a large fleet of printing equipment and looking to
optimise consumables. The service allows users to monitor
printer consumables online and receive alerts when cartridge
levels are low, which helps to optimise the costs of printing andconsumables and prevent possible data leaks.

Another initiative was the 5-in-1 campaign, which made morethan 50 thousand movies from popular video services Wink,
more.tv, START, viju, and Kinopoisk available to customers.
Starting from 2022, users can purchase a subscription
to the VK music service in their Wink apps.
Thanks to a strategic partnership with VTB, it is now possible
to pay for any Wink content with the bank’s loyalty points.

B2C | Gaming services

B2B/G | Light Wi-Fi

From 2022, the igrovoy.rt.ru platform offers an opportunity toconnect gaming options of platforms such as Lesta Games, VK
Play, 4game, GFN Cloud Gaming, and VK Play Cloud as well as
to subscribe to Rostelecom Books from LitRes. An exclusive
daily rate was also launched. Tournaments held jointly withLesta Games have improved the core audience awareness ofthe marketed gaming services.

Based on the innovative Wi-Fi 2.0 platform, Rostelecom
developed Light Wi-Fi, a new product enabling customers to
set up two independent Wi-Fi networks, a public and a private
one for employees to access company devices and network
storages. To take up the service, no dedicated access points areneeded: the customer’s existing Wi-Fi router will suffice.

B2C | Smart Speaker

B2B/G | Videoconferencing

Distribution channels were expanded, and new promotional
mechanics were launched. Rostelecom commenced sales ofsmart speakers to other segments and regions and added
new voice functionality to Marusya, Wink’s integrated voiceassistant. We made voice control feature available with a wider
range of devices, launching it for Smart TV and Android devices
and making a number of integration improvements enabling
better interfaces between the smart speaker and Rostelecom’s
services going forward.

Rostelecom launched Web-Videoconferencing, a new cloudbased service, providing a secure videoconferencing platform
with a user-friendly interface to businesses of all sizes. Basedentirely on Russian solutions, the service uses the Company’s
own cloud capacity and provides a secure environment
for communication. The product targets organisations thatuse remote communications, from small and medium-sizedenterprises to large corporations.

Our mission is to provide convenient and high-quality digital
services for a comfortable life and effective business.
Rostelecom unlocks new digital opportunities in all areas of Russian citizens’ lives. The Company’s
innovative projects and strategic initiatives are changing the lives of millions of people for the
better. We develop and deploy digital products and solutions for society, business, and the state,creating a comfortable and accessible digital environment for all customers.
As part of its strategic plan for 2021–2025, the Company continues to evolve as Russia’s largest
integrated provider of digital services and solutions and a reliable partner for society, business,and the state.

1

88

For more details, see the Operating Review section.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Rostelecom’s sustainability projects

Digital services
and applications

04. S – Social∙ Rostelecom continued to focus on enabling personalised services and more easy-to-use
customer accounts and mobile apps, including for individual (My Rostelecom) and corporate
users (Smart Office).

In 2022, the Company continued to pursue projects that
improve the quality of life for its customers in focus areas
defined by the International Telecommunication Union,
among others.

Priorities
Capacity building

Network infrastructureand digital infrastructure

Environment

Projects∙ Business Drive Academy as a driver of demand for digital services∙ Rostelecom Lyceum∙ Rostelecom Books∙ Infrastructure development as a strategic priority for the Company, including mobile andsatellite communications networks and submarine cables.

∙ Rostelecom presented and launched in two Russian regions a platform for environmental
monitoring and safety control of industrial enterprises as well as regions and cities, capable ofcombining solutions from different vendors.
∙ The solution facilitates the collection and analysis of environmental data, encompassing air,water, and soil quality as well as background radiation level. Its functionality also offers fire andflood alerts, forecasting, and modelling environmental changes. The service also collects allenvironmental metrics for an area and automatically generates a list of risk mitigation prompts
and actions.

Telecommunications
for emergency services

Statistical data
Digital inclusion∙ In 2022, the first off-the-shelf big data solution was launched: a platform to analyse regional
tourist flow and guest profile.

∙ The Company is focused on deploying digital solutions through its project to bridge the digital
divide, educational projects for businesses, and automation in government.
Digital innovation
ecosystems

Public policy
and regulation∙ 112 services and satellite communications networks. Rostelecom signed an agreement with
Russia’s EMERCOM on information and expert and analytical partnership to team up on projects
to develop communications standards and innovative technologies for protecting population
and areas from emergencies and improve emergency alerting and communication.

∙ By developing data centres and cloud services as a separate cluster, the Company contributes
to building digital service ecosystems for businesses and the government.

∙ Under Rostelecom’s updated strategy, the Digital Region and the Public Sector Digital Services
and Products clusters promote government digitisation.
For more details on Rostelecom’s 2022 operating results, see Rostelecom’s Annual Report 2022.

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4.1.3. CONTRIBUTING TO THE DIGITAL ECONOMY.
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDEPJSC Rostelecom is involved in the Digital Economyof the Russian Federation national programme, approvedby the Russian Government in 2018.
The Company is building digital infrastructure to benefit the country. Implementation of major
infrastructure projects in the national interest is central to building a digital economy. Rostelecom
is fully committed to these vital projects of national significance. Each such project makes adifference for millions of people and is a milestone in the transition towards a common digitalspace.
In order to implement federal projects, Rostelecom relies on its own backbone data network,
cloud infrastructure, and integrated IT solutions, including those developed in Russia. All projects
are aligned with the strategy adopted by the Company and support the long-term goals of
Rostelecom and all its stakeholders.

Developing modern
communication channels
Enhancing the digital ID
and UBS¹ technology
and infrastructure

1

State
projects
and programmes

Implementing national
communications infrastructure
initiatives (Digital Economy,
Bridging the Digital Divide,
connection of social
infrastructure facilities)

Along with Rostelecom employees, over 150 experts representing the leading Russianorganisations, including major telecom operators, banks, and data centre operators, as well asfederal executive authorities and state-owned corporations actively participated in the work of
the Centre of Excellence. In 2022, the Centre of Excellence collaborated with members of thethemed working groups for communications networks, data centres, and digital platforms toreview 68 requests to change the project charters of the Information Infrastructure and Internet
Access through Satellite Development federal projects, prepare eight opinions, and take part insix meetings of the Information Infrastructure working group.

150

EXPERTS PARTICIPATED IN THE CENTRE
OF EXCELLENCE ACTIVITIESPriorities in partnering with government customers

Expanding the coverageof the core communications
infrastructure

Centre of Excellence activities under the Information
Infrastructure project
The Centre of Excellence within the Information
Infrastructure federal project (the Centre of Excellence),
set up at Rostelecom, continued to operate
throughout 2022.

GRI(203–1)

Delivering infrastructure
and providing
communication channels

04. S – Social

Digitising
key processes

In addition, specialists at the Centre of Excellence prepared and elaborated their proposals toimprove Russia’s performance in international digital economy rankings and organise initiatives
to deliver 10-Gbps+ internet speeds to tower blocks as well as took part in updating the Modern
and Promising Mobile Networks roadmap and establishing a working group of Radio Researchand Development Institute (NIIR) for drafting regulations related to the development of Internetof Things technologies.

Enabling operations of publicauthorities (E-Government
infrastructure, Digital Region)

In 2021, the Centre of Excellence developed roadmaps for measures to encourage operators’
investments in communications networks development through advanced technologies as well
as plans to develop 5G and the Internet of Things.

Enabling communicationof people and businesses
with the government(single digital profile,
expansion of the PublicServices Portal functionality)

These efforts involved defining further frequency conversion activities jointly with thegovernment, including in the 700 MHz band. Specialists at the Centre of Excellence prepared
proposals to improve Russia’s performance in international digital economy development ratings
and took part in drafting the strategy of the Digital Economy autonomous non-profit organisation
to 2024.

Unified Biometric System.

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Sustainability Report 2022

04. S – Social

Bridging the Digital Divide

Developing modern and promising mobile networks
in Russia

Rostelecom is a universal service provider and has a universal service obligation under theFederal Law On Communications with regard to the following services:∙ Mobile radio telephony services∙ Data transmission and provision of internet access via access points∙ Telephony services via payphones

In the second half of 2022, the Company finalised
and approved the charter of the roadmap for the Modern
and Promising Mobile Networks (MPMN) high-tech segment
until 2030.

To provide mobile radio telephony services, the Company is implementing the second phase of
its project to bridge the digital divide, under which base stations are installed in communities
with populations between 100 and 500 people to provide GSM voice services and LTE dataservices. Base stations are connected to the network via fibre links.

13,912ACCESS POINTS IN USE TO PROVIDE DATA SERVICES

In 2022, Rostelecom started to provide mobile radio telephony services in 655 communities,
fulfilling its obligations under the contract with the Russian Ministry of Digital Development,
Communications, and Mass Media in time and in full.
At the same time, in 2022, the Company provided mobile radio telephony services in
1,201 communities where mobile radio telephony networks had been deployed in previous years.
As at 2022-end, the number of active subscribers in these communities totalled 120 thousandpeople.
In 2022, data services and internet access were enabled through 13,912 access points connectedto the communications network via 122 thousand km of fibre. The communications infrastructure
was built under the first phase of the Bridging the Digital Divide project earlier.

In December 2022, the Russian Government and industry players signed an agreement of intent
to develop the MPMN high-tech segment.

250
base stations
to be installedby 2025-end

In accordance with Instruction No. MM-P10-10127 of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
Mikhail Mishustin, dated 16 June 2022, industrial competence centres were set up in orderto bring together digital leaders among industry players for the subsequent selection andimplementation of import substitution projects. Once reviewed and approved, projects for the
Mobile Communications industrial competence centre (ICC) are included in the MPMN roadmap.
In 2022, Rostelecom carried out the following activities under the MPMN agreement:∙ Prepared proposals for a white paper on promoting the MPMN high-tech segment∙ Entered into a forward contract with PROTEI R&D Centre for the supply of solutions for 4G/
LTE mobile radio telephony backbone networks. The solutions will be delivered and rolled
out in four phases from 2025 to 2027
∙ Entered into a forward contract for the delivery of products for 4G/LTE mobile radio telephonybackbone networks. The products will be delivered and rolled out in phases in cooperation
with a developer of software for base stations. The Company has prepared a development
plan until 2028. By 2025-end, the Company is planning to supply at least 250 base stations
included in the unified register of Russian radio electronic products, subject to the list
approved by the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media∙ The Company entered into a forward contract for the supply of equipment from the relevant
product line with product shipments expected to start in 2025
In addition, the Russian Government built a mechanism to support particularly significant
projects using the resources of the Russian Information Technology Development Foundation.
The Mobile Communications ICC’s site was used to develop a project designed to finalise andimplement a 4G core network, which was recognised by the Presidium of the Government
Commission on Digital Development and the Use of Information Technologies to Improve theQuality of Life and Business Environment as particularly significant and successfully passed thecompetitive selection of the Russian Information Technology Development Foundation. The
project will be implemented by Rostelecom and the solution’s developer, PROTEI R&D Centre.
The grant allocated to the project totalled RUB 1 billion.
Key focus areas of the MPMN roadmap in 2023 will include its monitoring and update as wellas ensuring the preparation of proposals for a white paper on promoting the MPMN high-tech
segment.

Telephony services were provided in 2022 using 35,661 payphones. All types of connections,
except for international, are free of charge for the users according to the Company’s decision.

94

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Sustainability Report 2022

04. S – Social

New communication internet technologies

As part of the Digital Technologies federal project
implemented in Russia under the Digital Economy national
programme since 2021, government-supported steps
are being taken to develop new communication internet
technologies (NCIT).
Rostelecom is involved in the NCIT development effort
under an agreement of intent signed with the Russian
Government in 2020 and renewed in December 2022.
This agreement is primarily implemented using the roadmap for the New Communication
Internet Technologies high-tech segment as approved by the Government Commission on
Digital Development and the Use of Information Technologies to Improve the Quality of Life
and Business Environment.1 In December 2022, the NCIT roadmap was updated along with theagreement.
The NCIT segment includes communications, leisure, and gaming services as well as technologies
and solutions that support further development of these services (search and recommendation,
intelligent content generation and adaptation, generated content recognition, and virtual andaugmented reality technologies as well as related products and solutions).
The roadmap envisages the development of such technologies and solutions through a rangeof measures of financial and non-financial support for NCIT-enabled projects and products.
During 2022, Rostelecom representatives were strongly engaged in the work of expert andthematic NCIT commissions at the Russian Information Technology Development Foundation andof the panel of expert judges at the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises(FASIE).
In 2022, the free accelerator programme of the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF) for
IT entrepreneurs implementing NCIT projects and focused on the Russian market was continued.
The programme has been developed with the support of PJSC Rostelecom and the Russian
Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media. In 2022, three NCIT projectcompetitions were held for participation in accelerator programmes, and three accelerator
programmes were completed, involving Rostelecom representatives as external experts andmembers of the contest’s jury panel.
Rostelecom is committed to enhancing its proprietary NCIT products and services, such as the
Wink video service, game market, and Rostelecom Lyceum online service, while also developing
its own CDN2 network.
During 2022, PJSC Rostelecom also provided regular expert advice and coordination forengagements between the NCIT roadmap stakeholders.
Proposals for improving the operating environment for IT companies focused on NCIT projects
in Russia have also been prepared and submitted to the Russian Ministry of Digital Development,
Communications, and Mass Media.

1
2

Minutes No. 25 dated 23 July 2021.
Content delivery network – a large online network of servers geographically distributed across several data centres to serve content to end users with highavailability and high performance.

96

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Sustainability Report 2022

4.1.4. DIGITAL EQUALITY INTEGRATED SOCIAL PROGRAMME

04. S – Social

In 2014, Rostelecom and the Social Fund of Russia (until 1 January 2023: the Pension Fund of
Russia) launched the ABC of the Internet charitable project. The project offers senior citizens
and people with disabilities materials and equipment to train in computer, smartphone, andinternet skills as well as the basics of cybersecurity. After taking this training, retirees will be able
to make appointments with doctors, pay their bills, make arrangements for trips to relatives, andcommunicate with their families and friends without leaving their home.
All training materials are available on the project website. Computer classes have been organised
in libraries, branches of the Social Fund of Russia, and other public venues. Training is alsoavailable online.

GRI(203–1)

For more details on the project, see azbukainterneta.ru

The content of the ABC of the Internet educational portal is supplemented and updated on anannual basis. In 2022, the Company released two modules on online government services andsmartphone basics.
The internet portal is visited by more than 20 thousand users every month, with about 9,000
people registered in the For Teachers section.

The Digital Equality programme is geared to address
the needs of vulnerable social groups: retirees, people
with disabilities, children in orphanages, and children
in large and low-income families.

Webinars for ABC of the Internet teachers and course organisers contributed significantly tothe project’s development in 2022. The first webinar, held in May, was attended by about 1,500
students from 55 regions, with 1,200 applications from 65 regions submitted for the September
webinar.

450
thousand retirees
have participatedin the programme
since 2014

In 2022, a group for teachers was set up in the VKontakte social network to post project updates,
links to teachers’ developments related to retirees’ training, and descriptions of best practices
from different regions. The group also serves as a platform for teachers to socialise and shareexperience and materials.

Under the programme, Rostelecom:∙ provides people with access to the telecommunications technology∙ provides a toll-free federal phone number (8 800)
∙ improves telecommunications literacy∙ develops remote learning∙ establishes educational portals and supports their activities∙ promotes socialisation and practical application of acquired skills∙ ensures internet safety for children, the elderly, and other at-risk groups.

The ABC of the Internet project includes an annual contest, Thank You, Internet!, where users
share their training experience. In 2022, 4,559 entries from 78 Russian regions were submitted
to the contest. Residents of small and medium towns and rural areas accounted for 80 % of theparticipants.
86.3 % of entrants are users of the Public Services Portal. Many working retirees who took partin the contest (32.9 %) noted that computer studies allowed them to learn a new profession orretain their job when their employers were rightsizing their workforce.

In 2022, projects under the programme were aimed at improving computer literacy of seniorcitizens, bridging the digital divide in society and encouraging interest in IT among young users
as their potential future career, providing remote learning and socialisation for children deprivedof parental care, supporting social entrepreneurship, and building a safe internet environment.
Training taken
by contest participants(participants could
attend several sites), %ABC of the Internet

2014

2015

2016

2017

In social service
centres45 %With the support from
non-governmentalorganisations

11 %In libraries

25 %In educational
institutions

10 %In boarding homes

8%

At home with
the involvementof a social worker

5%

Also attended
other courses

9%

Project results
Indicator

2020

2021

2022

Number of senior participants

38,345

43,106

48,872

Funds allocated to the programme, RUB
thousand

2,250

2,250

2,250

9

10

12

Number of training modules
98

In December 2022, the Company launched the Thank You, Internet! channel on the Zen platform,featuring the best entries submitted to the contest.
The ABC of the Internet plans for 2023:∙ Expand continuing education opportunities by developing new modules and putting together
new training courses∙ Engage with non-profit organisations developing offline and online courses under the ABCof the Internet programme99Sustainability Report 2022

Learn the Internet – Manage It! digital literacy project

Project results

Indicator

2020

2021

2022

150,000>200,000>286,000

Learn the Internet – Manage It!
nationwide online championshipparticipants

21,50016,00010,000Funds allocated to the project
by PJSC Rostelecom, RUB

998,000

998,000

499,000

Registered portal users

Key project initiatives

2020

2021

Nationwide online championship (21.5 thousand participants)
Family IT marathon (70 teams from 24 Russian regions)
School of Real Deeds
An exhibition web tournament held in Stockholm, Sweden, as part of the 31st marketing
workshop of the Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR)∙ 11 online and offline educational events∙ Russian financial IT literacy cyber dictation (jointly with the Russian State Children’s Library,
the Bank of Russia, and the Russian Ministry of Culture)∙ Open online internet-proficiency tournament for Moscow cadets co-organised with
the Moscow centre Patriot.Sport∙∙∙∙

04. S – Social

In 2012, Rostelecom launched the Learn the Internet –Manage It! project jointly with the Coordination Centre
for TLD .RU/.РФ.
Its main purpose is bridging the digital divide in Russian society by improving digital literacy
among young users and encouraging their interest in IT professions. School and university
students can become advanced internet users and develop safe internet surfing skills.
The project is organised as a gaming portal: training is delivered through arcade games, situation
puzzles, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, and quizzes.

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

Nationwide online championship (16 thousand participants)
Family IT marathon (120 teams from 40 Russian regions)
100LETCRYPTO quiz tournament for school students
World of Crypto open quiz tournament for school students
Open online internet-proficiency tournament for Moscow cadets co-organised with
the Moscow centre Patriot.SportFor more details on the project, see игра-интернет.рф

Since its inception, Learn the Internet – Manage It! has grown from a digital literacy project toa multi-project geared to the needs of school and university students, teachers, and parents.
The project features local online tournaments, a family IT marathon, and the Nationwide Online
Championship on Cyber Literacy. The tournament participants can win awards and champion
titles by competing against IT experts.
In 2022, 107 family teams from 40 Russian regions competed in the 6th family IT marathon. The
11th Nationwide Championship for School and University Students attracted 10 thousand people.

2022

100

∙ Nationwide online championship (10 thousand participants)∙ Family IT marathon (over 100 teams from 40 Russian regions)∙ Competition among teachers for developing an educational resource to promote digital
literacy∙ School of Real Deeds∙ Closed online tournament within the Cadet Sports Competition (399 teams, over 2,000
participants)∙ 21 online and offline educational events

As at 2022-end, over 286 thousand people from all federal districts of Russia participated in
the project.
In 2023, the project will once again feature a nationwide online championship, a family IT
marathon, cyber literacy quizzes, and online tournaments within the Cadet Sports Competition.
Future plans include updating the main project sections: new learning modules will be added
to the gaming portal, new terms will be added to the internet dictionary, and the quiz content
will be audited and updated. The number of project users is expected to reach 300 thousand.

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Sustainability Report 2022

GROWTH project

1,500

children from 65 childcare
institutions in 39 Russian
regions provided with accessto high-quality remotelearning since the project
launchSome GROWTH graduates
are now students at
Lomonosov Moscow State
University and National
Research University Higher
School of Economics

Social Impact Award

Rostelecom has been running the unique social project
GROWTH in collaboration with the autonomous non-profit
organisation of the same name since 2014. The project aims
to implement remote learning and socialisation initiatives forchildren in orphanages and foster homes as well as children
deprived of parental care.

Together with Impact Hub Moscow, Rostelecom selects
the winners of the Russian stage of the Social Impact Award(SIA) competition, an international programme supporting
young social entrepreneurs. In 2020, the Russian stageof SIA was renamed to 90 Days Challenge.

Project results

Project results

Indicator

2020

2021

2022

Number of participants

312

312

375

Number of institutions
covered

35

35

40

Number of GROWTH project
participants who passed
the state exams

151

157

178

Demand for the project also increased dramatically in 2022, with the number of classes in the firsthalf of the year up 47 % year-on-year. The children’s attitude to education is changing: they are
more enthusiastic about their studies and ask for more classes.
In the future, the Company intends to expand the project to more regions.
Only 11th grade and college graduates who wanted to enrol at a higher education institution took the state exams in 2020. All those who had taken the exams
were enrolled.

102

2020

2021

2022
The Company identifies four features that make the project stand out:
∙ The target audience of the project is children in orphanages and foster homes. The project
aims to develop, educate, and facilitate the employment of children deprived of parental care
∙ Remote learning uses electronic textbooks and multimedia materials (video lessons, teachers’audio and video comments)∙ The project is run by professional teachers who have been preparing graduates for taking theUnified State Examinations and enrolling at higher education institutions for several years∙ The project attracted volunteers and teachers from other countries. The GROWTH remotelearning team includes German, Dutch, French, and US citizens
In 2021, Rostelecom helped merge two projects, GROWTH and Polden (Midday), into one
educational programme, enabling the expansion of the project’s geographical footprint. Ten new
institutions joined the programme. In 2022, the project was supported by the Murmansk, Vologda,
and Omsk Regions.

104. S – Social

249

people from 109 Russiancities have taken partin the 90 Days Challenge
programme over the eight
years of its existence.
222 projects were launched,and 70 % of themwere scaled up

44

12

entriescities and towns

finalists

winners

189

41

46

7

entriescities and towns

finalists

winners

191

44

20

3

entries

4,000

21

cities and towns

finalists

winners

SIA is a programme to support social entrepreneurs at early stages of their projects. The Universityof Vienna developed the programme in 2010. The competition is held in 20 European countries.
Programme participants from across Russia propose business ideas to address social andeconomic issues.
Rostelecom announces a special category, Internet for a Better World, acknowledging people
behind projects driven by internet technology. It can be an internet product or the use of theinternet as a key enabler.
In 2022, 20 projects from 16 Russian cities and towns made it to the finals. The finalists represented
diverse geographies – from Vladivostok in the Far East to Petrozavodsk in the northwest of Russia.
In addition, project initiators joined a 3-month business incubation programme, learning subjects
from consumer research to business plan development.
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Sustainability Report 2022

4.1.5. PROMOTING CYBERSECURITY

04. S – Social

Child protection
In 2022, Rostelecom and its partners conducted a studyof technologies to protect children on the internet.
The study identified the main risks for children on the internet, highlighted the main technologicalsolutions that can minimize these risks, and offered recommendations to key stakeholders:the government, educational institutions, commercial enterprises, parents, non-profit organisations,and IT developers.

Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital
Environment
In 2021, Rostelecom co-founded the Alliance for theProtection of Children in the Digital Environment. Its mission
is to promote a safe online environment for children,
where they can communicate, learn, and discover newopportunities and entertainment.
Key commitments of alliance members include:∙ solutions for enhanced protection against unwanted information∙ identifying and deleting illegal materials∙ a dialogue with the government and international organisations∙ content promoting positive values∙ favourable environment for safe development and communication∙ improved digital literacy of children and parents.
The founding companies work together to develop projects to promote and ensure cybersecurity
for teachers, children, and their parents.

Digital Ethics of Childhood Charter
As a co-founder of the Alliance for the Protection ofChildren in the Digital Environment, Rostelecom believes it isimportant to prepare children for living in the modern world.
To develop self-regulation mechanisms and promote social responsibility principles, the Alliancefor the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment published the Digital Ethics of Childhood
Charter. The document contains values and rules of conduct to bring together the public,
government, and professional community and coordinate their efforts to ensure a beneficial andsafe digital environment for children.
The Charter’s core principles:∙ Respect for the child as a personality∙ Joint responsibility of all those involved in children’s upbringing for their safety in the digital
environment∙ Maintaining the confidentiality of children’s personal data
∙ An inclusive approach to children with different needs and characteristics∙ Maintaining core values in the online space

In 2022, Rostelecom also released a book, A Beautiful, Dangerous, Cybersecure World, containing
practical tips for children and parents: how to avoid trouble in the digital world, recognise a scam,and decide on the right course of action. The book is distributed through the Company’s branches,
while an electronic version is available at https://www.company.rt.ru/social/book_cybersecurity/.
In addition, Rostelecom has developed a free online cybersecurity training course for parents, How
to Protect Your Child against Risks on the Internet? The course will teach them how algorithms,
influencers, and big companies affect a child’s choices and beliefs, why cyberbullying is dangerous,
and how to resist online bullying as well as how to protect a child’s personal data online. Videolessons are available at https://www.company.rt.ru/social/cyber-lessons/.
Rostelecom units hold dedicated events to promote cybersecurity across their regions ofoperation, including launches for the new book, A Beautiful, Dangerous, Cybersecure World,with copies of the book donated to schools and libraries, dedicated lessons hosted by Company
employees in schools and universities, and events for teachers and parents.

1,500

SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM BURYATIA TOOK PART IN THE TIPSFROM CYBER TRAFFIC LIGHTS EDUCATIONAL PROJECTDURING THE 2022 SUMMER VACATIONS

From 1 June, specialists with the youth centre of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Policy of the
Republic of Buryatia and the DobroDom volunteer resource centre, supported by Rostelecom,gave lessons in summer camps and on outdoor school grounds. The most active participantsin the lessons received a certificate with a code giving access to free training on the Lyceum
educational portal.

The Charter participants are state-owned, commercial, and non-profit organisations, educational
institutions, non-governmental and professional associations, institutions, and specialists thatvoluntarily joined the Charter. Hundreds of organisations have already joined the Charter.
104

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Sustainability Report 2022

4.1.6. SUPPORTING OUR REGIONS OF OPERATION

For more details
on federal-level charitableand volunteer programmes,
see the Philanthropy
and Volunteering section.

Central Federal District

Rostelecom units actively participate in public life in theirregions of operation. Below are the key highlights andoutcomes of the activities across Rostelecom branches
in 2022, consolidated by Russia’s federal district.

CFD

CentralSiberian

Volga

Southernand North
Caucasian

Urals

Northwestern

Far Eastern

19.2

8.1

16.9

8.6

8.6

8.7

4.8

Key social andenvironmental
programmes run
by Rostelecomin the region

Key partners

Taxes,
RUB bn4.9

4.9

19,236

RUB bn —Tax payments
to the regional budget

Employees>100
Environmental, social,and charitable initiatives

Key highlights

Headcount,
thousand04. S – Social

1.4

1.5

1.4

1.4

1.8

0.9

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

IT Family project
Safe Internet and the ABC of the Internet
Internet access for social infrastructure facilities
Bridging the Digital Divide 2.0
Support for educational institutions and social centres

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

SO-Deystvie, an autonomous non-profit organisation
Quantorium children’s technology park
Immortal Regiment of Russia, a national public civil-patriotic movement
Regional schools and universities
STEP IT Academy

Impact in action
As part of environmental initiatives, more than 100 kg of plastic bottle caps, waste paper, andbatteries were collected and sent for recycling.

ESG projects

100

95

123

79

47

72

45

Nearly 300 family teams participated in the IT Family project, aimed at teaching internet literacy
to older people and their grandchildren.
Assistance was provided to forced migrants from Ukraine, the Lugansk People’s Republic, and theDonetsk People’s Republic. Branches support refugees by organising recreational and educational
activities. The site of Rostelecom’s Voronezh branch was granted the status of a temporary
accommodation centre for refugees.
The Company has built more than 150 base stations in small communities with less than 500
inhabitants.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Siberian Federal District

1.44
RUB bn —Tax payments
to the regional budget

SFD

Volga Federal District

1.5

8,140

RUB bn —Tax payments
to the regional budget

Employees

95

VFD

Environmental, social,and charitable initiatives

Key social andenvironmental
programmes run
by Rostelecomin the region

Key partners

200
children received
New Year gifts

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

04. S – Social

Cybersecurity activities to support the Digital Ethics of Childhood Charter
ABC of the Internet
Become a Santa charitable campaign
Polden (Midday) educational volunteer project
Tips from Cyber Traffic Lights educational project
Box of Courage∙ Retired-online, a Novosibirsk-based regional NGO∙ Little Ray of Light, a Novosibirsk-based municipal children’s public organisation of families withdisabled children∙ NOSE Hospital Clowns, an autonomous non-profit organisation supporting children’s socialand cultural rehabilitation∙ Altai territorial branch of the Russian Children’s Fund∙ Navigator Esports Club∙ Ministry of Tourism and Youth Policy of the Kemerovo Region – Kuzbass∙ The Club of Kind Persons federal charitable foundation∙ Ministry of Sport and Youth Policy of the Republic of Buryatia and DobroDom volunteer
resource centre∙ Irkutsk branch of the Russian Children’s Fund
∙ Road of Kindness, an autonomous non-profit organisation∙ Omsk IT community∙ Omsk foundation for the support of mass and children’s sports∙ Krasnoyarsk Region without Orphans, a regional foundation∙ Dobro24.ru, a charitable foundation

Impact in actionMore than 150 cybersecurity classes were organised in Siberia, attended by over 4,000 school
and university students.
Novosibirsk hosted the Cyber Ethics Month, an event comprising lectures and master classes.
The project was recognized as the Company’s best social project of the year.
A total of 663 retirees attended the ABC of the Internet computer literacy classes held at morethan 10 offline venues throughout the year.

16,869
Employees

123
Environmental, social,and charitable initiatives

Key social andenvironmental
programmes run
by Rostelecomin the region

Key partners>1.5

tonnes of humanitarian
aid were collected bybranch employees andhanded over to forced
migrants from the Donetsk
People’s Republic andLugansk People’s Republic(food, clothes, household
chemicals, and medicines)

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

Cybersecurity for children and adults
ABC of the Internet
Polden (Midday) volunteer projectLight Up – a road accident prevention campaign
Kindness on the Line – internet for children’s hospital patients
The Kind Christmas Tree and Become a Santa volunteer campaigns∙ Quantorium∙ Regional branches of the Russian Union of Pensioners∙ Nizhny Novgorod regional branch of the Russian Children’s Fund, Nizhny Novgorod Cancer
Research Centre, and AIF. Kind Heart and Evita charitable foundations∙ Media Literacy Centre, an autonomous non-profit organisation∙ The Pet centre for stray animals∙ Centre for Social Innovation, an autonomous non-profit organisation

Impact in action
Over 2,500 people are covered by the Cybersecurity project. A total of 31 events were held.
New Year gifts were collected for 250 children left without parental care and adults in need.
Over 2,500 retirees took the ABC of the Internet computer literacy course.
As part of the Telecom: How It Works project, Rostelecom prepared a series of video
lessons for students of Quantorium children’s technology parks, devoted to the operation of
telecommunications services. The series was followed by a quiz involving almost 200 school
students from across Russia. The winners received a subscription to Rostelecom Lyceum anduseful prizes.
A voluntary cleanup in the Orenburg branch, involving Rostelecom employees, collected almost
8 tonnes of litter.

New Year gifts were collected for 200 children.
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Sustainability Report 2022

Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts

Urals Federal District

1.39

1.38

RUB bn —Tax payments
to the regional budget

SFD/
NCFD

Key social andenvironmental
programmes run
by Rostelecomin the region

Key partners

8,622

RUB bn —Tax payments
to the regional budget

Employees

79

UFD

Environmental, social,and charitable initiatives∙ Collaboration with Quantorium children’s technology parks∙ Telecom support and expert assistance to youth forums in southern Russia: Selias (Astrakhan),Young Wave and Rostov (Rostov Region), and Mashuk (Pyatigorsk)∙ Online safety lessons for school students∙ Youth Days in regions and sporting events∙ Quantorium∙ Krasnodar regional branch of the Russian Children’s Fund, Bluebird, AIF. Kind Heart, Rusfond,and Geography of Good
∙ Dobry-Yug, a Krasnodar-based regional charitable organisation∙ 19 higher education institutions of the Southern and North Caucasus Federal Districts∙ PchelinHouse Art Residence (Krasnodar Territory)∙ Warm Artists (Volgograd), an autonomous non-profit organisation, and One Theatre (Krasnodar)∙ KAVKAZ RUN, an autonomous non-profit organisation

Impact in action

04. S – Social

8,636
Employees

47
Environmental, social,and charitable initiatives

Key social andenvironmental
programmes run
by Rostelecomin the region

Key partners∙ Outdoor summer movie theatre in Mayakovsky Park in Yekaterinburg∙ The Education and Modern Technologies digital chum in Yamal∙ Parizh Half Marathon – fibre infrastructure rollout in the village of Parizh, Chelyabinsk Region,
to provide connectivity to the organizers of the sporting event∙ Rostelecom’s smart street lamps save millions of kilowatts of electricity in the Southern Urals∙ Cybersecurity for children

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

Regional government authorities
Regional schools offering additional education
Regional branches of the Social Fund of Russia
Regional youth centre
Khanty-Mansiysk Philharmonic Society
Chelyabinsk Airport
Ural-Siberian Heat and Power Company
Esports Federation of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area
National Library of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area
Multifunctional Public Service Centre of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area
Sovremennik youth centre, Noyabrsk

Rostelecom and Quantorium children’s technology parks held about 20 educational events
attended by thousands of children, in addition to online visitors.

Impact in action

Telecom support and expert assistance were provided to youth forums in southern Russia: Selias(Astrakhan), Young Wave and Rostov (Rostov Region), and Mashuk (Pyatigorsk). The events
attracted a total of over 5,000 participants, in addition to online visitors.

The Company provided charitable aid to buy New Year gifts for children from orphanages in the
Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, and Chelyabinsk Regions and the Perm Territory. Gifts were presented tomore than 200 children.

The Company donated RUB 3.6 million for medical treatment of children in the Southern and North
Caucasus Federal Districts.

Over 1,700 kg of food and essential items were collected for refugees from the Donetsk People’s
Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic.

Over 6.5 tonnes of humanitarian aid worth more than RUB 1.4 million in total were collected by
employees and handed over to forced migrants from the Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk
People’s Republic. In addition, Rostelecom donated RUB 1.3 million to help charitable foundations
buy food and medicines.

The Company organised the screening of six films on cybersecurity at the Infotech Juniorchildren’s IT conference and the Quantorium technology parks in Tyumen and Kurgan. More than
500 school and university students took part in Infotech Junior.
As a career guidance event for college students of Khanty-Mansiysk, Rostelecom held a guided
tour of the Company’s divisions to give them a glimpse of telecom expert routines.

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Northwestern Federal District

1.75
RUB bn —Tax payments
to the regional budget

NWFD

Far Eastern Federal District

0.93

8,737

RUB bn —Tax payments
to the regional budget

Employees

72

FEFD

Environmental, social,and charitable initiatives

Key social andenvironmental
programmes run
by Rostelecomin the region

Key partners∙ Advisory, mentoring, and methodological support for Quantorium children’s technology parks∙ Advisory, mentoring, and methodological support for IT-Cube additional education centres
for children∙ ABC of the Internet∙ Become a Santa charitable campaign for child care institutions∙ Online safety lessons for school students

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∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
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∙

04. S – Social

Kidsberg, children’s city of professions
IT-Cube, digital education centre for children
Quantorium, technology parks for children
Arkhangelsk Region Esports Federation
Veles, animal protection association
Yantarny, sports centre
Petrozavodsk and Pskov State Universities, Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University
Karelian Volunteer Development Centre
LizaAlert and North Star search and rescue teams in the Komi Republic
The National Library and the National Gallery of the Komi Republic
Gymnasium No. 24, City of Arkhangelsk
United Volunteer Centre, Murmansk Region
Angel Kids of Murman, Murmansk regional NGO for children with disabilities and their parents
Laplandiya, Murmansk regional centre of additional education
Master OK, Saint Petersburg centre for social and labour market adaptation of people withdisabilities

4,831
Employees

45
Environmental, social,and charitable initiatives

Key social andenvironmental
programmes run
by Rostelecomin the region

Key partners

The Concerned Citizen project
Environmental cleanup campaigns
Help to people in difficult life situations
Support and development of talented children and young people, with a focus on modern
technology∙ ABC of the Internet∙∙∙∙∙ Union In the Name of Kindness∙ National Council on Corporate Volunteering of the Primorye Territory∙ Dobrota Blagoveshchensk Comprehensive Social Service Centre, state autonomous institutionof the Amur Region∙ Robotics Development Centre∙ IT-Cube, digital education centre for children∙ Sakhalin Regional Universal Scientific Library

Impact in action
542 kg of humanitarian aid were collected for refugees from the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s
Republics.
545 retirees took the ABC of the Internet computer literacy classes.
135 children received New Year gifts as part of the Become a Santa campaign.

Impact in action

Rostelecom provided telecommunications services at the 7th Children of Asia International Sports
Games in Vladivostok.

In 2022, Rostelecom was named the brand of the year in Saint Petersburg by readers of
the Delovoy Peterburg newspaper.

Under the Bridging the Digital Divide project, in 2022, the Company provided four small
communities in the Primorye Territory with 4G mobile communications and high-speed mobileinternet.

Rostelecom received an award for its contribution to the social development of the Novgorod
Region from the Novgorod Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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4.1.7. PHILANTHROPY AND VOLUNTEERING

04. S – Social

I Run and Help charity sports projectIn 2018, Rostelecom joined efforts with the Life Line Charity
Foundation to launch the all-Russian sports project I Run
and Help. The project is supported by Stayfitt.

11

Rostelecom launches and supports environmental,
educational, sports, and cultural initiatives that aim
to benefit the residents of our regions of operation.

244

significant social projects
delivered by Rostelecom
in 2022275.4
RUB m of charitable
investments

RUB m raised for children’s
endoprosthesis operations
through the I Run and Helpproject since its launch

Rostelecom’s sustainability strategy embraces philanthropy and volunteering. Its core pillars arefounded in the Company’s external social policy.
Rostelecom Group’s key philanthropy priorities:∙ Building up an ecosystem around sustainable development∙ Partnering with government authorities to develop the telecom industry and ensure information
security∙ Working with regional administrations on national information development projects andprogrammes to bridge the digital divide out in the Russian regions∙ Ensuring a stable social environment and improving the quality of life for Russian citizens
Rostelecom has approved its performance evaluation procedure and built an organisational
structure and a management team responsible for philanthropy:∙ The Charity Committee is an authorised body under the Management Board and is responsible
for efficiently allocating budgeted funds∙ Rostelecom’s External Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility Department (ECD)
and similar departments at its branches coordinate our philanthropic and charitable activities∙ ECD specialists in regional units and the Headquarters gather and compile data using a model
assessment system∙ The Management Board evaluates philanthropic and charitable activities and the results of oursocial investments
The consistent development of existing projects coupled with the launch of new initiatives
evidences the systematic nature of our philanthropy. Company employees are becoming
increasingly engaged with volunteer and environmental projects.
The key areas of focus in 2022 were promotion of sports, fundraising to treat children with rarediseases, social adaptation of children from orphanages, and support for corporate volunteer
projects.

Purpose: jointly accumulating points for running, which Rostelecom “converts” into RUB 1 million
and donates to the Life Line Charity Foundation to treat children with rare diseases
Participants: about 5,000 employees and volunteers
Reach: all the Company’s regions of operation
Synergy: providing assistance to sick children, team building, and promoting an active lifestyleamong employees
In the Stayfitt mobile app, employees can read useful materials on sports and healthy lifestyle
as well as view chats, challenges, and participants’ activity feeds by sport.
In 2022, Company employees took part in a number of runs, including the major ones – theMoscow Marathon and the Zabeg.RF national half marathon. Rostelecom employee volunteers
set up staging areas and helped to ensure comfortable conditions for sports event participants.
In 2023, the Company plans to further expand the project, involving more employees both asrunners and as volunteers, including those from subsidiaries and affiliates that did not participate
in the project before, and also engaging top managers in sporting events.

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04. S – Social

The project has won several grant competitions, including the one held by the Presidential
Grants Foundation with the Bound Up: New Chapter interactive course on value choices basedon fiction plots, implemented with PJSC Rostelecom’s support in 2021–2022.

Polden (Midday) volunteer project
Since 2013, Rostelecom and the Social Development
Foundation Polden (Midday) have been running
an interactive educational programme for children
in orphanages and foster homes, providing early career
guidance and social adaption. Other play-based learning
programmes in place are Golden Age, Digital Equality,and Life Trajectory.

In 2022, to familiarise future volunteers with the foundation and its work principles, Polden
prepared a training course: https://stepik.org/121851.
In 2023, PJSC Rostelecom volunteers continued the Russia Starts Here course, holding gaming
sessions in 11 orphanages.
Russia Starts Here is launching an interdisciplinary programme to improve knowledge ofregional specifics across the country by establishing links between disciplines and motivating
adolescents in difficult life situations to learn. PJSC Rostelecom volunteers receive relevant
training and participate in special games (to prevent burnout), both offline and online.

706

The employee volunteer project competition

educational activities
involved more than
410 children from12 orphanages
during 2013–2022

Rostelecom encourages volunteer initiativesof its employees and holds a volunteer project competition
to promote the best of them. The competition methodology
allows the expert panel to select priority projects focusedon education, health, sports, care, the environment,or spiritual heritage, while a systematic approach enables
tracking each project’s performance and adjusting
their dynamics accordingly.

15
gaming modules
were developed

540
employees submitted morethan 175 applications to enter
the competition between
2018 and 2022

Purpose: motivating children to build their career and academic pathways, familiarising themwith telecom jobs, broadening their horizons, and helping them understand the employment
mechanism
Participants: Company volunteers

48

Purpose: motivating employees to get involved in corporate volunteering
Participants: Rostelecom employees
Reach: all the Company’s regions of operation
Synergy: encouraging employee initiative, expanding volunteer activities, and rolling out bestpractices in the Company’s operating regions
The competition’s expert panel comprises Company employees and representatives of nonprofit organisations and charities. The panel judges projects on the relevance of the issue
addressed, how well the project has been planned out, social impact, creativity and novelty, andsynergies with other social projects. The winners are awarded project grants.
In 2022, 10 volunteer initiatives won the competition: career guidance for children withdisabilities, computer literacy courses for the elderly, sporting events for Company employees
and their families, living history lessons dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, and environmental
projects.

volunteer projects
announced winners

Reach: five regions (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Irkutsk, and Vladivostok)
Synergy: helping children in need and building the Company’s talent pool
Project website: thenoon.ru
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04. S – Social

Downside Up and Love Syndrome charities
Rostelecom has been providing support to the Downside
Up and Love Syndrome charitable foundations since 2017.
The charities help people with Down syndrome and also
work to raise public awareness of people with an extra
chromosome. Love Syndrome is a fundraising partnerof the Downside Up foundation. It also develops the Sports
for Good and Athlete for Good projects, where everyone
can combine their love of sport with charity.

1.2
RUB m raised by Rostelecom
employees through online
charity campaigns of theLove Syndrome foundation

Purpose: supporting people with Down syndrome
Reach: nationwide
Synergy: providing psychological, paedagogical, and social assistance for physical and personal
development, unlocking potential, promoting acceptance and inclusion of people with Down
syndrome in society. Developing volunteer activities at the Company
Project websites: downsideup.org and sindromlubvi.ru
Rostelecom helps the Downside Up foundation to conduct online training for psychology andpaedagogics specialists and parents of children with Down syndrome. Recordings of the training
sessions as well as digitised materials adapted for self-study are stored in the foundation’s
database and are available to everyone. With Rostelecom’s support, specialised methodologicalliterature has been published for 2,000 families raising children with Down syndrome.
Since 2020, Rostelecom has been participating in online charity campaigns of the Love Syndrome
foundation. Their goal is to raise awareness about the needs of special people and raise funds
to provide advice and classes for children with Down syndrome. All in all, Rostelecom employees
have collected more than RUB 1.2 million.
In 2022, with Rostelecom’s support, the Downside Up foundation grew its website traffic andattracted more families to participate in the foundation’s programmes. The additional funds raised
were used to increase the number of educational videos prepared by the foundation specialists
for parents.
In 2023, Rostelecom and Downside Up plan to jointly provide information and methodologicalsupport to parents who raise children with Down syndrome as well as to specialists who provide
professional assistance to people with an extra chromosome, their relatives, and friends. To
this end, new themed content modules on developing and educating children with Down
syndrome will be prepared and published in the digital library of the Downside Up foundation athttps://downsideup.org/elektronnaya-biblioteka/.
Another ongoing project is the development of an advanced digital environment to build speechand communication skills in preschool children with Down syndrome with the help of the Logobank
digital speech trainer. Plans include designing the layouts of new exercises, which aim to build anddevelop phonetic and phonemic awareness as well as encourage speech development in children
with Down syndrome, for the Logobank speech trainer platform https://logobank.downsideup.org/.

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Class Magazine

UchimZnaem/WeTeachTheyLearnsocio-educational project

Since 2015, Rostelecom has been collaborating with
the Class Magazine interactive project. This popular modern
magazine for children aged 7–13 covers three main topics:
education, information, and culture/entertainment.

Rostelecom has been supporting the social and educational
project UchimZnaem/WeTeachTheyLearn since 2017.
The project aims to support children undergoing longterm inpatient treatment by providing lessons that follow
the Russian school curriculum and by offering further
education programmes.

Purpose: contributing to delivering a safer internet for children and adolescents289

video presentations posted
as part of the Cool Dad
contest in 2022

04. S – Social

Participants: Company experts
Reach: nationwide
Synergy: promoting educational initiatives, including in computer literacy, engaging children andadolescents in social activities, and stimulating school students’ interest in reading
Project website: www.classmag.ru
Since 2014, Rostelecom has been supporting the Being Kind Is Class! contest, for which children
up to 14 submit their stories, photos, or drawings about their good deeds.
In 2021, Rostelecom and Class Magazine held a nationwide video competition Cool Dad with themain objective to promote successful fatherhood. In 2022, the competition ranked third in theSocial Projects of Federal and Regional Media category of the Family and Future of Russia national
journalist competition.

45

thousand children
in the Russian regions
covered by the project

Purpose: providing children undergoing long-term inpatient treatment in oncological,
haematological, and other departments in children’s hospitals with a full education in line with
the Russian school curriculum as well as opportunities to participate in art workshops, learn new
professions, and acquire knowledge in IT and design, developing remote learning and education
technologies, and promoting volunteering in the Company
Reach: nationwide
Synergy: supporting families with children undergoing long-term inpatient cancer treatment.
Creating conditions for the young patients to recover and return to normal life
Project website: uchimznaem.ru

IIn 2022, 289 video presentations were posted.
Rostelecom and Class Magazine have the following plans for 2023:∙ Publish more online materials for teachers and mentors, including expanding the website’s
Literary Odyssey section, which introduces school students to Russian classics∙ Further fill the website with positive content and materials that promote reading∙ Publish more materials promoting science∙ Create a mobile version of the Class Magazine portal

One of the UchimZnaem/WeTeachTheyLearn initiatives is Steps to Success, a social andeducational project for children undergoing long-term treatment. Under the project, children
and their parents learn the basics of media technologies, study the nature of Russia, and meetfamous TV presenters and actors.
In 2022, the UchimZnaem/WeTeachTheyLearn project covered 23 thousand preschool andschool children in Moscow and about 45 thousand children across 50 regional sites.
In June 2022, Rostelecom and Mosvolonter volunteers held their inaugural festival at the GoodHouse social hotel for children with cancer, their parents, and teachers.
Part of Steps to Success, the Kind Knowledge special online project has continued to accept
applications for the competition of initiatives for the UchimZnaem/WeTeachTheyLearn projectsites, with funding for winning initiatives.
A research laboratory for interdisciplinary research on hospital paedagogy was set up.

Since our active partnership began in 2015, Rostelecom has been demonstrating
responsiveness, a caring commitment towards our initiatives, and attention to our
engagements. I am confident that with Rostelecom’ s support, we will achieve even greater
success in introducing children to reading and properly using the internet. Children should
not be left to themselves with this. Children’s internet has its limitations, children tend not
to read texts on the internet. However, their parents can do it, drawing the children’s attention
to a particular text. Our goal for 2023 is the synergistic development of the print publication,
the portal, and various online and offline campaigns, so that one supports the other and all
three areas are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.»

Rostelecom and the UchimZnaem/WeTeachTheyLearn project have the following plans for 2023:∙ Retraining programmes for teachers working in children’s hospitals∙ Training programmes for parents∙ Volunteering and volunteerism programmes to support social and educational initiatives forchildren in children’s hospitals and their families

Alexey Khodorych,
Chief Editor of Class Magazine
and Director for Children’s
Projects at Open Systems
Publishing
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Support for the Navstrechu Peremenam(Towards Change) foundation

Pereplavka (Melting) projectIn 2019, Rostelecom launched the Pereplavka
environmental project.

Rostelecom supports social entrepreneurship in Russia
and is the strategic sponsor of the Navstrechu Peremenam
foundation supporting social initiatives for children.
The Company provides financial, organisational,
and advisory support.

430

thousand children
benefited from social
projects over 10 years

04. S – Social

Purpose: creating a better world for children and young people by unlocking the potential for
innovation and impact entrepreneurship
Participants: Company experts
Reach: nationwide
Synergy: promoting social projects and building a positive image of the Company
Project website: fond-navstrechu.ru
Every year, Navstrechu Peremenam holds an all-Russian social project competition, whose
winners receive support for three years in the Towards Impact Start-Ups social start-up
incubator – its flagship programme. Over the 10 years of its operation, the foundation has
supported more than 400 projects, including 86 under the incubator programme. The projects
have changed the lives of more than 430 thousand children and adolescents for the better.
At the same time, the number of beneficiaries is growing: by supporting a project across its
development stages, the foundation helps social start-up leaders to double the number ofbeneficiaries as early as after the first year of participation in the incubator.
Rostelecom employee volunteers are also involved in the programme. In 2022, 76 employees
from 29 regions processed the entries in the competition, and 10 heads of business units
assisted social project leaders as mentors or advisors.

22

thousand devices
sent for recycling
since the project
launch

Purpose: explaining the importance of recycling mobile phones, encouraging users to dispose ofthem properly, and creating a convenient and reliable infrastructure to address this issue
Participants: the Company’s retail stores
Reach: operating regions of the Company’s mobile operator
Synergy: recycling hazardous waste and driving additional traffic to stores
Since its launch, the project has accepted a total of about 22 thousand devices for recycling in
64 regions of Russia. Residents of Moscow, the Urals, and the Volga region were the most active
participants in the initiative.
The environmental project also has an educational dimension: 19 % of the project participants
surveyed said they had not been aware of the need to dispose of phones properly before.

In 2023, Rostelecom’s mobile operator will continue to support the foundation’s programmes.
The social project competition will include a special category, Best Digital Project for Children,
first established in 2022.
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04. S – Social

4.2. Employees
4.2.1. OUR APPROACH

Rostelecom is one of the country’s largest employers, with
the Group’s headcount over 122 thousand as at 2022-end.
Rostelecom’s human capital management strategy is alignedwith SDGs 4, 8, 9, 10, and 11.
The Company offers its employees ample opportunities for professional and personal development.
To this end, Rostelecom provides training and social support programmes while striving to improve
working conditions and introducing more technologically advanced workflows.
The Company has built a training system that equips employees of different ages with soughtafter skills. The average training time per Group employee was 32.2 hours in 2022 (SDG 4.4).
Rostelecom provides equal opportunities for all employees and has a zero-tolerance policy
for discrimination in the workplace, with our ways of working built on mutual trust, respect, andaccountability (SDGs 5, 10).

Rostelecom’s gender equality efforts have earned global recognition.
For the third year in a row, the Company was included in Bloomberg’s
Gender-Equality Index, listing 418 companies from 54 countries in 2022.

4.2.2. HR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
HR management at Rostelecom is aligned with international and national regulatory standards as well as corporate regulations
and codes.
Organisational structure for HR management

To achieve SDG 8, the Group provides its employees with a safe, healthy, and comfortableworking environment where they can create high-quality and convenient digital services. Loyalty
programmes, additional health insurance, retirement plans, and housing programmes for employees
are aimed at supporting hundreds of thousands of people across Russia.
To achieve SDG 9, Rostelecom engages with school and university students to help them build
digital literacy and fosters partnerships with higher education institutions (SDG 17) to develop new
digital products and pass expert knowledge on to students.

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Body

Responsibilities

Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Boardof Directors

Overseeing the adoption and implementation of
the Company’s remuneration policy and incentive
programmes as well as conducting performance evaluationsof the Company’s executive bodies and key managers

Compensation Committee of the Management Board

Building an effective employee compensation systemthat drives the Company’s competitiveness and long-term
success

Organisational Development and HR Management Unit

Human capital management across the Group

Functional areas of HR management across Rostelecom’s
business units and subsidiaries

Implementation of HR management policies

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04. S – Social

Organisational Development and HR Management Unit
Department

Key functions

Key achievements in 2022

HRM Technology
and Analytics
Department

Automate HR services, conduct
research commissioned by HR
functions∙ A bonus calculation automation project was launched∙ Employee and candidate personal accounts and digital
recruitment were launched in the IQHR system∙ IQHR-based automation of the most routine HR tasks was piloted∙ Digital platform for onboarding and adaptation was launched∙ Over 50 new executive dashboards and reports on requests
from units and segments

Internal
Communications
and Corporate
Culture Department

Ensure employee
communications, corporate
culture development, andemployer brand positioning
within the Company∙ eNPS1 was measured, activities to increase employee
engagement have been implemented∙ The Recognition programme was continued∙ The Rostelecom brand ambassadors project was expanded∙ The number of events and activities to foster corporate culture
was increased∙ A wide range of opportunities are provided for doing sport andmaintaining a healthy lifestyle∙ The internal communications system has been further
developed

Human capital development
Human capital development has been prioritised as one of PJSC
Rostelecom’s strategic pillars until 2025.

∙ improve employee loyalty with a focus on youth programmes∙ develop an ecosystem of knowledge for employees.

In a rapidly changing external environment, the HR management
strategy has shifted towards fostering a favourable internal
environment that drives productivity and teamwork.

Rostelecom’s key strategic goals in HR management are to:∙ drive business sustainability through advanced tools aimed
at transparency and consistency of HR processes∙ maintain high employee performance amid external
uncertainties∙ help employees to fulfil their full potential in line with theCompany’s interests∙ build a strong team of professionals, introduce role modelling∙ transform employees into change agents throughout theorganisation while maintaining their engagement levels.

Focus areas of Rostelecom’s human capital development:∙ Caring about employees: stability, income, developmentof sought-after skills∙ Building employee digital skills and capabilities∙ Staff retraining and internal migration∙ Attracting and retaining young talent∙ Developing teamwork tools and practices∙ Adopting new approaches to employee development andworkforce management through process digitisation∙ Improving corporate culture and engagement models

Organisational
Development
Department

Manage the Company’sorganisational structure andoverall management model∙ Performance and productivity improvement

At the previous 2018–2021 strategy implementation stage,
Rostelecom migrated to a two-tier governance model.
The organisational structure transformation covered all segments
and functional units. The project helped reduce the number ofmanagement levels, accelerated decision making, and simplified
business processes.

Compensation
and Benefits
Department

Manage employee monetary
incentives and compensation∙ A new incentive was rolled out for service centres and support
specialists of the Technical Infrastructure Unit
∙ Incentive systems for sales teams in commercial segments were
updated to align them with business goals

PJSC Rostelecom’s new HR Management Strategy 2021–2025
is designed to:∙ increase labour productivity through retaining and upskillinghigh-performing employees and improving the management
model

Operations
Management
Department

Manage HR functions andensure labour law compliancein employment contracts∙ The voluntary health insurance (VHI) system was improved∙ The Coding Classes for Employees’ Children were further
enhanced∙ An application campaign for the housing programme for PJSC
Rostelecom employees was automatedTalent Management
Department

Carry out recruitment andonboarding, talent pool
management, and mentorship∙ PJSC Rostelecom’s recruitment and onboarding processes
were upgraded

Knowledge
Management
Department

Provide methodology support,
design programmes, deliver
training, assess training
results, develop Rostelecom’s
Corporate Online University,and evaluate employee
performance∙ Synergies were achieved between training teams of PJSC
Rostelecom and its subsidiaries and affiliates∙ 180 new online courses and programmes were created∙ 966 professional development certificates (continuing
professional education) were issued by PJSC Rostelecom∙ The Learning Poster was created∙ The Growth Point platform was set up to support
communications with mentors, coaches, and career counsellors

HR Strategy Project
OfficeConsolidate the Company’s HR
strategy, manage the employer
brand, coordinate key crossfunctional HR projects∙ A number of initiatives were implemented within the youth
programme: the Your Career Path career development
programme, youth councils, and the youth mentor programme∙ The Rostelecom Experts programme was further developed∙ Higher HR brand media indices and a growing number ofpublications about Rostelecom as an employer in traditional,
offline mass media and digital media∙ Esports tournaments and promotion of esports at Rostelecom∙ Development of in-house HR resources and career marketing

Employee Net Promoter Score. A method to measure employee loyalty.

126

In 2023, the Company intends to further improve labour
productivity and organisational efficiency.

Employees are central to the Company’s business development
Employee’s
own potential

Fostering a productive
and friendly environment
Talentand leadership

TalentrecognitionCore
competencies

Management
model

Training anddevelopment

1

1

One of Rostelecom’s 2021–2025 Long-Term Development
Programme key performance indicators is labour productivity
index. In 2022, this metric stood at 112 %.1

Culture andenvironment

Calculated in line with the Methodology for Calculating Labour Productivity Indicators of an Enterprise, Industry, or a Constituent Entity of the RussianFederation (approved by Order No. 748 of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development dated 28 February 2018) as a ratio of labour productivity
in the reporting year to labour productivity in a baseline year.

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80

thousand active
users of the Corporate
Online University

28

subsidiaries and affiliates
got access to the Corporate
Online University in 2022

Human capital development awards

Training and development strategy
In 2022, the Company adopted a new target management model relying on distributed teams.
The training strategy was aimed at supporting units in embedding updated business processes,
getting employees up to speed on their new roles, and developing collaboration between teams
at different management levels (the headquarters and regional branches).
In 2022, a new transparent business process was set up to develop customised project solutions
for building teams, with automated requests for training and team-building programme design,
a single database of requests for all regional branches, templates, SLAs,1 and reports.

HR management assessment
The Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors and the Compensation
Committee of the Management Board regularly review the performance of Rostelecom’s HR
management system at their meetings.
We get feedback from employees through pulse surveys on team morale and environment,changes in corporate culture, job satisfaction, loyalty to the Company, and relationships
with managers. Responses are analysed and taken into account when planning HR projects
addressing employee motivation, development, and training.
Every two years, Rostelecom conducts an employee engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty
survey. Over five years, the engagement level has increased by 26 points, from 55 to 81,
indicating a substantial improvement in the internal environment across the Company.
The most recent eNPS survey was conducted in January 2022 and covered 84 % of employees(more than 72 thousand people). The respondents gave almost 70 thousand comments. The
eNPS increased by 10 p.p. from 2020, up 13.6 %. The metric is calculated as the difference
between the percentage of promoters and detractors, with any positive number considered
a good result.

eNPS, %
April 2018

September 2019

October 2020

January 2022

3

10

3.6

13.6

In 2022, we continued to improve our employee feedback system through pulse surveys run at
the request of teams. This creates faster feedback on team morale and motivation, and helps
pinpoint relevant employee needs within a department, segment, or specific unit.
In addition, employees are also regularly surveyed on new products, pilot launches, internal
services, training, and other focus areas. Such surveys help to identify areas of improvement in
employee-facing processes and services.

1

128

04. S – Social

Service Level Agreement. An agreement on service level between the customer and the service provider containing
a description of the service, its quality, and each party’s rights and responsibilities.

In 2022, Rostelecom’s achievements in HR management were recognised with a number of awards
and prizes:∙ The Company was listed in the Platinum category of the Forbes ranking of the best employers
in Russia∙ Rostelecom ranked 86th in the top 100 overall ranking of FutureToday, which explores
expectations of university students and graduates, and 39th in the Among the Target Audience
category, becoming the best telecom company in the top 50 ranking
In corporate training and development, Rostelecom was recognised with the following awards:∙ Best ESG Projects in Russia – Quality Education category∙ SMART Pyramid 2022 – the Training and Development Director of the Year category (Ekaterina
Barabanova, Employee Development Director)∙ Effective Business Education – Expert of the Year, the Corporate Programmes category(Ekaterina Barabanova, Employee Development Director)

Remote working
Rostelecom provides its employees with all that is needed for remote working, developing relevant
standards and performance evaluation approaches for this format.
Remote teams are managed via the Trueconf videoconferencing software. Hosted at Rostelecom’s
data centres, proprietary software products, such as the Tionix Virtual Desktop (VDI),1 were rolled
out across virtual workplaces.
The Company provides employees with 24/7 access to Rostelecom’s resources via its corporate
intranet portal, the RT Life mobile app, and the remote.rt.ru portal, while also providing 24/7 support
to employees.

Improved workplace safety for employees
The following measures were taken to protect employees who, due to the nature of their jobs,
need to be present in-person:∙ Thermometers, disposable masks and gloves, and hand sanitisers are deployed at every
entrance and every floor across the Group’s office spaces∙ Field crew members are equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE) – disposable
coveralls and gloves as well safety goggles, face masks, shoe covers, and hand sanitisers andmoisturisers∙ Employees get daily body-temperature checks, social distancing is being observed, and regular
PCR tests are selectively done
∙ Facilities and office spaces are regularly disinfected

Assistance to sick employees
In 2022, Rostelecom arranged for more than 10 thousand COVID-19 tests for its employees, andhundreds of employees received specialist telemedicine consultations. In confirmed COVID-19
cases, the Company organised specialist consultations and provided other medical services,
including transportation to Moscow and assistance with transportation to for-profit hospitals forvery severe cases.

1

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.

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Sustainability Report 2022

04. S – Social

4.2.3. EMPLOYEES1

Recruitment and onboarding

In 2022, PJSC Rostelecom merged recruitment andonboarding into a centralised function, which helped run
a diagnostic of the Company’s recruitment and onboarding
practices and reengineer the relevant business processes.

HR focus areas

We have identified three recruitment segments: mass, skilled talent, and top management searcheswith an option to match the specifics and needs of large segments across Russia (Technical
Infrastructure Unit, B2C, and B2B). Rostelecom has developed and updated the SLAs for time tofill and harmonised key job description / vacancy templates and the relevant recruitment stages.
The recruitment team’s communication model was also redesigned to improve the quality andspeed of recruitment. Segment heads and managers are involved in the recruitment process, andfeedback is collected from related units.

Attraction

To enhance the recruitment team, we have introduced a Recruitment section on the Corporate
Online University platform, containing over 30 dedicated courses and programmes and a separate
learning track for hiring managers. The courses recorded for this section in 2022 cover alternative
ways to search for candidates and managing candidates with multiple job offers.

Training

Rostelecom has developed a centralised process model for onboarding new hires and a related
metrics model. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the first onboarding tools were rolled out for new
employee hires.

Working environment

Remuneration
and benefits

These innovations have had a positive impact on recruitment metrics:∙ Company-wide, satisfaction score for hiring managers improved from 4.88 in 2021 to 4.94
in 2022∙ The quality of internal services around recruitment improved from 8.9 in 2021 to 9.07 in the third
quarter of 2022
∙ More than 29 thousand vacancies were filled in 2022
Rostelecom partners with universities, focusing on jobs of the future, offering internships, andemploying young talent. The Company has in place mentorship and onboarding systems for newhires and the Talent Pool programme to insource talent for vacant positions Rostelecom also hasa well-developed career planning system.

For more details, see the Employee Training section, page 109.

1

Indicators in this section are restated compared to previous reporting periods due to changes in the calculation methodology. Previously, the metrics were
calculated based on average headcount, but in this Report, they are calculated based on headcount as at year-end.

130

131

Sustainability Report 2022

GRI
(2–7)

GRI
(2–8)

Breakdown of employees
Rostelecom Group employed 122.4 thousand people at 2022-end, with women making up 39 %of the total workforce (47.2 thousand). In 2022, the Group’s average headcount reduced by 9.3 %from 2021.
Rostelecom Group’s average headcount,1 people

GRI(405–1)04. S – Social

Employing people with disabilities
Rostelecom offers equal opportunities and provides jobs for people with disabilities. As at 2022-end,
the Group employed 1,102 people with disabilities, or 1 % of the total headcount.

Proportion of disabled employees among Rostelecom Group’s workforce1

2019

2020

2021

2022

Group total

135,178

136,679

126,812

118,989

PJSC Rostelecom

105,754

105,450

95,15084,520Subsidiaries and affiliates

29,424

31,22931,662

34,469

2019

2020

2021

2022

149,065

146,801

129,773

122,396∙ part-time employees

16,291

13,6122

13,4472

10,986∙ temporary employees(on fixed-term contracts)

12,084

12,8402

11,0822

4,651∙ employees under independent
contractor agreements

27,72347,301242,5562

43,592

2019

2020

2021

2022

30 and younger

32,63130,75326,01023,015

31–49

74,27074,26968,192

66,714

Over 50

40,071

39,47533,91232,370Total

146,972

144,497

128,114122,100

2019

2020

2021

2022

Headcount as at year-end, people

1,684

1,145

1,232

1,102

Share of headcount, %

1.27

0.85

0.99

0.93

Rostelecom Group’s headcount as at year-end,1 people

Headcount at the end of thereporting period (including
employees on parental leave andexcluding part-time employees),
including:

Rostelecom Group employees by age,3 people

1

2
3

132

The 2019–2022 indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s subsidiaries
and affiliates. Headcount-wise, this perimeter covers 98 % of the entire Group.
The calculation method has been changed compared to the previous report.
For some subsidiaries and affiliates, these metrics do not include employees on parental leave, so the total numberof employees differs from the Group’s average headcount. The 2019–2022 indicators presented in the table include
data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s subsidiaries and affiliates. Headcount-wise, this perimeter covers 98 %of the entire Group.

Gender balance
The Group is committed to providing decent work for women and men, including young people
and people with disabilities, and ensures equal pay for work of equal value.
Rostelecom Group’s gender balance1
2019

2020

2021

2022

Women as at the period end, thousand

65.5

62.3

54.4

47.2

Proportion of women in management
positions,2 %

30

32

35

34

Proportion of women among new hires,
%

43.6

41.5

44.9

40.4

44

42

44

39

Proportion of female employees, %1

2

The 2019–2022 indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s subsidiaries
and affiliates. Headcount-wise, this perimeter covers 98 % of the entire Group.
Proportion of women in the total number of managers (all those who supervise at least one subordinate).

133

Sustainability Report 2022

PJSC Rostelecom
was includedin the Bloomberg
Gender-Equality Index

At Rostelecom Group, 73 % of the workforce is represented by specialists (white-collar employees),with men prevailing in this category (61 % of men vs 39 % of women). The second largest category,at about 10 % of the total headcount, is blue-collar employees, 83 % of whom are men and 17 % are
women. Functional managers make up 10 % of the total headcount, and 36 % of them are women.
Senior managers account for 0.25 % of the headcount; 28 % of them are women.

Rostelecom Group employees by category,1 people
2019

In early 2022, PJSC Rostelecom was included inBloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the third time.
The 2022 GEI shows an increase in social data disclosuresby companies committed to creating inclusive workplaces.
The index confirms the transparency of gender-related
practices and policies in companies that annually increase
their disclosure of environmental, social, and governance(ESG) data available to investors. Companies includedin the 2022 index set an example of more transparent
reporting and social data disclosure. Following COVID‑19induced changes in the business environment, the 2022
GEI highlighted practices that bolster a company’s
resilience, such as flexible working hours.
The 2022 GEI covers 418 companies from 45 countries.
Rostelecom was included in the 2022 index as a company
that scored high across the index framework, including
the level of disclosure on gender equality in the workplaceand in local communities.

2020

2021

2022

M

W

M

W

M

W

M

W

White-collar
employees

46,72651,026

51,69848,13455,09341,93256,41438,717

Blue-collar
employees

27,0806,866

22,634

6,496

11,907

5,430

9,823

3,469

Functional
managers

10,081

5,741

10,378

5,841

7,951

5,032

8,439

4,806

Seniormanagers

280

95

318

114

362

129

223

86

Other
employees

15

168

16

159

44

141

13

110

84,182

63,89685,04460,74475,35752,66474,912

47,188Total

60 % of employees are part of the technical team; the commercial team, at 22 %, is the second
largest, while administrative staff makes up 2.8 % of the total headcount.

Rostelecom Group employees by function,1 people

1

134

04. S – Social

2019

2020

2021

2022

Technical team

87,40487,484

76,847

72,690Commercial team

37,30834,46528,841

26,477Administrative team

3,072

2,925

2,847

3,451

Other

19,187

19,61919,57919,813

Total

146,971

144,493

128,114

122,401

The 2019–2022 indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s subsidiaries and affiliates. Headcount-wise, this perimetercovers 98 % of the entire Group.

135Sustainability Report 2022

GRI
(401–3)

Parental leave

Rules of business conduct

We offer parental leave to all Company employees. Additionally, Rostelecom pays one-offchildbirth or child adoption allowances of RUB 5,000 to employees with at least two years of
employment at the Company. In 2022, a total of 1,600 employees exercised their right to parental
leave (1,562 women and 44 men), and 1,724 employees returned to work after parental leave(1,672 women and 52 men).

We strictly adhere to the principle of non-discrimination in labour rights and freedoms or benefits
against employees on grounds of gender, race, age, skin colour, ethnicity, language, origin,
material, marital, social, or official status, place of residence, religious views, beliefs, membershipin (or failure to join) particular public associations or social groups, in line with PJSC Rostelecom’s
Code of Ethics.
The Company’s Code of Ethics sets out the main rules of business conduct mandatory for all
employees and members of the Board of Directors and the Audit Commission of Rostelecom.
The Company encourages non-discriminatory practices, including on the grounds of gender.
In case of any potential for discrimination, the Company has developed a response procedure.

Number of employees that took parental leave1
2019

2020

2021

2022

M

W

M

W

M

W

M

W

Total number of employees that tookparental leave

1,420

1,749

1,225

1,868

1,142

2,258

44

1,562

Total number of employees that returned towork after the leave

1,887

895

1,651

841

1,536

460

52

1,672

Total number of employees that returned
to work after the leave in the previous
reporting period and were still working at
the end of this reporting period

894

780

910

728

664

341

–2

–2

100 %
of the Group employees
are covered by the collective
bargaining agreement

GRI(2–30)

04. S – Social

Employee turnover
GRI(401–1)The Group hired a total of 23,611 people in 2022, comprising 59.6 % of men and 40.4 % of women.
Rostelecom does not pursue the policy of a predominantly local workforce and selects candidates
to fill vacancies based on their education level, qualifications, and professional skills.

GRI(405–1)New employee hires and terminations,1 people
20192

Protection of employee rights
The Group’s activities are based on our corporate values – adaptability, human touch, simplicity,and development. We respect each employee and their rights while complying with the Russianlabour law and labour standards set out in the International Bill of Human Rights, ILO Declaration
on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and other international regulations.

20202

2021

2022

M

W

M

W

M

W

M

W

Hired

18,151

14,01616,147

11,943

13,336

10,866

14,074

9,537

Terminated

4,315

7,119

4,500

6,937

5,3802

7,0912

11,046

7,861

Employee turnover at the Group was 16.4 % in 2022, down 4.4 p.p. year-on-year.

PJSC Rostelecom and all subsidiaries and affiliates have approved internal labour regulations
setting out the basic rights, duties, and responsibilities of the relevant company and its employees.
The full list of the rights enjoyed by employees is detailed in PJSC Rostelecom’s collective
bargaining agreement for 2022–2023. Employee rights are also reflected in PJSC Rostelecom’s
Code of Ethics and Corporate Governance Code.

Employee turnover at Rostelecom Group,1 %According to the collective bargaining agreement, employees are notified of material changes
in the Group at least two months before the intended date of the event. Such events include
changes in the remuneration system and performance standards as well as termination due toliquidation or redundancy.

Overall employee
turnover

2019

2020

2021

2022

15.7

16.42

20.82

16.4

Employee turnover at PJSC Rostelecom,1 %We uphold the rights of our employees and their family members to social security, education,
respect for family life, housing, artistic freedom, and participation in the cultural life. To this end,
the Group runs development and social support programmes for employees. All employees haveequal opportunities for professional development and career growth. We use an establishedprocedure to comprehensively evaluate employee performance. Hiring and promotion at theCompany depend on the professional knowledge, abilities, and skills of applicants and employees.

Overall employee turnover

2019

2020

2021

2022

10.5

9.6

14

12.1

All Rostelecom employees enjoy the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
and may join various trade unions and professional associations. Rostelecom suppliers, contractors,
and other stakeholders share and support this approach.

1

2

136

The 2019–2022 indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s subsidiaries
and affiliates. Headcount-wise, this perimeter covers 98% of the entire Group.
Due to changes in the accounting methodology, the Company did not track this metric in the reporting year.

1

2

The 2019–2022 indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s most significant subsidiaries and affiliates. Headcount-wise,
this perimeter covers 98 % of the entire Group.
The calculation method for the periods marked with an asterisk differed from the method used for data collection for the reporting period.

137

Sustainability Report 2022

Permanent and temporary staff
During the year, Rostelecom Group outsourced certain jobs to independent contractors (totalling
43,592 contractors as at 2022-end).1
These specialists were mainly engaged to:∙ connect customers to Rostelecom services∙ install customer premises equipment∙ handle customer calls as part of first-line support∙ perform periodic business support tasks during peak periods.

111.2

04. S – Social

Remuneration and incentives

RUB bn Rostelecom’s
labour costs in 2022

To retain highly qualified employees, Rostelecom has in place comprehensive incentive systems,
which also encourage employees to increase labour productivity and look for new ways toaddress the Group’s tasks using digital technologies.

There are seasonal variations in employment at Rostelecom, mainly in the southern regions
and the Far East from June to August. In the southern regions, higher employee churn is linked
to the local focus on agriculture as employees are engaged in farming activities at their own landplots. In the Far East, employees usually leave during fishing seasons.
MANAGEMENT BOARD

PRESIDENT

Rostelecom Group permanent and temporary employees as at the endof the period,2 people
2019

2020

2021

2022

Number of employees(permanent staff only,
excluding those on parental leave,
employees under independent
contractor agreements,
and internal part-timers)

142,621

140,924

123,899

117,856

Number of part-time employees

16,291

13,6123

13,4473

10,986

Number of temporary employees(on fixed-term contracts)

12,084

12,8403

11,0823

4,651

Number of contractors under
independent contractor
agreements (excluded fromthe total headcount)

27,72347,301342,5563

43,592

Number of employees withan hourly wage

7,228

7,949

7,471

5,795

621

423

450

447

Number of workers who are not
employees (interns, volunteers,
contractors, self-employed)

PAYROLL POLICYLOCAL PAYROLLPOLICIES

ALL EMPLOYEES

829.4
RUB thousand –employees’ averageannual income

1

2

3

138

Persons employed under independent contractor agreements are not Rostelecom employees and are not considered
Rostelecom staff for the purposes of Russian labour laws but merely perform work or services under civil law.
The 2019–2022 indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s most significant
subsidiaries and affiliates. Headcount-wise, this perimeter covers 98 % of the entire Group.
The calculation method has been changed compared to the previous report.

REGULATIONS ON
THE PERFORMANCE-BASEDMONETARY INCENTIVESFOR EMPLOYEESTARGETED INCENTIVESYSTEMSALL EMPLOYEES EXCEPT FOR
CERTAIN CATEGORIESOF EMPLOYEES OF TECHNICALAND COMMERCIAL TEAMSCERTAIN CATEGORIESOF EMPLOYEES OF TECHNICALAND COMMERCIAL TEAMSThere is no uniform approach to remuneration and incentives for employees of the Groupsubsidiaries and affiliates. Each subsidiary/affiliate has its own remuneration system depending on
its profile. Regulations related to financial incentives for employees of subsidiaries and affiliates
are approved by order of the CEO in line with the charters of respective subsidiaries and affiliates.
We provide fair pay, annually indexing pay rates and gradually increasing payroll. Pay indexation
is calculated individually and takes into account the consumer price index (CPI), the employee’s
income level, and the local minimum wage in the relevant region.
In 2022, Rostelecom Group’s labour costs totalled RUB 111.2 billion, up 10 % year-on-year (RUB 99.5
billion in 2021). The average annual pay of employees increased by 28.7 % to RUB 829.4 thousand(RUB 644.2 thousand in 2021).

139

Sustainability Report 2022

04. S – Social

Rostelecom Group’s labour costs
2019

2020

2021

2022

Payroll, RUB bn

85.0

98.6

99.5

111.2

Average income,1 RUB thousand/year

542

657

644.2

829.4

The Company has in place the Regulations on the Long-Term
Bonus Programme for Employees of PJSC Rostelecom for
2020–2022. As part of the approved Long-Term Incentive
Programme, participants are set key performance indicators(KPIs).
KPIs include strategically important indicators as well as metrics
that are important to shareholders and investors:∙ Net profit∙ Free cash flow
∙ Return on invested capital (ROIC)
Target KPIs are set in line with the Company’s Long-Term
Development Programme.
These targets have been consistently met over the durationof the Long-Term Incentive Programme, which means
the Company’s strategic goals were successfully achieved.
Key employees are offered Company shares as an incentive
under the Long-Term Incentive Programme. Compared to
the Programme’s previous cycle, the number of employees
holding Company shares grew from 600 to 800.
In 2022, Rostelecom continued implementing its Fair Pay
project. The project is slated to be completed within five
years starting from 2019. Within the project, we benchmark
the current pay rates for our employees against the average
rates for similar positions in the same region and identify theemployee categories paid below the market. Data on the pay
levels are updated on a monthly basis taking into accountchanges in the current pay rates.
In 2022, we shared our methodology for benchmarking pay
rates against market rates for similar positions and salarysurvey data with our key subsidiaries and affiliates as well aswith major clusters. This information will enable them to assess
pay levels on their own and bring their salaries to market levels.
For other subsidiaries and affiliates, PJSC Rostelecom haslaunched a centralised pay level assessment service.

1

140

Rostelecom monitors changes to the federal minimum wage on
a quarterly basis to adjust the minimum wage for its employees.
Subsidiaries and affiliates monitor changes on their own.

84 %PAY LEVEL AT PJSC ROSTELECOM
AT 2022-END, TAKING INTO
ACCOUNT THE AVERAGE
MARKET GROWTH OF 9 %In 2022, following a change in the federal minimum wage,
the target remuneration level was reviewed against the newminimum wage and increased accordingly for certain employee
groups.
Overtime is regulated by the Labour Code of the RussianFederation, PJSC Rostelecom’s Internal Labour Regulations, andinternal regulations of subsidiaries and affiliates. If employees
work overtime or on holidays, they are compensated accordingly
in line with the Russian Labour Code.

The 2019–2022 indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s most significant subsidiaries and affiliates. Headcount-wise,
this perimeter covers 98 % of the entire Group.

141

Sustainability Report 2022

Gender pay gap
GRI(405–2)

System of KPIs

We analysed the gender gap in the remuneration of Rostelecom Group employees. In 2022,
women’s average income at the Group was 21.8 % lower than men’s, and the gender pay gap for
middle management and other management was 14.7 % in favour of men.

Gender pay gap,1 RUB
2019

2020

2021

2022

Weighted average income of men

51,03258,55160,01490,750Weighted average income of women

40,25946,74344,94870,935

Gender gap in average salary, %

21.1

20.2

25.1

21.8

Gender gap in the salary of middle managers
and other managers,2 %

45.3

44.5

24.1

14.7

Weighted average income of middle managers
and other managers, men

318,713350,451

228,508

115,407

Weighted average income of middle managers
and other managers, women

174,474

194,586

173,338

98,387

Recognition 2022 awards for 2021 achievements:∙ About 3,500 employees from all Russian regions won the Recognition award at the regional,
macroregional, or headquarters level∙ All regional branches and macroregions held award ceremonies involving Rostelecom executives∙ 143 employees and 12 projects won the Recognition award at the federal level, including:employees were recognised
as inspiring leaders47

31

Rostelecom has in place a number of motivation regulations and incentive programmes for its
employees. Both short-term and long-term incentive systems are in place at subsidiaries andaffiliates, and the programmes are tailored to each particular subsidiary or affiliate, taking into
account the organisation’s profile.

employees won
the Best Employee category

employees won the Strongest
Link category

Long-term incentives

94

employees were selected
as winners in the Bright Start
category

employees were recognisedin the new Digital Leaders
category

Short-term incentives

142

We run the Recognition corporate award as a non-financial incentive designed to recognise
top-performing employees and project teams. All categories of the Recognition award reflect
Rostelecom’s strong set of values and capabilities, with the number of nominations increasing
every year.

employees were awarded
the Golden Badge

The Programme for 2020–2022 comprises three annual cycles launched in 2020, 2021, and2022. The work on a new Long-Term Incentive Programme for 2023–2025 is ongoing. The
new Long-Term Incentive Programme is focused on continuity and aligned with the Company’s
strategic objectives. The Programme will also reflect the country’s political and economic
environment.

2

Rostelecom continues to operate its existing systems of KPIs, with KPIs set basedon the position and scope of responsibility. Employee evaluations are run every year,with bonuses paid to employees linked to the achievement of corporate, business,and individual targets.

29

In 2022, the Long-Term Incentive Programme continued to operate, covering Rostelecom
employees in grades 6 to 11. Under the Programme, employees can invest a part of the variable
portion of their salary in Company securities and receive equity awards based on their position,
invested amount, and performance. The Programme is implemented via RTC-Razvitie, a closedend fund. The maximum total number of shares owned by Programme participants may notexceed 6% of the Company’s charter capital. The maximum number of shares owned by
Programme participants in each cycle may not exceed 2% of the Company’s charter capital.

The 2019–2022 indicatorspresented in the table include
data for PJSC Rostelecom andthe Group’s most significant
subsidiaries and affiliates.
Headcount-wise, this perimetercovers 98 % of the entire Group.
Middle managers and othermanagers – top-grade managers
who supervise employees
and other managers supervisingat least one subordinate.

GRI(404–3)

11

Employee incentives

1

04. S – Social

Rostelecom branches held award ceremonies in May, and the federal-level winners attended
the main ceremony in Saint Petersburg in August. The main Recognition award ceremony was
livestreamed for all employees. Our employees are proud of the Recognition awards and highly
rate this incentive project (the project’s NPS is 9.7).

The Group has in place annual bonus schemes for top and middle managers. Yet another
employee motivation tool used by Rostelecom is quarterly quality assessments of in-houseservices. These assessments boost cross-functional collaboration, with their results used to
optimise in-house services.
In 2022, we developed and updated incentive programmes for commercial segments andthe Technical Infrastructure Unit aimed at improving employee efficiency.
Performance evaluation of the new incentive systems introduced in 2022 is carried out on aregular basis jointly with respective segments.
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Sustainability Report 2022

GRI
(201–3)

GRI(401–3)Social benefits and compensations

Rostelecom has in place the social protection system
for its employees, enabling a comfortable and safe
working environment.
PJSC Rostelecom’s collective bargaining agreement for 2022–2023 covers all Company employees
and provides guarantees, benefits, and compensations to all employees whose work with theCompany is their primary job, regardless of their employment type. The agreement provides fortwo groups of benefits: basic benefits and the Cafeteria Plan.
Basic benefits or compensations are made available to employees for certain events such as
childbirth, awards, extra paid compassionate leave, etc. The basic list of social guarantees was notamended in 2022.
The Cafeteria Plan is a set of social benefits and compensations for an employee to choose fromin accordance with his or her needs and within the available money limit, which is the same for all
employees within a given macroregional branch.
The Cafeteria Plan includes:∙ compensations for trips to health resorts and treatment programmes to employees and theirchildren∙ coverage of expenses on additional education services and gym memberships∙ financial assistance for holidays∙ gifts for children.

40

RUB bn – total
insurance coverage
under the VHI contract908

employees received
support for their mortgage
agreements

28

thousand people aremembers of our corporate
pension scheme

144

Voluntary health insurance

28,038
Number of employees
covered by the fund’s
corporate pension scheme(44 % of employees
eligible to participate
in the Programme)

387

874

26,523951

RUB m Intergenerational
solidarity contributions

Number of employees
who received additional
incentive contributions

04. S – Social

RUB m Additional
incentive contributions
from the Company

Number of employees
enrolled in the private
pension schemeat NPF Alliance

Improving working conditions

Rostelecom continues to operate a VHI programme. The total number of insured employees
was 97,985 at 2022-end. The insurance programme covers outpatient and inpatient treatment,
dental and emergency medical services, and telemedicine consultations.
In 2022, the insured employees received all necessary medical care under the VHI contract.

The Housing Programme
The Company continues to operate its Housing Programme, through which 908 Rostelecom
employees received interest-free loans or reimbursement of interest on mortgage loans taken by
employees earlier for a total of RUB 218 million in 2022.
A total of 8,507 employees have received assistance to purchase housing for a total of RUB 2,443
million over the period of the Housing Programme.

Rostelecom consistently works on maintaining andimproving a healthy working environment for its employees.
We renovate work premises as well as common areas (toilets, showers, dining and changing
rooms, entrances, and lift lobbies), in particular replacing windows, insulating façades, making area
improvements, and purchasing the necessary furniture.

In 2023, we intend to provide assistance to 1,100 employees for a total of RUB 327 million.

In 2022, Rostelecom continued to provide its employees with PPE to prevent the spreadof COVID-19.

Private pension insurance

The preventive hygiene measures included cold fogging, daily wet cleaning with disinfectants, witha particular focus on disinfecting high-touch surfaces and common areas such as door handles,
light switches, handrails, railings, dining and rest rooms, toilets, gyms, and gym equipment.

Rostelecom has in place its Private Pension Insurance Programme. In 2022, Rostelecom paid
annual additional incentive contributions to the individual pension accounts of employees hitting
90 % or more of individual KPI targets in 2021. As a result, we paid a total of RUB 874 million in
incentives to 26,523 employees.

Rostelecom continues its VDI-enabled Remote Workplaces project for employees to work remotely
without being tied to specific office workstations or desktops.

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04. S – Social

In 2022, a number of traditional Company-wide celebrations were held:∙ Defenders of the Fatherland Day and 8 March∙ Communications Day∙ Company Day∙ New Year4.2.4. CORPORATE CULTURE AND INTERNALCOMMUNICATIONS

Team-building and motivational activities included:∙ festivities and the It’s Great to Be Back awareness raising campaign to celebrate the returnof employees to offices∙ challenges for youth movement members timed to coincide with Youth Day∙ congratulations to employees and their families on Mother’s Day∙ a team-building flash mob for National Unity Day.
In 2022, we launched Direct Dialogues, a new format for communication between top managers
and other managers and employees. At offline and online meetings, managers update employeeson the goals and objectives of the Company or a specific branch, achievements and bestpractices of their teammates, available benefits and opportunities, and other relevant topics.
A total of 192 direct dialogues were held in 2022, with the project covering over 60 thousand
employees.

Rostelecom’s corporate culture unites productteams, units, and numerous subsidiaries withconsistent values and a common language
to achieve great results.

Throughout the year, the Company organised a number of activities for employee children:∙ From Kaliningrad to Chukotka, a drawing contest, (April)∙ A patriotic children’s concert for Victory Day (9 May)
∙ Educational activities for Children’s Day: an online quiz in a Telegram bot, live tours tocommunications museums, themed quizzes, and so on (June)∙ Autumn Vacations with Baytik (November)∙ A New Year’s concert and an advent calendar (December)

Rostelecom Group’s corporate values

Adaptability:
adapting technology to find a solution

Development:
creating the future

A special mascot, Baytik and his family, has been designed for children’s projects The use of
mascots helps gamify activities and convey information to children about their parents’ jobs andthe Company’s products and services in an engaging and entertaining way.
The Company continues to operate in a hybrid mode. Corporate events are still also held in a
hybrid format, with offline activities for field and office-based employees and online activities
for employees working from home, to cover as many people as possible.

Human touch:working for people

In 2022, Rostelecom gave gifts to more than 3,000 employees across Russia to acknowledge
their active contribution to corporate culture projects: corporate merchandise, souvenirs with
the Company logo, gadgets, and devices to improve workplace health.

Simplicity:
making complex things simple

Rostelecom brand ambassadors

60
thousand employees took
part in the Direct Dialogues
with management

In late 2020 and early 2021, Rostelecom conducted a corporate culture study to identify thestrengths and weaknesses of our culture. The study findings were used by the Company todevelop a programme to create a Company-wide supportive environment where every employee
can find their vocation and realise their ambitions. This programme underpinned the Together
for Something Greater corporate culture concept that we developed and integrated into our
HR strategy in 2022.
Leaders foster teamwork culture in their teams, promote commitment to the Company’s values
and goals and flexible decision making, while encouraging employee empowerment.
In 2022, top management identified five key areas of focus for a collaborative team culture.
Five Management Board members became ambassadors of these values to drive change inthe organisation’s operations and employee behaviour.

146

800
brand ambassadors

The Company has been running the Rostelecom Brand Ambassadors project for four years now.
The project primarily focuses on promoting corporate values among employees.
In 2022, the project’s format changed as the Company stopped awarding points for completingtasks to be further exchanged for corporate souvenirs and merchandise. Now, the ambassadors
attend the Values Workshop, choose specific development areas for themselves (leader,
blogger, mentor), and participate in other projects to promote Rostelecom’s values. No points
are awarded for participation. Close to 800 people took part in the programme in 2022, withover 50 % of them being regular participants.
Ambassadors are also involved in:philanthropy projects
the Digital Education project
the Cybersecurity project
key corporate projects (Company Day, communities of interest, etc.)
testing of public services and assessment tools
creating a landing page for job applicants.

To support line managers and their teams, development programmes were designed, a courseon creating an engaging environment in a team was prepared, and a platform for sharing bestpractices among the Company’s branches was launched. Local leader communities are created
to enable a holistic approach to leadership culture.

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

Corporate culture is promoted through values, principles, teamwork rules, and a range ofcommunication tools.

The ambassadors rated their overall satisfaction for the 2022 project at 9.6 on a scale of 10 on
average (up 1.8 points year-on-year).

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Promoting a healthy lifestyle among employees

GRI(403–6)

We promote healthy and active lifestyles among our employees.
Rostelecom promotes sporting activities and hosts cultural
events for its employees: professional skills competitions,creative contests, sports tournaments, and competitions. Ourloyalty programme offers employees discounts from chain
fitness clubs or health and wellness centres.
In 2022, all sporting activities at the Company were resumed ona regular schedule following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Volleyball, football, tennis, CrossFit, running, swimming, andother training practices have been resumed. The workouts takeplace both on corporate and rented sports grounds involving
professional instructors.
Over the past year, employees participated in 80 external
tournaments in various sports, including city sports
competitions, competitions among teams from other large
employers, and industry tournaments. About 1,000 employees
took part in the Zabeg.RF federal project to a total of about
5,000 kilometres.
In June, the Company held a large sports marathon to takefitness tests to the GTO (Ready for Labour and Defence)standards. Over 1,700 employees from 52 regional branches
took part in the event.

1,700
PARTICIPANTS
OF THE GTO MARATHONof the regional phases met in the finals, which took place in
Moscow in September and involved 150 athletes.
In 2022, the Company started a Chess Club, which was joinedby both Company employees and their children, totalling about
700 people. Our employees participate in both in-house
tournaments and open industry championships.
RT Balance, our corporate well-being app, is highly popularamong our employees. It offers online workouts andprogrammes, challenges, marathons, and articles on healthy
lifestyle, psychology, finance, parenthood, etc., with new content
added on a regular basis. The number of active RT Balance
members reaches up to 5,700 employees per month.

5,700
MONTHLY USERS
FOR THE RT BALANCE APP

Rostelecom employees can become the app experts and create
their own articles and marathons. This feature was provided
through integration with the PROexperts project, which aims todevelop core professional competences in employees.
To provide psychological support to employees in a challenging
life situation, we launched the Yasno support service in 2022.
During the year, employees sought professional advice frompsychologists more than 9,200 times.

During the year, the Company also held its Great Race – Timeof the Strong, a corporate cross-country running race, which
involved about 1,000 thousand employees. The winning teams

148

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Internal communication system

In 2022, the Company restructured and improved its internal
communication system to include federal (Company-wide)
and regional communications.

Rostelecom’s intranet portal
Our corporate intranet portal remains a key tool for
maintaining, developing, and promoting the core values ofour corporate culture: simplicity, human touch, adaptability,and development.
In 2022, our corporate intranet portal had more than 32
million visits, down 20% year-on-year due to the transition
to our target management model and rightsizing as well as
massive return to offices from working at home across mostunits.

32

MILLION VISITS TO THE CORPORATEINTRANET PORTAL

The portal’s team continues to improve services, create tools,
and add content. This helps employees adapt to the current
environment, keep in touch with their teammates, and receive
help.
Say Thank You to a Colleague, our non-financial incentive,
is gaining traction: in 2022, our employees used it over 60
thousand times.
Over 50 thousand people participated in the RTLikes
gamification programme aimed to encourage activity on theintranet portal.
In 2022, we created 64 pages featuring news, widgets, photos,
and announcements from our regional branches. We continue
developing the functionality of our regional pages. These
efforts have enabled us to boost online presence of all
Company branches and increase the number of regional news
updates by almost four times. As at 2022-end, news of ourregional branches were viewed 52.5 thousand times.
150

Corporate e-mail newsletters
In 2022, the Company fully redesigned its bulk mailing system
and reduced the number of bulk mail-outs. News updates andcommunications unrelated to operations were redirected frome-mail to other channels such as intranet portal, messengers,
and social media. Mailboxes and mailing lists for regional
branches have been harmonised and standardised, with greater
consistency brought to templates.

Social media

50

THOUSAND PARTICIPANTS OF RTLIKESPROGRAMME

In 2022, we ran 43 weekly surveys on our corporate
intranet portal, with participation averaging close to 2,000
employees. The most popular surveys included those related
to employment and work conditions: “What’s your take on thelifting of restrictions on office visits?”, “What in your view is themost effective incentive?” The survey results are publishedon the portal in the Weekly Surveys section and get multiplecomments from users. Insights from the surveys help us adjust
our communication strategy.
In 2022, 10 new sections were added to the portal, and 14
existing sections were tweaked.

10

NEW CORPORATE PORTAL PAGESWERE LAUNCHED IN 2022

In 2022, the Company launched a Telegram channel for
employees, dubbed “Among Your Own at Rostelecom”. The
channel has over 6,000 followers. About half of them are field
employees with no corporate e-mail accounts: the channel
has become a convenient and accessible tool for them tocommunicate with the Company.

RT Life app
Rostelecom employees have access to the RT Life
corporate mobile app combining an address book,a reference book, a news feed, and a system forsending requests to various functions within the
Company. New request forms were added to the
HelpMe automated helpdesk system in 2022, andthe launch of a vacation service (currently in theinternal testing stage) is scheduled for the first halfof 2023.
The Company collects statistics about user
behaviour to develop only in-demand features. Data
collection complies with the rules of confidentiality
and personal data processing.
A detailed description of the app can be found athttps://rtlife.rt.ru.

On top of this, in 2022, we started to develop a system ofregional Telegram channels: 23 branches set up their own
channels featuring current information relevant to employees.
We have continued to develop our VKontakte group for staff,
with the number of followers exceeding 6,000 and growing. The
group discusses interesting stories from employees’ lives, their
hobbies, and important news.
Career groups targeting both potential Company employees
and the current Rostelecom team carried on their activities
in 2022. With 16,400 followers on VKontakte and 2,400 on
Telegram, our career groups post updates about the Company,
its team and values as well as vacancies. In addition, they help
maintain Rostelecom’s image as Russia’s largest provider ofdigital services and solutions and a company that cares about
its team and offers its people vast opportunities for growth,development, and involvement in important, ambitious projects.
The groups’ content is well received by the audience, with morethan 10,900 reactions from followers, such as likes, comments,or shares.

3,347
THOUSAND USERS – THE TOTAL REACH
OF CAREER GROUPS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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4.2.5. EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

GRI(404–1)

GRI(404–2)Rostelecom needs a qualified workforce
to carry out its operations.
The Group has established a system for employee professional development: training, selffulfilment, and career growth. We help each employee successfully deliver on the set objectives
from day one and offer comprehensive professional and personal development programmes.
Rostelecom’s employee training and development system includes:∙ Knowledge Management Department∙ Corporate Online University, an online learning platform∙ Capability Development Department, with a team of in-house soft-skill trainers and training
project managers∙ Training Department under the Technical Infrastructure Unit
∙ Mass Segment Training Department∙ Training Support Department∙ Employee Evaluation and Career Development Department∙ B2B and B2G Training Office.
The Knowledge Management Department coordinates employee development efforts across theGroup: it is responsible for the methodology and development of federal programmes, preparationand delivery of training programmes based on business requests, design and automation ofbusiness processes for employee training and evaluation while at the same time analysing training
effectiveness and developing Rostelecom’s Corporate Online University.
In 2022, the Knowledge Management Department continued to enhance the in-house employee
training system. In particular, it improved the Corporate Online University platform and launcheda number of federal-level projects for various audiences, from regional top management teams
to technicians on the ground.
To create an optimal and comfortable environment for employee development, we continued toexperiment with various training formats and digital tools, from chatbots and dialogue simulators
to AI-driven individual skills assessments.
Progress in 2022:∙ 86 % of PJSC Rostelecom employees are covered by training (up 4 % year-on-year)∙ 91 % of managers are covered by training (up 6 % year-on-year)∙ 78 % of PJSC Rostelecom employees are covered by training at the Corporate Online University∙ 49 % of PJSC Rostelecom employees take optional training at the Corporate Online University∙ The amount of training1 delivered over the year grew by 0.2 % year-on-year, a positive result
considering the decrease in the actual audience due to the transition to the target managementmodel∙ 90 NPS training programmes to develop soft skills, featured in the internal catalogue, weredelivered∙ Ekaterina Barabanova, Employee Development Director, won the Grand Prix of the SMART
Pyramid 2022 award for achievements in training and human capital development in the Training
and Development Director of the Year category

1

Amount of training: total number of person-courses taken across in-house or external training, or remote learning programmes by the end of the reporting
period. A person-course is one training event/course completed by one employee.

152

Average hours of training per employee delivered by PJSC Rostelecom

Employee category

2019

2020

2021

2022

M

W

M

W

M

W

M

W

Top managers

56.2

54.9

63.3

61.0

48.4

44.9

38

32

Managers

33.9

30.7

37.0

35.7

34.1

36.4

64

51

White-collar employees

26.4

22.9

30.4

29.4

27.0

25.4

30.5

37

Blue-collar employees

18.4

11.6

18.5

15.2

24.1

21.5

24.7

26

Average across all categories

33.7

30.0

31.6

30.1

32.3

30.9

31.2

33.8

Subsidiaries now have dedicated units to manage employee
training matters. Employees of subsidiaries and affiliates
can also receive training at Rostelecom. They participate inmass open online training programmes, some federal-level
programmes, and training projects run by individual businesssegments.
In 2022, 28 subsidiaries and affiliates got access to the
Corporate Online University. The amount of training delivered
to employees of subsidiaries and affiliates totalled 43,000

person-courses in an asynchronous format (remote learning)and 5,300 person-courses in a synchronous format (studying
with a trainer).
Rostelecom’s training team shares best practices withcolleagues from subsidiaries and affiliates. In 2022, theKnowledge Management Department organised a conference
involving subsidiaries and affiliates to share best practices in
employee development. Best-practise sharing with subsidiaries
and affiliates will continue in 2023.
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Investment in employee training

Number of employees evaluated

In 2022, Rostelecom invested over RUB 456 million in employee training.
Employee
category

The average number of training hours per Rostelecom employee was 32.2 hours in 2022, with thetotal number of training hours at 2,596 and training costs per employee at RUB 5,650.

PJSC Rostelecom’s employee training costs

456

RUB m – investment
in employee training

2019

2020

2021

2022

Total employee training costs,
RUB m

575.4

442.5

478.5

456.0

Annual training costs per
employee, RUB thousand

5.5

5.0

5.5

5.7

Total training time,
thousand hours

2,089

3,287

3,304

2,596

Average training time per
employee, hours

31.1

31.3

31.5

32.2

M

W

M

W

Top managers

220

41

52

25

Managers

908

435

813

395

White-collar
employees

1,053

756

472

804

Blue-collar
employees

0

0

2

0

The University also means a large team of managers, methodologists, internal trainers, instructional
designers, and developers who make in-house training better while making employees’ lives easier.

Net promoter score (NPS) in 2022:∙ 92 – for online programmes∙ 80 – for courses at the Corporate Online University∙ 80 – for synchronous learning (online with a trainer)

Evaluation and career development
In 2022, the Employee Evaluation and Career Development Department continued to introduce
and promote competency assessment and development tools (360-degree review, competencymodel, tests, questionnaires, etc.) as well as implement projects to assess the teams’ capabilities
and work out career development programmes (career paths).
Key objectives for 2022:∙ Support organisational changes in the Company and improve collaboration within new teams byidentifying employees with strong corporate skills and offering development recommendations∙ Increase the effectiveness of development programmes by embedding skill diagnostics into
the selection or pre-training stage∙ Improve employee experience as regards corporate skill development
Progress in 2022:∙ Over 150 skill diagnostic requests from managers were fulfilled: more than 3,000 employees
were evaluated and received development recommendations∙ Turnaround time for a 360-degree survey was cut by two-thirds

154

2022

The Corporate Online University is a platform for the Rostelecom team’s professional andpersonal development, offering hundreds of hours of training content in different formats: from a
conventional lecture or webinar to interactive simulators and chatbots. The courses on offer range
from soft and hard skills to digital skills to general training.

The Knowledge Management Department regularly assesses the effectiveness of employee
training and analyses the amount and coverage of employee training, participation in optional
training offered by the Corporate Online University, NPS of training programmes and theirpractical applicability, the quality of training programmes, and trainers’ performance as well as
business performance trends for training participants before and after the programmes. In this way,
the Company can enhance the quality of training and the effectiveness of knowledge management.

Pet projects – employees’
own projects aimed primarily
at self-development.

2021

Rostelecom’s Corporate Online University

Employee training effectiveness evaluation

1

04. S – Social

Key findings about employees:∙ They are interested in real-time feedback services∙ They are willing to build a cross-functional career∙ Employees who have pet projects1 that they work on in their spare time have a faster career
progression

900

courses are now available
at the Corporate Online
University

Progress in 2022:∙ 180 new online courses and programmes were created∙ 13 open online training programmes were delivered∙ 112 online broadcasts were held and more than 106 hours of training content were recorded∙ A training project, The Evolution of Telecom: How It’s All Connected, was launched: the Corporate
Online University published 10 courses and put together a training programme. In total,
the project courses were taken more than 44 thousand times. In December, the programme wasmade available to external users as a special project with RBC at https://telecom-metropolis.
rbc.ru/ (in Russian)∙ The architecture of the Corporate Online University was changed to enable employees to use
the platform from any device without remote access tools. The new architecture also allowed
employees of subsidiaries and affiliates to get connected to the platform and have access to
its content∙ A technical solution for tracks was implemented (tracks represent a new training format that
includes both independent study of materials and extensive practice together with colleagues)
Key findings about employees:∙ There is a growing demand for hybrid learning (offline and online)∙ Demand for online courses in functional areas has grown, including information on businessprocesses, roles, working with systems, etc.
∙ The number of requests for materials dealing with stress and anxiety management has increased

Online Lectorium and Development Environment digest newsletter
Along with courses and programmes, the Corporate Online University features Rostelecom’s online
lecture hall and the Development Environment digest newsletter.
In 2022, the online lecture platform offered 13 lectures on stress management, building a humancentred company, recognising toxic workplace behaviour, etc. The average NPS of the lectures
was 89 points.
The Development Environment weekly newsletter produced by the training team features
useful business practices and approaches as well as business-related trends, concepts, andmethodologies. In 2022, 50 digest newsletters were issued.

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Management skill building programmes

Rostelecom develops the management skillsof current and future managers, as they will
drive individual and corporate performance.

600

employees received
professional retraining
diplomas from HSE University

Progress in 2022:∙ The fifth stream of the iMBA: Skills of a Digital Company Leader federal programme wascompleted. 600 students received professional retraining diplomas from National Research
University Higher School of Economics∙ The Leader’s Trajectory, a project to develop directors of service centres at the Technical
Infrastructure Unit, was launched, with the number of participants exceeding 500.
The programme’s NPS was 100 points, and its practical applicability scored 4.89 out of 5
∙ A Change Management programme with international Prosci certification was delivered.
40 managers took the training, and the project’s NPS was 99 points∙ An off-site programme for managers, Lead Camp. Neuroeconomics: Managerial DecisionMaking, was run. The programme covered 29 participants, and the project’s NPS was 96
points∙ Two streams of the Leadership Blueprint programme were completed, and the third one waslaunched. The project’s NPS was 100 points∙ Strategy Accelerator, a follow-up of the Director and Team programme for top performing
teams from regional branches, was launched. The first in-person intensive training within
the project and a series of round tables devoted to products of subsidiaries and affiliates
covered 68 participants. The programme’s NPS was 71 points while the overall organisationand support throughout the training scored 4.9 out of 5
Key findings about employees:∙ Business segments are interested in developing soft skills to achieve units’ business goals∙ The most popular skills to be developed were customer-centricity, interaction, and teammanagement

Professional skill building programmes̆

Rostelecom has been consistently developing
the professional skills of employees and ensuringa systematic approach to training tailored to the business
requirements of each unit.
Training in Law 44-FZ programme

Development of employees’ soft skills

In 2022, Rostelecom started using in-depth
research into the needs of the target audience
to develop employees’ soft skills.

2,500
employees are trainedby each trainer

Before each project launch, we studied the target audience: personal traits and values, attitudes
towards technology, studies, the Company, etc. This method helped us understand user needs
better and customise training formats to match them. For example, the Sales Campus commercial
segment training project developed characters to narrate content: an expert, a customer, and an
assistant (a chatbot to help with practice and check homework).
In 2022, Rostelecom developed the methodology and content for 10 soft skill tracks at
the Corporate Online University, including the track on customer-centricity, the Team Development
track, and the Ideas for People: Design Thinking workshop.
Where no ready-made company-wide solutions are available, project managers address
the requests of regional teams. In 2022, over 50 training projects were developed, covering morethan 3,500 employees. The projects used learning tools such as skill diagnostics, coaching, teamdevelopment tools, and individual support for leaders and participants.

156

In 2022, 966 employees were trained under the Contracting under Law No. 44-FZ. Procedures.
Features. Risks internal professional development programme and received standard professional
development certificates issued by PJSC Rostelecom. The programme explains the entire
process of entering into and executing contracts under Federal Law No. 44-FZ, On the Contract
System of the Federal and Municipal Procurement of Goods, Works and Services, dated 5 April
2013. The programme is geared towards PJSC Rostelecom’s work on state-funded projects.

Digital skill building programmes
To develop employees’ digital skills, Rostelecom offers a number of programmes on digital
economy technologies and trends as well as the main programming languages.
In 2022, Rostelecom collaborated with MIPT and Innopolis University to run 13 training streams
aimed at professional development and retraining on topics including Python for Aspiring andAdvanced Professionals, SQL for Aspiring and Advanced Professionals, System Analyst, and Big
Data – Apache Hadoop Expert. Over 800 employees successfully completed the training andreceived professional development certificates.
Along with retraining programmes, the Company implemented digital literacy programmes for
employees, including Excel Software, Data Processing, Data Visualization, Data-Driven Decision
Making, and Digital Etiquette, covering over 7,000 employees.

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Developing employees’ professional expertise
Top external specialists and Rostelecom’s in-house trainers and experts are engaged to develop
employees’ professional expertise.
The development of each business segment and the technical team is driven by newly establishedtraining departments within the centre of excellence, training offices, and the Knowledge
Management Department team.

Training at the Technical Infrastructure Unit
In 2022, training delivered to Technical Infrastructure Unit employee focused on two aspects: thequality of installation and disaster recovery operations, and the execution of the sales plan by thetechnical team.
Progress in 2022:∙ The skills level of Technical Infrastructure Unit managers was raised∙ An onboarding process was introduced with trainers supporting at least 95 % of new hires∙ Over 3,500 employees were covered by maintenance learning∙ The effectiveness of maintenance learning was 65 %∙ 56 online courses were launched to train Technical Infrastructure Unit employees, along with19 lab classes

B2B Training Office
The B2B and B2G Training Office is responsible for spearheading the B2B, B2G, and B2G2
segment training.
In 2022, the B2B and B2G Training Office focused on developing the SME training system,
the unified centre of excellence (UCE), and the Key Corporate Customer Relations Unit.
The following efforts were made as part of the SME training system development:∙ Onboarding activities for new employees were finalised (welcome webinar and induction
meeting with a trainer)∙ New training formats were tested: negotiation contests in three channels∙ A regular training programme to improve the quality of sales to target bases was launchedAs part of the UCE development:∙ A comprehensive training programme to develop the skills prioritised by the UCE wasdeveloped and implemented∙ A training programme for UCE team leaders, aimed at developing distributed team management
and change management skills, was implemented∙ Engagement with the I Know.UCE community, where employees can learn all about the UCEbased training system, was streamlined∙ A training programme to develop change management and cross-functional interaction skills
was conducted for the UCE of the Department of Sales to National Customers
As part of key corporate customer relations:∙ Industry without Boarders, an educational track to develop industry expertise, comprisingcourses, webinars, master classes, coach sessions, and project defence was implemented∙ performance appraisal of new employees of the key corporate customer (3C) relations segment
was piloted∙ Career paths for segment employees were created∙ Engagement with the 3C Academy community, where employees can learn all about the UCEbased training system, was streamlined

Employee training in the B2C segment
The Mass Segment Training Department is engaged on two fronts:∙ Training and development of sales channel teams∙ Training and development of the customer service team

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04. S – Social

Training of the customer service team
Efforts in this area are aimed at improving the performance ofcustomer service employees through systematic developmentof soft skills as well as at improving employee performanceagainst set metrics (quality control results, service speed, NPS,and customer experience).
Progress in 2022:∙ A single primary training track for B2C customer service
employees was developed and launched, covering over
1,500 (90 %) new employee hires∙ Federal matrices were developed and introduced across all
focus areas of the Loyalty centre of excellence∙ A transparent process of training, planning, and analytics
was set up for employees and managers Open meetings ofthe training team and business-function employees are held
as well as regular monthly meetings with project managers
in specific areas. A process is in place to compile a list of
training groups∙ A training dashboard was developed for customer service
managers, available to all managers as well as to adjacentfunctions∙ A transparent process for planning, gathering requirements,
and providing training analytics was set up

Employee training in the B2O segment
B2O is a segment serving telecom operators. Its products
are integrated technology solutions, whose sale involves longnegotiations and collaboration with the customer.
Key training results in the B2O segment in 2022:∙ A training track devoted to B2O products was launched,comprising 10 courses and 19 hours of training. The training
was supported by Product.Vision experts. A total of 148
employees successfully completed the track∙ Soft skills development tracks for B2O managers werelaunched; the project’s NPS was 90 points∙ 96% of employees in the B2О segment are covered bytraining

88 %IS INVOLVED IN OPTIONAL TRAINING
AT THE CORPORATE ONLINE UNIVERSITY∙ New training content was developed taking into accountdepartments’ specifics and employee persona models 90 %of workshop content was produced: 49 training programmes
and 10 online courses to match the training matrices∙ A process ensuring effective communication between the
training team and business functions as well as the training
team and the quality control service is in place. Trainers
regularly attend meetings organised by the quality control
team, study audit reports, and hold roundtable discussions
with quality control employees. These activities increased
employee checklist scores by 3 % to 15% on average∙ 2.8 workshops with a trainer per B2C customer service
employee are delivered∙ B2C employee engagement increased by 2022-end, with
employees attending training sessions three times a year
on average. Plans for 2023 include further efforts to build alearning culture in customer service

The main objective of the Mass Segment Training
Department is to improve salesforce performancethrough systematic skill development.

Training and development of sales channel
teams
Efforts in this area are aimed at improving the performance of
B2C sales units through systematic development of employees’skills and their training in B2C products, sales skills, andRostelecom’s service standards.
Progress in 2022:∙ 35+ thousand person-courses – the amount of training witha trainer at B2C sales units∙ The practical applicability of training scored 4.8 points outof 5∙ A B2C sales training dashboard was implemented, enablingsales managers to analyse training results and effectiveness∙ A uniform approach to planning B2C training across thecountry was introduced A single template for planningtraining for sales managers was developed∙ A single federal catalogue of B2C training programmes wascompiled, comprising workshops with a trainer and courses
at the Corporate Online University∙ Uniform training matrices for B2C sales channels wereintroduced to determine the training required for an
employee in a particular sales channel to enter anapprenticeship and start working∙ The shift to targeted training only covered those employees
who needed it∙ B2C training moved to the Corporate Online University: 11,108
employees were transferred∙ The proportion of employees who undergo unified federal
certification for B2C sales channels increased from 40 % at
the time it was introduced to over 80 % at the end of 2022.
Our employees pass the certification successfully, solidifying
product knowledge and relieving the burden of mandatory
training

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04. S – Social

IT College

Cooperation with the public education system

Rostelecom and its partners continued their joint project, Rostelecom IT College, to involve
the Moscow Region college students in the technology-driven IT agenda.
In 2022, joint educational and career events were organised for secondary vocational education
institutions as part of the IT College project, with Rostelecom employees involved as mentors andeducational process experts.
Rostelecom teamed up with its partners to hold an information security competition for school
students under the Kruzhok movement of the National Technology Initiative. The competition
is included in the list of the Russian Schoolchildren Olympiads Council, with winners andrunners-up credited 100 points on their Unified State Examination in computer science or
receiving unconditional offers from Russia’s leading universities. The project helps provide early
career guidance to the participants and builds a scientific and technical student pool with strong
potential.

Rostelecom Group is focused on attracting, retaining,and developing top young talent.

In 2022, the Company continued to sponsor the Information Security competitions, with CTF
qualifiers held for more than 7,000 participants. A special feature of the 2022 tasks was problems
in web application security, reverse engineering and virus analysis, digital forensics, binary
vulnerability detection, secure development, and information security system design.

We are building a pool of activities and programmes with educational organisations at various levels
and approach this task in a systematic and strategic way. Our formats for academia engagement
include career and professional events, strategic partnerships, mentoring programmes, feedback
culture development, and providing access to the Company for talented high-school anduniversity students through internships and work placements at Rostelecom.

Key goals of Rostelecom’s engagement with academia for 2023:∙ Become part of the national education agenda through integration into federal and local events∙ Structure and scale the academia engagement process∙ Increase focus on interactive career-guidance, career and professional events involving
the Company’s key executives and experts, including participants of the Rostelecom Experts
programme

Expanding partnerships in education and science
Rostelecom continued to engage with academia in 2022, expanding its brand footprint andboosting its expert contributions to platforms run by various organisations.
In 2022, 25 leading Russian higher education institutions (HEIs) became strategic partners of
Rostelecom in its educational and research projects and initiatives.
Key implemented projects included online and offline career events, HR-hopping events, career
debates, Company days, hackathons, case championships, virtual tours, and master classes. In
2022, Rostelecom engaged in a number of federal partnerships, including collaboration with
the Association of Career Centres and the Junior Start federal project for school and university
students. Rostelecom regularly provides not only methodological but also expert support totraining programmes.

Engaging with students

In a number of HEIs, Rostelecom supports certain educational programmes and holds regularcybersecurity events for students, including lectures by Rostelecom employees.

In 2022, Rostelecom continued systematic work with higher education institutions and the student
community.

Rostelecom holds regular events involving HEIs, students, and their associations to select promising
young talent for employment by the Company, helps students to learn about Rostelecom activities,
supports student events, conferences and forums, and organises contests and hackathons.

The more important projects and initiatives include the following:∙ Higher School of Career project in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs(Rosmolodezh)∙ Partnership between Rostelecom and the I Am a Professional olympiad, which resulted in aseries of educational and career events for the olympiad’s wide student audience∙ Partnership with the Digital Breakthrough competition, with Rostelecom supporting a series of
hackathons and events. The Company took part in two hackathons where participants solved
cases offered by Rostelecom in the Artificial Intelligence section. More than 4,000 participants
registered for Digital Breakthrough hackathons in 2022
∙ In 2022, Rostelecom took part in two career events organised by FutureToday in Moscow
and Saint Petersburg. The events attracted over 1,000 students who participated in various
activities organised by Rostelecom

Engaging school students
Rostelecom’s engagement with secondary school students enables considered career guidance,building employer brand loyalty among young people, involving school students in vocational
training, and improving their future employability.
In 2022, Rostelecom experts continued engaging with school students, developing and using new
formats for career guidance, and holding interactive and career events.

1

160

Capture the Flag – a team hacking competition, the main goal of which is to capture the opponent team’s “flag”.

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4.2.6. ENSURING WORKPLACE SAFETY
Rostelecom prioritises employee workplace safety.

04. S – Social

For more details on
Rostelecom’s approaches
to the OHMS performance
evaluation, see Rostelecom’s
Sustainability Report 2019.

The Company invests in building a strong safety culture by creating the safest and most
comfortable working conditions, encourages ownership of health and safety issues at work,
delivers training, and adopts international best practices in health and safety. Each of Groupsubsidiaries and affiliates has its own internal standards on health and safety based on PJSC
Rostelecom’s similar regulations.

Approach to providing safe working conditions
The Company’s key goals and principles in health and safety are set forth in its HSE and Fire Safety
Policy. No amendments were made to the Policy in 2022.

GRI(403–1)

GRI(403–4)Rostelecom has set itself the following strategic objectives:∙ Safeguard employee life and health at work, minimise work-related hazards, and prevent
fatalities and disabling injuries∙ Reduce the risk of work-related injuries, accidents and incidents at hazardous facilities, and fires∙ Maintain a healthy environment for employees and local communities over the long term
∙ Build a good reputation as a social actor committed to providing safe working conditions andprotecting the environment

OHMS performance evaluation

The Health and Safety Department at Rostelecom Headquarters is charged with overall
coordination of Occupational Health Management System (OHMS) activities. Branches,
subsidiaries, and affiliates have health and safety functions charged with the enforcement of the
Occupational Health and Industrial Safety Policy, legal compliance, injury prevention, and building
a strong safety culture.

At the level of the Group’s business units, subsidiaries, and affiliates, OHMS performance isevaluated by the occupational health teams of respective entities. Branches use a four-tiered
control system to review the OHMS performance, whereby the dedicated commissions include
Rostelecom managers and trade union representatives with due authority in health and safety
matters. Furthermore, the Occupational Health Department of Rostelecom’s Headquarters runs
annual inspections of regional branches to look into OHS practices.

In 2022, the Occupational Health Department implemented two OHMS regulations in regional
branches:∙ Regulations on Organising Occupational Safety Training and On Testing the Knowledgeof Occupational Safety Requirements at PJSC Rostelecom∙ Regulations on the Procedure for Mandatory Preliminary and Periodic Medical Examinationsof Employees at PJSC Rostelecom
Percentage compliance with the above standards was evaluated quarterly against checklists
at each branch.
In December 2022, the Occupational Health Department developed and approved the Regulations
on Monitoring the OHMS Operation and Implementation of OHMS Measures at PJSC Rostelecom,
to be put into effect in 2023.

Vision Zero concept
Since 2019, Rostelecom has been implementing the principles of Vision Zero – a global zero injury
rate initiative focused on three areas: safety, occupational hygiene, and employee well-being at
all levels of operations. In 2022, the Group continued to roll out Vision Zero, focusing on driving
leadership in occupational health and safety among managers as well as workplace safety acrossits facilities.

In 2022, the Occupational Health Department automated the records of tier 3 audits at branches
where branch-level technical directors are responsible for occupational health.
2022 saw more than 2,220 audits, which identified over 22,800 breaches.

2,220
audits identified
over 22,800 breaches
in 2022

In 2021, the Occupational Health Department completed 65 OHMS performance audits, reporting
more than 1,200 breaches. All 65 branches were audited in 2022 using the four-tiered control
system. The top 3 most frequently identified gaps included non-compliance of document
management with local regulations, flaws in workplace maintenance, and issues related to
mandatory employee training.
The audit results were reviewed by the top management and at meetings of the Senior Vice
President for Technical Infrastructure with technical directors of branches. For each of theidentified gaps, corrective actions were developed to remedy them and avoid these issues in the
future.

Occupational health and safety management by contractors
Rostelecom’s health and safety rules and requirements also apply to contractor employees.
The following documents apply to contractors and seconded staff:∙ Instruction on the Procedure for the Admission of Third-Party Specialists and Seconded Staffof Rostelecom to Work at Rostelecom Facilities∙ Methodology to Verify Compliance with Occupational Safety Requirements for the Admissionof Third-Party Employees and Seconded Staff of Rostelecom to Work at Rostelecom Facilities
Before starting any work at PJSC Rostelecom’s facilities, contractor employees undergo a healthand safety induction from the Occupational Health Department.

162

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Workplace injury prevention
GRI(403–3)

GRI(403–7)

Rate of work-related injuries

Rostelecom creates secure, safe, and comfortable work conditions. The Company conducts
relevant training, medical examinations, workplace assessments, and other scheduled activities
every year to ensure the safety of employees doing hazardous work, including the installation,
operation, and maintenance of towers and base stations.
In 2022, the Company spent RUB 624 million on PPE (safety workwear and footwear, and otherpersonal protective equipment).

GRI(403–2)

GRI(403–9)Rostelecom Group’s spending on occupational health and safety, RUB m

Spending on occupational
health1

04. S – Social

2019

2020

2021

2022

834.8

1,864.5

1,589.6

934.5

GRI(403–10)

In 2022, no occupational diseases were diagnosed in Rostelecom employees.
During the year, there were 30 work-related injuries, down 15 % from 2021 (35 injuries). In 2022,
there was one fatal workplace accident to an employee who fell from standing height when
walking around the site. The most common causes of injuries were falls from ladders, including
stepladders, falls from poles, and from standing height (70 %).
In 2022, the Company investigated all employee injuries, identified their causes, and definedcorrective actions. We prepared semi-annual and annual reports on the injuries and circulated
letters specifying measures to avoid similar incidents in the future.

Work-related injuries at PJSC Rostelecom
2019

2020

2021

2022

47

40

35

30

∙ high-consequence
injuries

10

8

7

8

∙ fatalities

3

0

3

1

∙ injured women

5

5

7

3

∙ injured men

42

35

28

27

Rate of work-related
injuries per 1,000
employees

0.44

0.38

0.33

0.31

Rate of work-related
fatalities per 1,000
employees

0.01

0

0.03

0.01

Lost time accident days

2,199

2,094

3,251

2,711

Number of work-related
injuries
Including:

Breakdown by gender:

Occupational health training
Rostelecom is focused on improving employee knowledge and skills in occupational health andsafety. All categories of staff take health and safety training.
In 2022, Rostelecom delivered training in the following areas:∙ For all technical directors of branches and managers at the Technical Infrastructure Unit of
the Headquarters – The Manager’s Role and Responsibility in Occupational Health. Leadershipin Occupational Health∙ For managers and specialists at the Occupational Health Department of the Headquarters and
OHS departments of branches – The Manager’s Role and Responsibility in Occupational Health.
Leadership in Occupational Health∙ For more than 200 technical leaders and specialists – Safe Work Under a Work Permit∙ For more than 160 technical leaders and specialists – Occupational Risk Management
Employees involved in tower installation and maintenance did mandatory training in electricalsafety and safe work at height and also learned first-aid methods, procedure for safe work in
enclosed or confined spaces, key occupational health requirements, and rules for using personal
protective equipment.

The rate of work-related injuries at PJSC Rostelecom stood at 0.31 in 2022. The total numberof accidents decreased by 15 % year-on-year, driven by stronger culture of awareness and safe
behaviour in the workplace and best practice adoption.

In 2022, more than 60 thousand Rostelecom employees were covered by occupational healthtraining.

1

The 2019–2022 indicators presented in the table include data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s subsidiaries and affiliates. Headcount-wise, this perimetercovers 100 % of the entire Group.

164

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05. G ­— Governance05
G — GOVERNANCE

166

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Sustainability Report 2022

5.1. Corporate governance

05. G ­— Governance

PJSС Rostelecom’s corporate governance structure

GRI
(2–9)

Sound governance enables accurately defining
the Company’s goals and the means to achieve themas well as ensuring that shareholders have effective
control over the Company’s business. Rostelecom’s
corporate governance system meets the best international
and Russian practice standards. The three-tiergovernance model provides the three lines of defence
to ensure the safety and effective use of funds provided
by shareholders. Moreover, this model is aimed at reducing
risks that cannot be assessed by investors.

GRI(2–13)In accordance with its Charter, Rostelecom is governed by:∙ the General Shareholders’ Meeting (GSM)∙ the Board of Directors (elected by the General Shareholders’ Meeting to guide the Company’s
strategic management)∙ the President and the Management Board (appointed by the Board of Directors to manage
the Company’s day-to-day operations).

AUDIT
COMMISSION

GENERAL SHAREHOLDERS’MEETING

EXTERNAL
AUDITOR

INTERNAL AUDITUNIT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Audit Committee
Nomination and Remuneration Committee
Strategy Committee

5.1.1. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SYSTEMRISK MANAGEMENTDIVISIONS

Corporate Governance Committee
Investment Committee

CORPORATESECRETARY

Principle∙ Balance between the interests of shareholders, management, and stakeholders∙ Equal treatment of all shareholders and protection of their rights∙ Accountability of the Board of Directors, the President, and the Management Board
to shareholders∙ Informational and financial transparency

President / Chairman of the Management Board

Priority∙∙∙∙

INTERNAL CONTROLUNITMANAGEMENT BOARDASSET PROTECTION
DEPARTMENT (COMPLIANCE)¹

Budget and Investment Committee

Focus on stakeholder interests and relations
Compliance with the business conduct and ethics
Timely and accurate disclosures
Corporate social responsibility

Compensation Committee
Risk Management Committee
Charity Committee

DEDICATED OFFICERSRESPONSIBLE FOR
AML/CFT/FPWMD¹ , ²Enhancement focus∙ Continuous advancement of internal controls and audit∙ Continuous improvement of corporate governance practices∙ Development of electronic services that enable shareholders to exercise their rights
productively∙ Upgrade of the IT system that automates the Management Board and committees’ processes
1
2

168

Elects/appoints

Governing bodies

Reports toControl bodies

For more details, see the Corporate Governance: Anti-corruption and Procurement section.
Dedicated officials responsible for the implementation of internal controls to counter the legalisation (laundering) of proceeds of crime, the financing
of terrorism and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Key policies

Management of subsidiaries and affiliates

PJSС Rostelecom has in place 22 policies and internal regulations
governing its corporate governance system. In 2022 and early 2023,
11 of them were revised.

Rostelecom Group comprises
PJSС Rostelecom, its subsidiaries,
and affiliates. As of 31 December 2022,
the Group included 217 subsidiaries
and affiliates.1

Key corporate governance policies of PJSС Rostelecom1

Document

30 June 2022

Regulations on the General Shareholders’ Meeting

30 June 2022

Regulations on the Audit Commission

30 June 2022

Regulations on the Board of Directors

30 June 2022

Regulations on the President

30 June 2022

Regulations on the Management Board

30 June 2022
27 December 2007

Code of Ethics

15 October 2019

Anti-corruption Policy

6 December 2019

Internal Audit Policy
Regulations on Internal Audit

26 April 201923 December 2022

Regulations on Addressing Reports Submitted via the Ethics Hotline

29 June 2020

Risk Management Policy

25 June 2021

Regulations on the Integrated Risk Management System

19 April 2022

Internal Control Management Policy

23 September 2022

Procedure for Implementing, Maintaining and Developing the Internal Control
System26 December 2022

Environmental Policy
Information Disclosure Policy
Dividend Policy

The Company views its subsidiaries and affiliates as a major
growth point for its business, building digital clusters for new
strategic initiatives, which comprise several subsidiaries oraffiliates operating in interrelated areas. The year of 2022 saw
the Data Centres, Cloud Services, and Information Security
clusters fully take shape. The Company continued its efforts
to build the Digital Region, Public Sector Digital Services andProducts, and Digital Healthcare clusters as well as streamline
its group ownership structure and update its corporate
documents. Rostelecom interacts with the parent companyof each cluster, which is responsible for engaging with, andmanaging, other companies within the business segment.
Rostelecom retains its Group-wide supervisory and monitoring
function.

Last effective date

Charter

Corporate Governance CodeApproaches to corporate governance based on the interest in subsidiaries and affiliates

2 April 201930 September 201519 April 2021

Policy of Access to Insider Information

31 January 2023

Regulations on Receiving, Reviewing, and Retaining Complaints and Claims
Related to Accounting, the Accounting Internal Control Procedures, Fraud, Audit
Examinations, and the Code of Ethics Compliance2 October 2008

Regulations on the Corporate Secretary and the Corporate Secretary’s Office

13 September 20191
1

www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_governance/docs/.

170

05. G ­— Governance

Minority interest

Interest < 50 %Interest > 50 %Participation in generalshareholders’ meetings,
protection of Rostelecomrights as a shareholder

Governance aligned with the shareholders’agreement in place to ensure:∙ nominations by Rostelecom for top
management positions∙ participation in the proceedings ofthe Board of Directors and control bodies∙ outsourcing of support functions(as agreed with the partner)

Integration into Rostelecom’s corporate
governance framework and culture, including:∙ building a unified corporate governancemodel for subsidiaries and affiliates∙ appointing sole executive bodies and mostrepresentatives in the subsidiaries’
and affiliates’ collective governingand control bodies∙ a unified financial planning and treasury
system∙ outsourcing of support functions∙ a unified approach to business standards
and key internal regulations

See the full list in Appendix 5, Information on Rostelecom’s Participations in Business Entities and Non-profit Organisations, to this Annual Report:
www.company.rt.ru/ir/agm/files/2022/Appendix_5_to_annual_report_2022_rus.pdf.

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Governance principles at the subsidiaries and affiliates

05. G ­— Governance

Motivation to achieve goals and objectives
Managers and employees across subsidiaries and affiliates should be motivated by incentives
for achieving targets set for their respective subsidiaries and affiliates. Incentives for Rostelecom
employees responsible for the subsidiaries and affiliates should factor in the achievement ofstrategic goals set for the respective subsidiaries and affiliates.

Proportionality and transparency
Governance tools should be appropriate to the scale and objectives of the subsidiaries
and affiliates and should be straightforward and understandable to employees.

Creating a corporate collaboration environment
Consistency and holistic approach

Development and implementation of methodologies and procedures governing the coordinationof information and material flows in relation with the subsidiaries and affiliates.

Governance tools at the subsidiaries and affiliates should allow the use of systems analysis
and synthesis in every decision made by the management and should cover all aspects ofthe subsidiary’s or affiliate’s activities. Relations within the Group should be built on the principles
of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Efficiency and effectiveness
Unprofitable subsidiaries and affiliates are liquidated, or measures are undertaken to boost theirperformance. Governance tools should be easy to integrate into the existing information systems.
Information flows should meet the principle of minimal sufficiency.

Compliance
Governance tools and decisions should comply with the laws of Russia and other countries
where the subsidiary or affiliate operates. Particular attention should be paid to compliancewith anti-corruption laws.

Collective decision-making and sole responsibility of the leadership
Rostelecom participates in the appointment of CEOs and board members at the subsidiaries andaffiliates. The Company divisions provide analytical support to Rostelecom-nominated electedboard members at the subsidiaries and affiliates.

Delegation of powers, centralisation and decentralisation of leadership functions,limitation of authority, and performance accountability for heads of subsidiaries
and affiliates
The heads of the subsidiaries and affiliates are responsible and accountable for the operationsof their respective subsidiary or affiliate. The constituent documents of the subsidiaries andaffiliates set transaction limits beyond which heads of entities may not enter into transactions
independently or dispose of, or encumber, property of their respective subsidiaries and affiliates.

Priority of governance functions over the structure for newly-establishedsubsidiaries or affiliates and priority of structure over governance functions in theexisting subsidiaries and affiliates
When establishing or acquiring companies, Rostelecom introduces governance and control
systems across its subsidiaries and affiliates as quickly as possible. As these institutions areformed, the entire governance framework and the structure of the subsidiaries and affiliates
are optimised.

Participation of Rostelecom’s Board of Directors and Management Board in the management of subsidiaries
and affiliates
Rostelecom’s Board of Directors determines the Company’s
position on:∙ the participation and termination of Rostelecom’s
participation in other business entities (except where suchparticipation terminates following the entity’s liquidation or
reorganisation by the decision of its management body ora court)∙ changing Rostelecom’s ownership interest in a business
entity (except where such ownership changes follow theentity’s liquidation or reorganisation by the decision of its
management body or a court)∙ the matters reviewed by the subsidiaries’ and affiliates’
governing bodies with regard to acquiring shares (interests)
in other business entities, including upon their establishment,
where the price of the transaction equals or exceeds 15 %of the book value of the assets held by such a subsidiaryor an affiliate determined by reference to its accounting(financial) statements as of the most recent reporting date,
except where the price of the transaction does not exceed
0.5 % of the book value of Rostelecom’s assets determinedby reference to its accounting (financial) statements as of themost recent reporting date
∙ the matters reviewed by the subsidiaries’ and affiliates’
governing bodies with regard to the acquisition or disposalof Rostelecom shares held by them.

Rostelecom’s Management Board determines the Company’s
position on:∙ the proposals to change the nominal value of the interest,
the number and the nominal value of the shares held byRostelecom in a business entity, where such a change iseffected without changing the size of Rostelecom’s ownershipinterest in the business entity∙ the matters put forward to vote and concerning the jurisdictionof the general meeting of the participants of a business entity
where Rostelecom holds an ownership interest, the proposals
to terminate Rostelecom’s participation in the entity, change
the size of its ownership interest, its nominal value, the number
and the nominal value of the shares held by Rostelecom∙ the matters referred to the jurisdiction of the subsidiaries’ andaffiliates’ general meetings of the participants (the supreme
governing bodies of the business entities with a different legal
structure) where Rostelecom acts as the sole participant.

Key improvements in 2022

Corporate governance level

Over 2022, the Company advanced its service offered toshareholders calling on the dedicated hotline at 8 800 100
1666. The process was successfully scripted, which improved
the quality of advice. On top of this, an IVR1 platform was
implemented to quickly process incoming calls without
involving an operator and effectively route internal calls andcalls addressed to VTB Registrar.

Corporate governance rating assigned by the Russian
Institute of Directors:2 7++ – advanced corporate governancepractice.

Feedback
We leverage feedback from our subsidiaries and affiliates to better related governance and control
tools.

172

1
2

Interactive voice response.
Affirmed in February 2022.

Forming boards of directors at subsidiaries and affiliates
Candidates to the boards of directors of the subsidiaries
and affiliates are selected based on the principles of overall
competence, balance of skills and experience, succession
planning, and compliance with legal requirements.

7++
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Sustainability Report 2022

Compliance with the Corporate Governance Code1

2021

2022

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Non-compliance

2020

Partial complianceTotal number ofprinciples undereach sectionof the Code2019

Full compliance5.1.2. GOVERNING BODIES

2018

Code
sectionRights and equal
opportunities forshareholders in
exercising their rights

12

12

13

13

13

1

1

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

13

Board of Directors

32

32

32

32

32

4

4

4

4

4

–

–

–

–

–

36

Corporate Secretary

2

2

2

2

1

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

1

2

Remuneration system
for Board members,
executive bodies andother key executives

8

8

8

9

9

2

2

2

1

1

–

–

–

–

–

10

Risk management andinternal control system

6

Company disclosuresand information policy

6

6

7

6

4

1

1

–

1

3

–

–

–

–

–

7

Material corporate
actions

3

3

4

4

4

2

2

1

1

1

–

–

–

–

–

5

General Shareholders’ Meeting
The General Shareholders’ Meeting (GSM) is the Company’s
supreme governing body. Its proceedings are regulated by
the Russian laws, Rostelecom’s Charter,1 and the Regulations
on the General Shareholders’ Meeting.2
Throughout 2022, Rostelecom’s Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting3 was held on 30 June with
no Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meetings taking place during the period.

Number of participants in Annual General Shareholders’ Meetings
6

6

6

6

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

6
AGSM41-2020

AGSM-2021

AGSM-2022

Paper ballots

9

10

7

E-proxy voting (ISO – via a depository)

42

35

13

1,848

1,928

1,938

162

279

411

2,061

2,252

2,369

E-voting system by VTB Registrar5
Total

05. G ­— Governance

69

69

72

72

69

10

10

7

7

9

–

–

–

–

1

79
E-voting system by NSD6

Improvement plans

Total

Rostelecom will continue to update its corporate governance system. In particular, plans for 2023
include further development and expansion of the digital services and the remote communication
channels for shareholders to facilitate their access to rights, subject to all applicable legal
requirements.

1

2

1

174

For 2018–2020 – based on the methodology recommended by the Bank of Russia’s Letter No. IN-06-52/8 dated
17 February 2016, and for 2021–2022 – by Letter No. IN-06-28/102 dated 27 December 2016. For more details,
see Appendix 1, Report on Compliance with the Corporate Governance Code Recommended by the Bank of Russia,
to this Annual Report: www.company.rt.ru/ir/agm/files/2022/Appendix_1_to_annual_report_2022_eng.pdf.

3
4
5
6

New version No. 22 was approved by the Company’s AGSM on 30 June 2022 (Minutes No. 1 dated 1 July 2022).
The full text of the new version is available at: www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_governance/docs/.
New version No. 12 was approved by the Company’s AGSM on 30 June 2022 (Minutes No. 1 dated 1 July 2022).
The full text of the new version is available at: www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_governance/docs/.
The Voting Report dated 1 July 2022 is available at: www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/agm/events/gosa/detail/2022/.
Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting.
pos.vtbreg.ru/.
www.e-vote.ru/en/.

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05. G ­— Governance

Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is a collective governing body
responsible for the Company’s development strategy
and general management. The powers of the Board
are detailed in the Charter and the Regulations
on the Board of Directors.1

Evaluation of the Board of Directors’
performance2
In early 2022, VTB Registrar, an independent consultancy,
evaluated the overall performance of the Board of Directors
for the year 2021 as well as the performance of its committees
and each Board member, including the Board Chairman.
The weighted average score of the Board of Directors was 5
out of 5. The consultancy noted the balanced composition of
the Board and the sound performance of the Board and its
committees.
Based on the evaluation results, it was recommended toadditionally focus on import substitution and cybersecurity
issues as well as the risk management system as a whole.
In February 2023, the Board conducted its self-evaluation forthe year 2022 as well as the performance evaluation of its
committees and individual Board members, including the Board
Chairman. Based on the results of the individual evaluationand following the analysis of the Board members’ performanceagainst all applicable criteria, all of them scored the maximum
number of points.
The Board of Directors recommended that the Company
maintain its traditional quality and a high level of corporate,
strategic, and operational management amidst economic
uncertainty and a sanctions pressure, including the continued
practice of appointing a sufficient number of independent
directors to ensure a balanced composition of the Board of
Directors to take into account the interests of all groups of theCompany’s shareholders.
The Board of Directors also recommended that the Company
explore the advisability of further strengthening its market
positions in the key growth areas set out in the Company’s
strategy for 2021–2025, including through M&A.

Induction of Board members
The onboarding system and the induction programmes are avital part of the Board’s effective performance.

GRI(2–12)

2

As part of the onboarding procedures, new members of
Rostelecom’s Board of Directors are invited to read all of
the Company’s internal regulations governing the proceedingsof the Board and meet the members of the Management Board
as well as the internal and external auditors.

Make decisions based on reliable
information on the Company’s
operations.

At the first meeting of the new Board of Directors, thePresident briefs the new Board members on Rostelecom’s
strategy and business as well as on key projects implemented
by the Company or scheduled for the coming corporate year.

Requirements for nominees to the Boardof Directors

Ensure the Company’s commitment to the long-term interests of its
shareholders and receipt by shareholders of all relevant information
about the Company’s operations.

When selecting nominees to the Board of Directors,
Rostelecom is guided by the Russian and international
corporate governance standards. The Company strives tocompose the Board of Directors in such a way that it is able
to make fair and independent judgements and adopt all
appropriate corporate resolutions in a timely and effective
manner.

Balance the interests of various groups of shareholders and makethe most objective and well-balanced decisions for the benefitof all shareholders.

Board nominees must have an impeccable business andpersonal reputation as well as the professional qualifications
necessary for the efficient decision-making by the Boardand must not raise any doubt as to whether they will act in
the interests of the Company and its shareholders.
A conflict of interest gives a well-founded reason to doubtthat the nominee will remain objective and unbiased, acting
in the best interests of the Company, and it is therefore notadvisable to nominate to the Board of Directors anyone whoholds an interest in, sits on the executive bodies of, or isemployed by Rostelecom’s competitors.

Interpret any ambiguities in any laws and regulations in favourof the enhancement of the rights and legitimate interestsof shareholders.

Independent directors are enabled to influence decisions
made by the Board. The Company aims for at least one thirdof the Board to be made up of independent directors.
Independent directors make a positive contribution toshaping objective assessments when the Board of Directors
makes decisions on all matters within its remit, thus ensuring
the balancing of the interests of all Rostelecom shareholders.

New version No. 17 was approved by the Company’s AGSM on 30 June 2022 (Minutes No. 1 dated 1 July 2022). The full text of the new version is available at:www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_governance/docs/.
For more details on the performance evaluation of the Board of Directors, see Appendix 2, Governance and Control Bodies, to this Annual Report at:
www.company.rt.ru/ir/agm/files/2022/Appendix_2_to_annual_report_2022_rus.pdf.

176∙ Set and advance the business objectives and strategic goals of the Company∙ Protect the rights and legitimate interests of shareholders∙ Ensure the integrity, reliability, and fairness of public information about the Company

Key principles of the Board of Directors

11

directors electedannually1

Key objectives of the Board of Directors

1

54.7
years – average ageof a Board member1

6.1

years – average tenureof a Board member

Average age and tenure of Board members are as at 31 December 2022.

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Sustainability Report 2022

GRI
(2–11)

05. G ­— Governance

Composition of the Board of Directors1

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

178

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Sustainability Report 2022

05. G ­— GovernanceDirector independence

73Non-executive

1

Independent

Executive

Board of Directors in office during 2022

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

Board of Directors’ and its committees’ performance report1 in 2022

14

Board meetings
held in 2022

12

Board meetings
held in absentia

2

Board meetings
held in person

119matters discussed
by the Board

The liability of the Company’s directors was insured for EUR 25 million, with an additional insurance
coverage of EUR 920 thousand for each independent director (EUR 4.6 million in total).
No conflicts of interest involving members of the Board of Directors were identified in 2022.
Board members fill in quarterly questionnaires listing all potential factors that may contribute toa conflict of interest.

1

For more information about the matters discussed at the meetings of the Board of Directors and its committees, see Appendix 3, Information on Meetings of the Boardof Directors and Its Committees, to this Annual Report at: www.company.rt.ru/ir/agm/files/2022/Appendix_3_to_annual_report_2022_eng.pdf.

180

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Sustainability Report 2022

Board committees’ performance in 2022

Matters discussed by the Board of Directors

Topic

Audit Committee1

Number of matters discussed

5 meetings heldin the reporting year
in absentia

Audit, risk management, and internal control

7

Matters of General Shareholders’ Meetings

20

Organising the proceedings of the Board of Directors and its committees

11

Approval of interested party transactions

16

Approval of transactions regulated by the Charter15

2 meetings heldin the reporting year,
1 of them in person

Strategy and development

12

11 matters
discussed

Management of non-core assets

13

HR management

15

Approval of internal documents

5

Miscellaneous

5

Total matters discussed

119

14 matters
discussed

Key 2022 results

Plans for 2023

∙ Ongoing monitoring of the implementation of thecorporate strategy and the strategic projects:– Import substitution– Cybersecurity– Development of the Data Centres and Cloud
Services strategic business line
– Biometrics∙ Reviewing the need to update the Company’s
key documents (strategy, long-term development
programme, digital transformation programme, KPIs),
taking into account macroeconomic changes and thepolitical situation∙ Continuous monitoring of technological and businessresilience as well as tracking of key performanceindicators (KPIs) set by the Board of Directors amidst
the sanctions pressure∙ Focus on maintaining high standards of corporate
governance∙ Developing the new Long-Term Incentive andRetention Programme for Key Employees

The Audit Committee is responsible for discussing the following matters:∙ Financial statements∙ Internal and external audit∙ Countering employee and third-party misconduct∙ Compliance with the Code of Ethics∙ Risk management

Nomination and Remuneration Committee2
The Nomination and Remuneration Committee is responsible for discussing the following matters:∙ Development, review, and implementation of the Remuneration Policy∙ Performance evaluation of the Company’s executive bodies and other key executives∙ Early termination of employment contracts with members of the Company’s executive bodies
and other key executives∙ Recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the Corporate Secretary∙ Disclosure of the remuneration policies and practices and the management’s shareholding in
the Annual Report∙ Qualifications and responsibilities of the Board members, membership enhancement priorities,
and the selection of new candidates∙ Appointment of the members of the Management Board, including the Chairman, anddetermining the terms of their employment contracts

Strategy Committee3

2 meetings heldin the reporting year,
1 of them in person
3 matters
discussed

Performance highlights

The Strategy Committee is responsible for discussing the following matters:∙ Strategic goals and strategy implementation∙ Priority areas and progress on strategic plans∙ Distribution of profits, including dividends∙ The Company’s performance and growth prospects over the longer term
∙ Relations with the entities where the Company holds interest, including disposal thereof∙ Trading Company securities∙ Financial and business evaluation models∙ Reorganisation and liquidation of the Company and its controlled entities∙ Using reserve and other funds∙ Major and interested party transactions

Corporate Governance Committee4

1 meeting heldin the reporting year
in absentia

7matters

discussed

The Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for discussing the following matters:∙ Preparing for and holding the Annual and Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meetings∙ Approaches to disclosures and rules for handling non-public information∙ Drafting amendments to and approving new versions of regulations on the Company’s
governing bodies∙ Settling corporate conflicts∙ Verifying compliance with the international standards and requirements of stock exchanges∙ Approving the Company’s registrar and the terms of the agreement concluded with it∙ Focus on fortifying the existing strategic advantages,
including through M&A
1

2

3

4

182

05. G ­— GovernanceNew version No. 4 of the Regulations on the Audit Committee of PJSC Rostelecom’s Board of Directors was approved by the Board of Directors on 6 August2020 (Minutes No. 24 dated 6 August 2020). The full text of the document is available at: https://www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_governance/docs/
Regulations_Audit_Committee_ver4.pdf.
New version No. 4 of the Regulations on the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of PJSC Rostelecom’s Board of Directors was approved by the Boardof Directors on 6 August 2020 (Minutes No. 24 dated 6 August 2020). The full text of the document is available at: https://www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_
governance/docs/Regulations_NomRem_Committee_ver4.pdf.
New version No. 4 of the Regulations on the Strategy Committee of PJSC Rostelecom’s Board of Directors was approved by the Board of Directors on 6 August2020 (Minutes No. 24 dated 6 August 2020). The full text of the document is available at: https://www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_governance/docs/
Regulations_Strategy_Committee_ver4.pdf.
New version No. 5 of the Regulations on the Corporate Governance Committee of PJSC Rostelecom’s Board of Directors was approved by the Board of
Directors on 6 August 2020 (Minutes No. 24 dated 6 August 2020). The full text of the document is available at: https://www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_
governance/docs/Regulations_CG_Committee_ver5.pdf.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Key matters discussed by committees in 2022

05. G ­— GovernancePresident and Management Board

Audit Committee

Nomination and Remuneration Committee∙ Recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding
the Company’s auditor∙ RAS and IFRS reports∙ Paying bonuses to the Senior Auditor and the Senior Risk
Manager∙ Internal Audit Unit performance reports and plans, including
the recognition of the risk management and internal control
system as generally effective, except for areas where certain
observations or gaps were identified to require specificcorrective action∙ Regulations on Internal Audit∙ Risk Management Programme for 2022
∙ Risk management outcomes∙ 2021 KPI Progress Report∙ Implementation procedure for the second cycle of the LongTerm Incentive Programme for 2020–2022∙ Regulations on the Establishment and Application of Key
Performance Indicators to Determine the Annual Bonus
Payable to the President of PJSC Rostelecom∙ Determination of the term of office and the numberof members of Rostelecom’s Management Board andappointment of its members∙ Determining whether the Board nominees meetthe independence criteria∙ Paying bonuses to the President, the Corporate Secretary,and the Senior Auditor

Strategy Committee

Corporate Governance Committee∙ Recommendations to the General Shareholders’ Meeting on
the distribution of net profit and payment of a final dividendfor 2021∙ Business plan for 2023

∙ Information Policy Compliance Report∙ Inclusion of the following items in the agenda of the 2021
Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting: Approving
Rostelecom’s Charter, Version No. 22; Approving theRegulations on the General Shareholders’ Meeting of PJSC
Rostelecom, Version No. 12; Approving the Regulations on
the Board of Directors of PJSC Rostelecom, Version No.
17; Approving the Regulations on the President of PJSC
Rostelecom, Version No. 6; Approving the Regulations on
the Management Board of PJSC Rostelecom, Version No. 8;
Approving the Regulations on the Audit Commission of PJSC
Rostelecom, Version No. 6

926

membersof the Management Board

Management Board meetings
held in person in 2022

47.3
9.8

years – average ageof a Management Board
memberyears – average tenureof a Management Board member
at Rostelecom Group

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

Corporate Secretary

The Corporate Secretary facilitates the coordination between the Company and its shareholders
and assists the Company’s governing bodies in corporate governance. The Corporate Secretaryis elected by the Board of Directors and reports to the Board of Directors.

184

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Sustainability Report 2022

05. G ­— GovernanceManagement Board’s performance reportManagement Board committees’ performance report

Key matters discussed by the Management Board

To improve the performance of the Management Board, the Company has in place four committees.

Operations and operational excellence∙ The 2022 business plan performance reports and draftingthe 2023 business plan
∙ Enhancing the corporate project management∙ Streamlining the procurement procedures∙ Streamlining the relations with subsidiaries and affiliates∙ The Company’s digital transformation∙ Monitoring the progress of key strategic projects:– Bridging the Digital Divide– Providing Internet Access for Hospitals and Out-Patient
Clinics– Arranging for Video Surveillance and Ensuring the Operationof the Broadcasting Portal during the Elections in Russia– Digital transformation of the public administration
Changing the Company’s branch structure and optimising
employee performance in a remote-working environment

The Company’s growth∙ Strategies to be pursued by the business segments and key
subsidiaries∙ Building the target IT architecture and transforming the telecom
networks∙ Developing digital services in healthcare

Risk management∙ Progress in the Risk Management Programme

Evolving corporate governance standards∙ Developing and approving the Risk Management Programme∙ The Company’s internal control development concept

Preparing materials and matters referredto the Board of Directors∙ Preliminary review of the interested party transactions

Social responsibility∙ Charity and sponsorship initiatives

32 meetings held

Budget and Investment Committee

in the reporting year,
19 of them in person

Committee functions

77 matters discussed

The Budget and Investment Committee facilitates the linkages between, and the alignment of,
the budget and investment processes, monitors their progress, and makes relevant proposals to
the Management Board.

Key 2022 results∙ Reviewed and assessed the Company’s investment projects and programmes for 2022
and 2023, made go/no-go decisions∙ Reviewed the 2022 budgets of the business units and branches as part of preparing
the Company’s draft consolidated budget for 2023
∙ Monitored the performance of the 2022 investment plan

Plans for 2023
∙ Reviewing and assessing the Company’s investment projects and programmes∙ Reviewing the budgets of the business units and branches as part of preparing the Company’s
draft consolidated budget∙ Monitoring the performance of the investment plan

29 meetings heldin the reporting year,
25 of them in person

103 matters discussed

Compensation Committee
Committee functions
The Compensation Committee is responsible for discussing the following matters:∙ Headcount increases and sources of financing∙ One-off bonuses to employees∙ Covering elective surgery costs for Company employees∙ Changing the incentive system∙ Determining the terms of the Company’s Housing Programme, NPF1

Key 2022 results
Determined the terms of the Company’s Housing Programme
Made a decision to cover elective surgery costs for Company employees
Decided to award bonuses to employees
Took a decision on headcount increases and the sources of financing
Approved the allocation of defined contributions for the employees of Rostelecom’s Corporate
Centre and an information technologies subsidiary pursuant to the Private Pension Insurance
Programme∙ Approved the incentive system for auditors∙ Approved an addendum to the memorandum on the approach to financial incentives for
employees of Rostelecom’s Property Management Department∙ Made decisions regarding corporate titles
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

Management Board members’ attendance at meetings

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

Plans for 2023
To discuss the following matters:∙ Changes to the incentive system of the Company’s business units∙ Approval of the 2022 reserves∙ Bonus payments to employees∙ The Housing Programme∙ Allocation of defined contributions for the employees of Rostelecom’s Corporate Centre,
pursuant to the Private Pension Insurance Programme∙ Headcount increases and the sources of financing∙ Covering employees’ medical treatment costs

1

186

A private pension fund.

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Sustainability Report 2022

4 meetings held

Risk Management Committee

in the reporting year,
2 of them in person

Committee functions

8 matters discussed

The Risk Management Committee coordinates the evolution of the risk management system (RMS)
and ensures effective risk management at all levels to support balanced business decisions.

5.1.3. CONTROL BODIES1

Audit Commission

Key 2022 results∙ Approved the Risk Management Programme∙ Discussed the risk management matters to be further submitted to the President,
the Management Board, the Board of Directors, and the Board’s Audit Committee∙ Issued relevant instructions to the RMS participants and approved risk management measures∙ Regularly supervised the risk management procedures for all risks and at all organisational levels∙ Monitored the mitigation measures and changes in the key risk indicators

Key function
Control over the financial and business operations in the periods between general shareholders’meetings.

Plans for 2023

Key 2022 results∙ Enhancing the risk management processes: identifying and assessing risks, developing risk
management measures, RMS supervising and monitoring

12 in-absentia meetings

held in the reporting year

31 matters discussed

05. G ­— Governance∙ In early 2023, the Commission conducted an audit of the Company’s financial and business
operations for the year 2022 using the methods of an overall and random inspection ofindividual transactions, including the Annual Report and the annual accounting (financial)statements∙ In the course of 2022, the Company’s business underwent an audit in the following areas:→ Assessment of the financial and business performance, analysis of the remuneration system,
including a KPI review→ The Company’s legal compliance in its core financial and business operations→ Analysis of the ICS, RMS, and the internal audit system, the budget and investment plan
execution, and the effectiveness of the disposition and divestiture of the Company’s noncore assets→ Analysis of the Company’s real estate management programme, including the transactional
mechanics in 2022, and the effectiveness of the equity investment management→ Execution of the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation and
the Government of the Russian Federation as well as the recommendations of the Audit
Commission resulting from the 2022 audit

Charity Committee
Committee functions
The key objectives of the Charity Committee are to review donation requests from individuals or
legal entities and advise the Company’s governing bodies on charitable spending.

Key 2022 results∙ Recommended a donation of RUB 218 million to support projects in education, care, spiritual
heritage, environment, and sports

Plans for 2023
∙ Developing recommendations for charitable spending in 2023

Internal Audit Unit
Key functions∙ Internal audit based on a risk-oriented approach and the best practices∙ Independent assistance in improving the RMS, ICS, and the corporate governance system∙ Ensuring the proper operation of the Ethics Hotline

Key 2022 results∙ Fully and timely executed the working plan for the Internal Audit Unit with a meaningful
economic effect. Formulated an independent opinion on the reliability and effectiveness of
the RMS, ICS, and the corporate governance system. Provided recommendations on improving
process efficiency, generating additional income and cost savings as well as independentand objective assurances and consultations aimed to enhance Rostelecom’s performanceand support the achievement of its goals. The Internal Audit Unit actively employs the bestpractices, including data analytics, big data tools, and dashboard-based continuous monitoringprocedures, as well as participates in strategic corporate initiatives∙ Certain subsidiaries receive internal audit consultations to ameliorate the ICS and risk
management effectiveness while ensuring compliance with the principles of independence
and fairness

1

2

188

For more details on the performance of control bodies, see Appendix 2, Governance and Control Bodies, to this Annual Report at: www.company.rt.ru/ir/agm/
files/2022/Appendix_2_to_annual_report_2022_rus.pdf.
The Audit Commission issued an unqualified positive opinion and confirmed the accuracy of the data contained in the Rostelecom 2022 Annual Report and its
annual accounting (financial) statements.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Risk Management divisions

05. G ­— Governance5.1.4. REMUNERATION

Key function
Building, monitoring, and maintaining the risk management system

Key 2022 results∙ The following steps as part of wider measures to better the management process:→ Regarding sanctions risks, including enabling a visual representation of operational data
→ Regarding business continuity in terms of implementing a cross-functional process∙ Monitored the implementation of the Risk Management Programme for 2022
∙ Provided methodological support to the subsidiaries and affiliates in monitoring their risk
management programmes∙ Executed measures under the plan resulting from the audit that assessed the risk management
performance and the performance of the internal control and corporate governance systems

Board of Directors1

4

400
320

RUB m – a fixed annual
remuneration payable
to each memberof the Board of Directors

Internal Control Unit

1.5
1.25

Key function

Reduced remuneration due to absence from meetings held in person or in absentia

a factor applied to the
remuneration of the Chairmanof the Board of Directors
a factor applied to the
remuneration of the Board
committee chairmen

RUB thousand – an annual
remuneration payable
to members of the Audit
Committee of the Board of
Directors

RUB thousand – an annual
remuneration payable tomembers of other committeesof the Board of Directors

Assisting management in building an effective internal control system (ICS)
1. Absence

Key 2022 results0%

Remuneration∙ Updated the ICS development strategy and prepared roadmaps for ICS improvement at
the subsidiaries and affiliates∙ Together with the owners of the business processes, analysed key risks, and implemented
measures to bolster the ICS effectiveness∙ Prepared a training course to augment the risk management and internal control skills of
the Company’s key employees∙ Updated the ICS methodology in line with the best practices∙ The high maturity level of the Company’s ICS has been independently confirmed by an internal
audit as well as by the Federal Tax Service as part of a horizontal monitoring procedure

2. Absence

100 %
<25 %

Remuneration
3. Absence
Remuneration

90 %

–10 %

25–50 %
70 %

–30 %
>50 %

4. Absence–100 %

Remuneration

External audit
Remuneration paid to the Board of Directors,1 RUB m

We annually engage an external auditor for an independent assessment of the accuracy of
the Company’s financial statements.
In 2022, following a public tender, the Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting1 selected Centre for
Audit Technologies and Solutions – Audit Services to act as Rostelecom’s auditor (the “Auditor”) in
respect of RAS and IFRS reporting for 2H 2022 and 1H 2023, with the total fee for the assessmentof both RAS and IFRS financial statements to equal RUB 84.3 million (inclusive of VAT).2
The auditor confirmed the accuracy of the 2022 financial statements.

1
2

190

Minutes No. 1 dated 1 July 2022.
For more details on the auditor’s fee and the auditor selection procedure, see Appendix 2, Governance and Control
Bodies, to this Annual Report at: www.company.rt.ru/ir/agm/files/2022/Appendix_2_to_annual_report_2022_rus.pdf.

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

1

Remuneration of the Board of Directors is determined in line with the Regulations on the Board of Directors.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Individual payments to members of the Board of Directors in office from 28 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, RUB

05. G ­— Governance

Components comprising remuneration payable to the President and members of the Management Board

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

SalaryShort-term incentives

Long-term incentives

Type of remuneration

Basic salary

Annual bonus

Long-Term Incentive
Programme

Objective

Attract and retain
professional managers byoffering competitive salaries

Achieve annual business
KPIs

Achieve long-term KPIs:
Net Profit, FCF,1 and ROIC2

Target ratio of remuneration
components

50 %

50 %

The multi-year programmeis based on a share
matching plan and offers
shares as remuneration

Payments to the Management Board and the highest paid employees in 2022, RUB

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

President and Management Board
The President’s compensation package is determined in his contract approved by
the Board of Directors.
Furthermore, in line with the Board of Directors’ resolution, the President’s pay
may include an annual bonus for faithful discharge of his duties and performanceaccording to the budget targets.
Payments to the Management Board members are made on the basis of
the employment contracts signed with each employee. No special remuneration
is payable to Management Board members for serving on the Management Board.
Severance is paid to the President and the Management Board members upon
the termination of their employment with the Company in line with the Labour Codeof the Russian Federation. The severance pay does not exceed the employee’s triple
average monthly earnings.
192

Remuneration paid to the Management Board, RUB m

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

1
2Free Cash Flow.
Return on Invested Capital.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Audit Commission

800
1.1
1.3

05. G ­— Governance

Incentive programmes
RUB thousand – an annual
remuneration payable
to members of the Audit
Commissiona factor applied to the
remuneration of the Secretaryof the Audit Commissiona factor applied to the
remuneration of the Chairmanof the Audit Commission

Rostelecom has in place a numberof incentive policies and regulations
for its employees.

Rostelecom does not offer non-financial remuneration except
for the Long-Term Incentive Programme. Local remuneration
systems, including incentive systems, are adapted at
the Company’s subsidiaries and affiliates to stay in line withthe current approaches to remuneration management at
Rostelecom.

The Company regularly participates in salary and HR policy
reviews. Remuneration and financial incentives for Rostelecom
employees are on par with the market.

Severance may be paid to Company employees uponnegotiated employment termination. The severance pay may
not exceed the employee’s triple average monthly earnings.

MANAGEMENTBOARD

PRESIDENT

Payments to members of the Audit Commission in 2022, RUB

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

PAYROLL
POLICYREGULATIONS ON
THE PERFORMANCE-BASEDMONETARY INCENTIVESFOR EMPLOYEESTARGETED INCENTIVESYSTEMSALL EMPLOYEES EXCEPTFOR CERTAIN CATEGORIESOF EMPLOYEES OF TECHNICALAND COMMERCIAL UNITSCERTAIN CATEGORIESOF EMPLOYEESOF TECHNICALAND COMMERCIAL UNITSLOCALPAYROLL
POLICIES

ALL EMPLOYEES

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Sustainability Report 2022

Long-term incentives

Short-term incentives

Rostelecom’s Long-Term Incentive Programme (the“Programme”) was approved by the Board of Directors and isbased on a share matching plan. The Programme is open to
employees in grades 6 to 11 if they choose to use a portion of
their variable remuneration to buy Rostelecom securities. In
this case, the employee is entitled to additional remunerationin the form of Rostelecom shares depending on his or her
position, amount of investment, and individual and corporate
performance.

The Company has a regular bonus scheme for employees.
Rostelecom is working to improve the employee incentive
system in line with its business needs.

The Programme provides for three cycles to be launchedannually (in 2020, 2021, and 2022), with the implementationof each cycle during the year following the respective cycle.
The maximum shareholding held by Programme participants
will not exceed 6 % of the Company’s charter capital or 6.38 %of its ordinary shares. The maximum shareholding held by
Programme participants in each cycle is limited to 2 % of theCompany’s charter capital or 2.13 % of its ordinary shares.

In 2022, the targeted incentive schemes and KPIs for the B2C,
B2B, and B2O segments as well as the Technical Infrastructure
Unit were centralised and updated. Additional financial incentive
programmes were also developed and implemented to further
better employee performance in order to meet specific businessobjectives.

05. G ­— Governance

KPIs of Management Board members (excluding the President), %Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

Quarterly assessments of in-house services
represent another employee incentive tool
used by Rostelecom. Such assessments advancecross-functional collaboration. Their results
are used to enhance in-house services.

The Programme is based on both individual performance andthe achievement of Company-wide KPIs applicable to theProgramme: FCF, Net Profit, and ROIC.
The Programme is run via RTC-Razvitie, a closed-end fund.

System of KPIs
Key performance indicators are set for employees based on
their position and scope of responsibility/influence. Bonuses
paid to employees depend on the achievement of corporate,business, and individual targets.

5.1.5. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE
Expenses on the Long-Term Incentive Programme includedin the Statement of Profit or Loss, RUB m

President’s KPI, %Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

Aiming to enhance its investments and maintain a trust-based
dialogue with its stakeholders, Rostelecom discloses informationin line with:2∙ the requirements of the Russian laws
∙ the requirements of the resolutions of the Russian Government∙ the requirements of the Bank of Russia’s regulations∙ the Listing Rules of PJSC Moscow Exchange∙ the basic principles of disclosure and the provision of
information by public joint stock companies as recommended
by the Corporate Governance Code∙ the Company’s internal documents.
The Board of Directors establishes the rules of, and approaches
to, disclosures, which are formalised in Rostelecom’s Information
Disclosure Policy.
Key objectives of the Information Disclosure Policy are to:∙ enhance openness and build trust∙ improve transparency∙ ascertain the Company’s disclosure framework.

1

2

196

Key principles of the Policy are:∙ timely, consistent and prompt provision of information∙ accessibility, objectivity, completeness, accuracy, andcomparability of disclosed information∙ equal rights of all stakeholders to obtain information incompliance with all applicable laws, standards, and regulations∙ information disclosure regardless of specific individual orgroup interests∙ reasonable balance between the Company’s transparency
and protection of its business interests∙ confidentiality of information that constitutes a state secretor a trade secret in accordance with the Company’s internal
documents∙ control over the use of insider information.
The Company discloses information on its official website
www.company.rt.ru/en/ and on the corporate information disclosure
website run by Interfax (in Russian) rostelecom.e-disclosure.ru.

Management by objectives, a process of aligning goals within an organisation so that management and employees share goals and understand their significanceto the organisation.
In 2022, the Company did not make a full disclosure pursuant to Resolution of the Russian Government No. 351 dated 12 March 2022.

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5.1.6. SECURITIES AND SHAREHOLDER
AND INVESTOR RELATIONS

05. G ­— Governance

Shareholding structure as at 31 December 2022
Mobitel — 1.85 %VEB.RF — 3.16 %VEB.RF — 3.36 %VTB Bank — 7.93 %VTB Bank — 8.44 %Mobitel — 30.79 %Telecom Investments —19.72 %

Telecom Investments —20.98 %

Securities
SharesRosimuschestvo — 35.91 %Rosimuschestvo — 38.20 %Rostelecom’s charter capital as at 31 December 2022:

8.73

RUB m

395

shareholders,1
including:

1,338

393,706 209,565,147

legal entities

Free float — 69.21 %individuals

Rostelecom ordinary and preference
shares (tickers RTKM and RTKMP)
are admitted to the first levelquotation list of the Moscow
Exchange and to the non-quotation
section of the SPB Exchange’s list.

Free float — 31.44 %Free float — 29.02 %Interestin the charter capitalInterest
in ordinary shares

3,282,997,929
ordinary shares

preference shares

Bonds
In 2022, Rostelecom placed four issues of exchange-tradedbonds:∙ In May, Rostelecom placed 11.75 % fixed-rate four-yearexchange-traded bonds worth RUB 5 billion∙ In June, Rostelecom placed 10.20 % fixed-rate three-yearexchange-traded bonds worth RUB 15 billion∙ In August, Rostelecom placed 8.75 % fixed-rate 42 monthexchange-traded bonds worth RUB 15 billion∙ In December, Rostelecom placed 8.85 % fixed-rate 43 monthexchange-traded bonds worth RUB 10 billion
The proceeds were used to refinance the Company’s existing
debt and did not change its overall leverage.

1

Interest
in preference shares

153.29RUB BN TOTAL VALUEOF THE COMPANY’S OUTSTANDING
BONDS AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022,
OR 34.1% OF ITS DEBT PORTFOLIO

Including disclosure of shareholders whose shares are held bynominee holders.

198

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05. G ­— Governance

Dividends

Outstanding exchange-traded bonds as at 31 December 2022

SeriesOffering dateIssue size, RUB

Number ofoutstanding bonds

BO-01

29 May 2015

5,000,000,000

862,810Maturity date

16 May 2025

On 30 June 2022, the Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting
took a decision to pay a final dividend for FY2021 amounting
to a total of RUB 15,926,088 thousand. Dividends on ordinary
and preference shares accounted for RUB 4.56 per share.

The dividends were paid out of the net profit; the amount paid
to the federal budget was RUB 5,719,104 thousand, with nooutstanding dividends payable to the federal budget.

Historical dividend payout
001P-01R

22 September 2016

15,000,000,000

8,016,404

10 September 2026

001P-02R

26 April 2017

10,000,000,000

4,030,694

14 April 2027

001P-03R

21 November 2017

10,000,000,000

10,000,000

9 November 2027

001P-04R

16 March 2018

10,000,000,000

10,000,000

3 March 2028

001P-05R

3 April 201915,000,000,000

380,973

21 March 2029

001P-06R

9 December 2022

10,000,000,000

10,000,000

5 September 2025

002P-01R

5 December 201910,000,000,000

10,000,000

27 November 2025

002P-03R

18 February 2020

15,000,000,000

15,000,000

14 February 2023

002P-02R

19 February 2020

15,000,000,000

15,000,000

10 February 2027

Dividends for

Dividend per
ordinary/preference
share, RUB

Total accrued,
RUB thousand

Total paid prior
to 2022, RUB
thousand

Total paid
during 2022,
RUB thousand

Total paid by endof 2022
RUB
thousand%2021

4.56/4.56

15,926,088–

15,624,438

15,624,438

98.11

2020

5/5

17,462,815

17,352,408

5,089

17,357,497

99.40

2019

5/5

17,462,815

17,359,548

2,103

17,361,651

99.42

2018

2.50/2.50

6,961,200

6,912,716

327

6,913,043

99.31

9M 2018

2.50/2.50

6,961,200

6,912,802–1821

6,912,620

99.30

Credit ratings
As of the end of 2022, the Analytical Credit Rating Agency(ACRA) left Rostelecom’s rating unchanged, while National
Credit Ratings (NCR) upgraded the issuer’s credit rating toAAA.ru with a stable outlook.

Rostelecom’s credit ratings as at 31 December 2022
002P-04R

24 April 2020

10,000,000,000

10,000,000

ACRA

АА

NCR

ААA

21 April 2023

002P-05R

14 October 2020

10,000,000,000

10,000,000

8 October 2025002Р-06R

23 July 2021

15,000,000,000

15,000,000

17 July 2026002Р-07R

13 May 2022

5,000,000,000

5,000,000

8 May 2026002Р-08R

15 June 2022

15,000,000,000

15,000,000

11 June 2025002Р-09R

4 August 2022

15,000,000,000

15,000,000

29 January 2026
1

200

ru

Stable outlook.
Affirmed on 31 May 2022

ru

Stable outlook. Affirmed on
27 May 2022

The amount is negative due to the return in 2022 of the dividends paid twice at the end of 2021.

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Sustainability Report 2022

05. G ­— Governance5.1.7. RISK MANAGEMENTThe key risks in 2022 are still the risks of business continuity, components crunch, and importsubstitution due to continued sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union
against Russia and China.

Risk management system

To manage business continuity risks, Rostelecom set up a dedicated task
force, approved a roadmap for the period from 2022 to 2023 and began
developing methodologies to evaluate the importance of relevant products
and the criticality of services and information systems.

Rostelecom’s risk management system (RMS) enables risk modelling, assessment,
and mitigation. The system fully complies with the requirements of domestic andinternational regulators. The Company makes sure its risk management system isin line with best practices by regularly updating its internal documents. The key
focus areas of the system development are further automation and digitisation

Rostelecom’s risk management system enables effective
management decisions in situations involving risks anduncertainties as well as helps identify opportunities supporting
the Company’s strategic goals.

Rostelecom’s risk management is guided
by the following internal documents:
PJSC Rostelecom’s Charter
Risk Management Policy
Regulations on the Board of Directors
Regulations on the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors
Regulations on the Integrated Risk Management System
Regulations on the Risk Management Committee of theManagement Board∙ Risk Management Procedure
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

Risk management is based on a system of concise andmeasurable corporate goals set by the Board and the
management. The Board of Directors approves Rostelecom’s
Risk Management Programme every year and arranges tomonitor its execution on a quarterly basis. As part of the Risk
Management Programme, the Risk Management Committee ofthe Management Board reviews quarterly progress reports on
risk management and relevant matters and then approves risk
management initiatives.

The Risk Management Programme includes:∙ simulation modelling of actual/plan variance ranges forbusiness plan items∙ a list of strategic and corporate risks and corresponding
potential risk scenarios∙ key strategic and corporate risk indicators and thresholds∙ strategic and corporate risk management activities.
At least once a year, the Company’s internal audit function
conducts an independent evaluation of the risk management
system’s effectiveness and performance over the previous
period.

202

With regards to the components crunch and import substitution, the Company focuses on
the availability of core process equipment, stocks in “hot-standby” warehouses, parallel imports,
and compliance with procurement quotas.
All these efforts help mitigate the impacts of the sanctions regimes.

Over 2023, the Company plans to further develop its risk management systemthrough the following activities:

In 2022, Rostelecom approved the target maturity level of its
risk management system and assessed the current maturity
level of its risk management using a model designed by theautonomous non-profit organisation of continuing professional
education Institute for Strategic Risk Analysis in Decision Making(ISAR).

∙ Enhancing compliance with Russian and global standards∙ Advancing risk management performance and methods for integrating risk management tools
into the Company’s operations∙ Launching a video course on risk management, which is currently available to all employees
via Rostelecom’s Corporate Online University, to raise awareness and ensure practicalimplementation of risk management measures∙ Monitoring the RMS rollout across the subsidiaries and affiliates listed in Rostelecom President’sorder∙ Developing an operations-level risk dashboard for key risk owners

A self-assessment estimated the current levelof maturity at 2.83 out of 3, with the following areasof improvement identified for the Company’s risk
management system:∙ Providing sufficient resources to manage risks (riskmanagement budget commensurate with risk levels)∙ Improving communication and consultation to maintainthe risk management framework and facilitate effective risk
management∙ Developing risk management practices and boosting risk
management awareness among key employees

2.83
MATURITY LEVELOF RISK MANAGEMENT

Risk management actors
Actor

Roles and responsibilities

Board of Directors

Defines the operating principles and identifies improvement
areas of the risk management system; carries out overallmonitoring of risk management performance

Audit Committee

Oversees the operation of and identifies gaps in the risk
management system; makes recommendations to the Boardof Directors

The Company’s management

Manages key risks and regularly monitors the risk
management system

Internal Audit and Internal Control units

Assess risk management performance and advise
on improvements

Senior Risk Manager and Risk Management units

Build, monitor, and maintain the risk management system

Business units and employees

Manage risks within their areas of responsibility

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Sustainability Report 2022

Risk management interactions within Rostelecom Group1

MANAGEMENT BOARDBOARD
OF DIRECTORSPRESIDENT

05. G ­— GovernanceIntegration of risk management with the Company’s
cross-functional processes
Risk management is linked to strategic planning, budgeting, the implementationof investment projects and products, as well as other cross-functional processes
at the Company.

AUDIT
COMMITTEE

When developing strategic plans, risks affecting the achievement of strategic goals are
identified and analysed, and simulation modelling is carried out.

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT –CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERRISK MANAGEMENTCOMMITTEE

Strategic planning

INTERNAL
AUDIT

BudgetingAnalysis and acknowledgement of risks associated with non-achievement of key
financial KPIs, and their simulation modelling.

Investment planning for projects and products
SENIOR RISK MANAGER

Analysis and acknowledgement of project and product risks associated with nonachievement of target NPV and other indicators, and their simulation modelling
followed by the development of risk mitigation measures.

Procurement procedures

RISK MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

Detailed review and acknowledgement of risks when selecting suppliers andcontractors, followed by the monitoring of key indicators on an interactive dashboard.

Training

SUBSIDIARY/
AFFILIATE BOARD OF DIRECTORSSUBSIDIARY/
AFFILIATE CEО²

SUBSIDIARY/
AFFILIATE CFO²

SUBSIDIARY/
AFFILIATE RISK MANAGER³

Headquarters

1

2
3

Functional
reporting

Administrative
reportingTraining and upskilling programmes are run on a regular basis for employees involved
in risk management. A link to the Fundamentals of Risk Management course, which isavailable to all Rostelecom employees, can be found at the web page of the Corporate
Online University.

MethodologicalsupportThe Company’s management is involved in the activities of the Risk Management Committee as risk owners and risk mitigation owners. The Committee has
12 members (President, First and Senior VPs, VPs, Senior Risk Manager, and non-voting Chief Auditor). The President of PJSC Rostelecom is the Committee
Chairman.
2 Subject to changes depending on the organisational structure of a specific subsidiary or affiliate.
If applicable.

204

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Sustainability Report 2022

05. G ­— Governance

RISKS OF ROSTELECOM
GROUP

Risk management activities

Information is not disclosed in accordancewith the Decree of the Governmentof the Russian Federation No. 1102
as of 4 July 2023.

Measures to be taken are designed in line with the SMART1 criteria.

Rostelecom’s Risk Management Committee reviews individual cases and approves
measures and responses. The Senior Risk Manager oversees the implementation of
the Committee’s resolutions.

Responses are selected based on viability: implementation costs should not exceed
the expected reduction of damage caused by a risk event.

Sustainability risk management
Apart from managing the above-mentioned risks, Rostelecom also considers
sustainability risks.

HSE risks
To minimise these risks, Rostelecom approved an HSE and fire safety policy, which
outlines the key objectives, principles, and focus areas to create safe working
conditions, keep all employees safe and healthy, and ensure industrial, fire, andenvironmental safety.
Throughout 2022, Rostelecom continued its efforts to ensure the health and safety of
employees. The Company provided them with personal protective equipment, regularly
disinfected its operating facilities, and moved most office staff to work from home.
These risks are monitored in line with the Company’s business plan.

Anti-corruption risks
The Company includes corruption risk in the risk category that comprises risks oflegal violations, fines, and financial or reputational losses. Rostelecom tracks indicators
related to identified affiliate relationships, completion of anti-corruption training, andsubmission of declarations by employees in positions exposed to a higher corruption
risk.

Risk of skilled personnel shortage
Potential brain drain from Russia will be the key risk factor in 2023. Rostelecom’s HR
strategy until 2025 focuses on building IT capabilities and boosting digital literacy.
Training and upskilling certification under digital skills programmes was the relevantrisk indicator tracked by the Company in 2022. This risk indicator will also be carriedover to 2023.

1

206

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

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Sustainability Report 2022

5.1.8. RESPONSIBLE SUPPLY CHAINSTRATEGIC SUPPLYMANAGEMENTPRIORITIESSTRATEGIC SUPPLYOFROSTELECOMGROUPMANAGEMENTPRIORITIESOF ROSTELECOM GROUP

05. G ­— Governance

DELIVERING ON THE STRATEGIC AGENDA
DELIVERING ON THE STRATEGIC AGENDA

SAFETY AND DECENT WORKING CONDITIONSSAFETY AND DECENT WORKING CONDITIONS

GRI
(2–6)

Amid the volatility of 2022, Rostelecom demonstrated
a responsible approach to supplier engagement
and successfully adapted its supply chain to the newenvironment. At the same time, the Group has remainedcommitted to its principles and seeks to cooperate onlywith reliable partners who embrace integrity, fairness,and transparency.
Across the country, the Group selects suppliers that meet stringent standards of environmental
protection, occupational safety, and human rights.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE GROUP ENTITIESECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE GROUP ENTITIESSTRATEGIC SUPPLYMANAGEMENT PRIORITIESOF ROSTELECOM GROUP

DELIVERING ON THE STRATEGIC AGENDA

Top procurement priorities:∙ Transparency and openness of the procurement cycle∙ Competitive procurement∙ Implementation of the import substitution strategy
SAFETY AND DECENT WORKING CONDITIONS∙ Support and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Rostelecom considers supply chain management an important dimension of business development
and tracks its products and services throughout their entire lifecycle. In a challenging economic
environment, the Company strives to boost its supply chain performance and stakeholder
satisfaction.

Procurement process at Rostelecom Group
Elements of PJSC Rostelecom’s supply chain

PROCUREMENTENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE GROUP ENTITIESDEMAND PLANNING /INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

Suppliers

Procurement
warehouses

Distribution
centres

CONTRACTING/LOGISTICS

Consumers
FEEDBACK/ADJUSTMENTS

Inbound deliveries

Cycle and safety stock

Available stock

Orders

Rostelecom assesses its ESG impact in the value chain. Using a responsible approach to inventory
and logistics management helps us reduce our environmental footprint.
208

Procurement activities at PJSC Rostelecom are governed by:∙ Federal Law No. 223-FZ, On Procurement of Goods, Works and Services by Certain Typesof Legal Entities, dated 18 July 2011 (as amended and supplemented)∙ PJSC Rostelecom’s Regulations on Procurement∙ PJSC Rostelecom’s Code of Supplier Business Ethics.
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Sustainability Report 2022

05. G ­— GovernanceKey procurement initiatives
In 2022, Rostelecom faced unprecedented pressure from sanctions as supplies oftelecommunications equipment and software were cut and foreign vendors refused to provide
services and products. The Company overcame these challenges by creating the necessary
resources and contracting new equipment suppliers, especially those supplying equipment of
Russian origin.

Key outcomes of improvements made to procurement and operations logistics in 2022

5.3

participantsin procurement
procedures on average

Logistics and procurement strategy
Rostelecom’s logistics and procurement strategy is focusedon improving operational efficiency and service levelfor customers. To this end, we automate and centralise
our operations while implementing digital technologies,
outsourcing non-core functions, and developing our
employees.
Business digitisation requires continuous supply chain optimisation and transformation. Rostelecom
leverages e-procurement platforms to procure goods and services. This approach is in line with
Russian laws and is transparent to stakeholders.
Information on all purchases of the Company is available on the websites of Roseltorg’s andGazprombank’s e-procurement platforms.

In 2022, Tatyana Karaseva, Chief Procurement Officer at PJSC Rostelecom,
won the Top 1,000 Russian Managers award in the Best Chief Procurement
Officer category.

210

Initiative

Outcome

The integration of contract support
processes from submitting purchaseorders to preparing payment invoices wascompleted

Transaction processing was accelerated

Warehouse and transport logistics werecombined into a single centre of excellence

Transaction costs were reduced
Improved internal customer experience wasmaintained

Smaller purchases were centralised andswitched to e-commerce

Smaller purchases were made moretransparent and faster:
Average duration of a procurement
procedure – 1.8 business days
Average number of participants – 5.3

Tools were introduced to convert a needrequest into a template ready for uploading
to Gazprombank’s e-procurement platform,
with an option of using the template to
upload general information from a supply
need request

Specification upload time was reducedby 90 %
Total publication time was reduced by fivetimes
10 times more rows than before the builder
was introduced can now be processed overthe same time

In 2022, Rostelecom won the Guaranteed Transparency award of the
National Procurement Transparency Rating. The single most important rating
factor was compliance with the standards of procurement transparency
and cost-effectiveness.
In 2022, the Company also adopted customer-centric tools across its procurement units:∙ Surveys of procurement initiators and bottleneck analysis based on survey results∙ Workshops held for sourcing buyers, financial responsibility centres, and counterparties∙ Involvement of customers in the procurement process∙ Automation of the procurement status notification process∙ The helpme service, a procurement one-stop shop
Rostelecom monitors compliance of its procurement activities with legal requirements. We havelaunched a centralised process to control compliance with local content quotas in procurementin accordance with Resolution of the Russian Government No. 2013, On the Minimum Content of
Russian Goods in Procurement, dated 3 December 2020. The Company also monitors the shareof SMEs in its procurement, including procurement of innovative products.
In 2022, Rostelecom continued to develop its corporate online store. Currently, the value ofpurchases via the online store can reach up to RUB 3 million. The total volume of small purchases
through this channel has hit 82%, with the competition level for procurement via the corporate
online store at five bidders per contract and the order placement time averaging 2.6 days.

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Sustainability Report 2022

05. G ­— Governance

Procurement results
In 2022, the Group worked with 41,325 counterparties. The total
cost of products and services procured by Rostelecom Group was
RUB 564 billion, including RUB 452 billion for PJSC Rostelecom.
One of the Company’s main procurement principles is to maintain intense competition between
suppliers, including SMEs. In 2022, the average number of bidders in our competitive tenders
remained almost flat year-on-year at 2.7, demonstrating the effectiveness of our procurement
procedures.

6,679 34

27

procurement
procedures completed
in 2022days – averagecompetitive
procurement time

thousand contract
documents posted
by the contract
management function

Main categories of goods and services procured by PJSC Rostelecom
Category

Value in 2022, RUB m

Proportion in PJSC Rostelecom procurement, %
2021

2022

Commercial services

149,850

32

33

Network equipment

96,25713

21

IT

75,76716

17

Construction

72,98024

16Administrative services

56,701

15

13

Total

451,555

100

100

Domestic products accounted for 59 % of all radio and electronic equipment
procured in 2022, or RUB 16.6 billion.

212

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Sustainability Report 2022

Key requirements for suppliers

Support for small and medium-sized enterprises

Rostelecom’s requirements for suppliers are documented
and are published when announcing procurement
procedures. They are also included in notices, procurement
documents, and technical specifications.
∙ Statutory and regulatory requirements. Our terms of reference contain information on
mandatory and desirable requirements for products and services and take into accountstatutory and regulatory aspects.
∙ Financial stability of suppliers. Procurement documents take into account whether potential
suppliers have bankruptcy signs, outstanding taxes or charges, or whether their top managers
have criminal records.
∙ Assessment of qualifications and risks. As part of procurement procedures, Rostelecom
analyses supplier qualifications, risk of default, bid conformity to the Company’s requirements
as well as experience and qualifications of the counterparty’s workforce.
∙ Goodwill check. The Company’s due diligence on a potential counterparty includes checks into
their business reputation, integrity, and solvency.
∙ Anti-corruption clauses. All contracts with suppliers must include an anti-corruption clause.
∙ Monitoring environmental compliance. Rostelecom monitors environmental compliance by
suppliers in performing and delivering their jobs.

The Code is publicly
available at:https://nocorruption.old.rt.ru/?action=documents&category=2

PJSC Rostelecom’s Code of Supplier Business Ethics defines mandatory ESG criteria for its
counterparties in the following areas:∙ Product, work, and service quality∙ Environmental protection∙ Occupational health and safety∙ Protection of employee rights

05. G ­— Governance

Rostelecom supports the national SME development policy,
with an SME Partnership Programme in place. In addition,
in December 2022, the Company developed and approved
its SME Development Programme.1
These initiatives enable improved engagement with new qualified suppliers, service providers, andcontractors from among SMEs as well as support the development of SMEs and emphasise thereplacement of imports with domestically produced goods.
For more details on PJSC Rostelecom’s SME Partnership Programme goals and targets, see:www.zakupki.rostelecom.ru/msb

145

RUB bn total valueof contracts with SMEs
in 2022

In 2022, contracts with SMEs had a total value of RUB 145 billion and accounted for 55 % of thetotal number of contracts, vs 59 % in 2021. The aggregate value of contracts awarded to SMEs
through special procurement procedures amounted to RUB 52.2 billion, or 20 % of Rostelecom’s
total procurement in 2022.
To foster supplier engagement, Rostelecom holds special educational events for its suppliers.
In 2022, through a partnership with Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation (RSMB
Corporation), the Company held a series of workshops on SME participation in procurement inline with Federal Law No. 223-FZ, On Procurement of Goods, Works and Services by Certain Typesof Legal Entities, dated 18 July 2011.
The workshops mainly covered the following topics:∙ Details and procedures of procurement by large customers∙ SME participation in procurement under this law∙ Compliance with anti-corruption legislation and ethical business practices∙ Existing financial and non-financial SME support programmes
In 2022, 20 workshops were held, covering 2,065 SMEs. The events were held in Saint Petersburg,
Krasnodar, Perm, and other regional centres of the Russian Federation.

Feedback from suppliers
Universal hotline:
zakupki.rostelecom.ru

Dedicated hotline for SMEs:
msp@rt.ru

Several hotlines are available for suppliers to contact PJSC Rostelecom on planned or current
procurements and provide feedback or complaints about completed procurements.

Results of workshops held in 2022

In 2022, queries submitted by suppliers to Rostelecom primarily concerned:∙ participation in the Company’s SME Partnership Programme∙ the procedure for and other information on inclusion in the domestic product register∙ fraudulent actions by third parties on behalf of the Company.

District

1

214

Workshop participants

Number of workshops

Volga Federal District

404

3

Northwestern Federal District

124

1

North Caucasian Federal District

95

1

Siberian Federal District

161

1

Urals Federal District

98

1

Central Federal District

75

1Southern Federal District

208

3

Russia (workshops for self-employed and workshops
under accelerator programmes)

900

9

Total

2,065

20

In accordance with Federal Law No. 209-FZ, On Developing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Russian Federation, dated 24 July 2007, and Resolutionof the Russian Government No. 2008, On Approving the Format of the Programme for Developing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, dated 8 November 2022.

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05. G ­— Governance

Responsible business practices

Rostelecom is committed to the principles of openness,transparency, and integrity. The Company and all its
employees are required to comply with the anti-corruption
laws as well as the principles of ethical business conduct.

Asset Protection Department (compliance)
Key roles∙ Updating corporate culture in terms of preventing andcombating corruption, preventing embezzlement andconflicts of interest, and compliance with ethical standards∙ Analysing and monitoring the activities of the Company andits subsidiaries and affiliates related to asset protection∙ Maintaining a whistleblowing hotline and an anti-corruption
portalKey 2022 results

GRI(2–27)Key regulations on anti-corruption compliance procedures:∙ Anti-corruption Policy1∙ Code of Ethics2∙ Code of Supplier Business Ethics∙ Regulations on the Conflict of Interest Management∙ Regulations on Giving and Receiving Gifts∙ Regulations on Donations and Charitable Giving∙ Regulations on Receiving and Processing Reports Received via Feedback Channels
The procedures ensuring compliance with the anti-corruption laws are set out in the Company’sbusiness process regulations.
Similar documents and compliance processes are implemented at subsidiaries and affiliates inwhich PJSC Rostelecom’s effective interest is above 50 %.
Key anti-corruption focus areas in 2022:3∙ Employee training∙ Feedback channels∙ Management of conflicts of interest∙ Subsidiary relations
No confirmed cases of corruption or bribery were reported across the Group in 2022.

Council for Business Transparency
Rostelecom cooperates with the government and non-governmental organisations on anticorruption and has a Council for Business Transparency in place, which had two meetings in 2022.
The Council includes representatives of the Russian Ministry of Digital Development,
Communications and Mass Media, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, electronic trading
platforms as well as members of the media and anti-corruption non-governmental organisations.
The Council reviews matters related to the implementation of anti-corruption measures andprocurement transparency as well as statistics on received reports, including those on suspected
corruption.

1
2
3

For more details on Rostelecom’s Anti-corruption Policy, see the Company’s website at www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_governance/docs/.
For more details on Rostelecom’s Code of Ethics, see the Company’s website at www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/corporate_governance/docs/.
For more details on Rostelecom’s other anti-corruption focus areas, see Appendix 2, Governing and Control Bodies, to this Annual Report.

216∙ For the third year in a row, Rostelecom topped the national
Anti-corruption Ranking of Russian Business, receiving thehighest rating class, A1, from RSPP experts.1∙ The Company’s 2022 compliance programme was developedand implemented∙ A number of internal documents were updated, including:→ PJSC Rostelecom’s Regulations on the Conflict ofInterest Management→ Rostelecom Group’s Regulations on Receiving andProcessing Reports Received via Feedback Channels→ PJSC Rostelecom’s Regulations on Giving and Receiving
Gifts→ PJSC Rostelecom’s Procedure for Reporting Cases Whenan Employee Is Incited to Commit Corruption Offences,and for Reviewing Such Reports→ PJSC Rostelecom’s Procedure for Organising andConducting Training on Preventing Corruption→ Procedure Rules on the Anti-corruption Business
Process∙ The conflict of interest provisions were updated in theRegulations on the Board of Directors, the Regulations on
the Audit Commission, and the Regulations on the President∙ A total of 132 internal documents, contracts, agreements, andadministrative documents passed an anti-corruption review
and was approved∙ Compliance training was successfully taken by more than
8,000 employees∙ Anti-corruption programmes were further rolled out at
the Group’s new subsidiaries and affiliates (15 companies)in which Rostelecom’s cumulative interest is above 50 %.
Regular support was provided to the subsidiaries andaffiliates that adopted an anti-corruption programme earlier(more than 80 companies)

1

Dedicated officers responsible for countering
money laundering, the financing of terrorism,
and the financing of the proliferation of weaponsof mass destruction
Key roles
Mitigating the risk of the Company being involved in money
laundering and the financing of terrorism

Key 2022 results
In 2022, following the remote monitoring of the internal control
system for countering money laundering, the financing ofterrorism, and the financing of the proliferation of weaponsof mass destruction, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service(Rosfinmonitoring) and the Federal Service for Supervisionof Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media(Roskomnadzor) assigned PJSC Rostelecom the lowest,“green” level of risk of being involved in money laundering andthe financing of terrorism. Based on that score, Roskomnadzor
didn’t include Rostelecom in its annual inspection schedule,
which substantially reduces the risk of regulatory penalties
in 2023.

Interactions with counterparties
The Company is committed to engaging only thosecounterparties that demonstrate legal compliance and adhere
to anti-corruption laws. To develop the business relations withcounterparties supporting Rostelecom’s Anti-corruption Policy
and demonstrating zero tolerance for corruption, the Company
approved its Code of Supplier Business Ethics and an anticorruption clause that allow the Company and its subsidiaries toterminate a contract when the counterparty was found to havebreached the commitment to refrain from any actions prohibitedby anti-corruption laws. The clause is included in all expenditurecontracts exceeding RUB 500 thousand.
To raise the awareness of business partners about anticorruption legal requirements and Rostelecom’s ethicalstandards, the Company developed an interactive distancelearning course for contractors and suppliers, to be launchedin 2023.

rspp.ru/upload/content/99b/6vyf82hv6o5kx7yzgf4a6z7htr82towc/Itogovyy-doklad-2022.pdf

217Sustainability Report 2022

Employee training

GRI(205–2)05. G ­— GovernanceFeedback channels
All Rostelecom employees are made aware of the anti-corruption policies and procedures when
they are hired. When anti-corruption procedures are amended, the updated documents are sentout to all employees who have workstations with access to the Company’s electronic document
management system.
Rostelecom holds regular anti-corruption trainings for its employees. All new employees who havea workstation take a mandatory online induction course on the key principles set out in the Codeof Ethics.
Over the year of 2022, more than 7,500 employees took online training on the Code of Ethics
and about 4,500 – on anti-corruption measures.

Employees who took the Code of Ethics online course in 2022, by Company unit, %7%

GRI(2–16)

Feedback channels
for reporting violationsof the Anti-corruption
Policy and the Codeof Ethics:
Anti-corruption portal(in Russian):
www.nocorruption.rt.ru
Whistleblowing hotline:
8 (800) 1-811-811

4%

Headquarters

5%

South
7%

In line with Rostelecom’s existing strategy of digital coverage of anti-corruption efforts, a
dedicated anti-corruption portal (www.nocorruption.rt.ru, in Russian) is in place and is constantly
evolving. The portal comprises Rostelecom’s anti-corruption internal regulations, compliancetests for employees and suppliers, materials on preventing and combating corruption, andinformation on all feedback channels that can be used to report instances of corruption.
Since 2020, the reports received via Rostelecom’s whistleblowing hotline and anti-corruption
portal have been recorded, processed, and addressed automatically by the Reports module of
the Compliance Control system. The system uploads reports received via the feedback channels,
enables users to track response deadlines and provide timely feedback to whistleblowers,
monitor the performance of the units responsible for handling reports, and generate reports.
In order to protect anonymous whistleblowers, the anti-corruption portal’s functionality enables
reporting without revealing the whistleblower’s name and e-mail. Whistleblowers can receive
feedback from the compliance team on the status or outcome of their report using the PIN
generated by the system when the report is recorded.

Ethics Hotline:
ethics@rostelecom.ru

Siberia
Volga
Centre15 %29 %General Service
CentreTopics of reports received via the whistleblowing hotline and anti-corruption portal in 2022, %Far East
12%

Urals
10 %

North-West

12 %

3%
11 %

Every subsidiary and affiliate of the Group builds its own anti-corruption training processes basedon the materials provided by the Company.

34 %A Corruption Prevention course (both classroom and online versions) has been developed for
Rostelecom employees in positions exposed to an increased corruption risk.
25 %Employees who took the Preventing and Combating Corruption online course in 2022, by Company unit, %10 %6%

Headquarters
South

4%

Siberia

13 %

Volga

13 %

Centre14 %General Service
Centre
33 %
10 %

Urals
7%
8%

218

Far East

North-West

Subscribers

OthersCompliance

Procurement

HR Processes

Irrelevant

9%

219

Sustainability Report 2022

Conflict of interest management
GRI(2–15)

05. G ­— Governance

Measures to counter the legalisation of proceeds of crime, the financing ofterrorism, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

Since 2018, Rostelecom has used
an automated Compliance Control system
to resolve conflicts of interest.
Since 2018, Rostelecom has used an automated Compliance Control system to resolve conflictsof interest. Rostelecom employees with a conflict of interest as well as employees in positions
exposed to an increased corruption risk regularly complete electronic declarations. Using
pre-determined criteria, the system automatically identifies employees who should submit
declarations and monitors the timely completion of declarations by these employees, thus
eliminating the human factor from mandatory disclosures.
In the year of 2022, we continued addressing the risk of employees not filing a declaration or
having affiliation with business partners. This risk is included in Rostelecom’s Risk Management
Programme.

Structuring anti-corruption efforts at PJSC Rostelecom’s subsidiaries and affiliates
In 2022, Rostelecom continued to roll out anti-corruption programmes at new subsidiaries andaffiliates (15 companies) in which the Company’s cumulative interest is above 50 %. For thesesubsidiaries and affiliates, Rostelecom develops roadmaps for rolling out anti-corruption
programmes, including:∙ adjustments to Rostelecom’s standard anti-corruption regulations∙ assessment of corruption risks∙ implementation of controls∙ management of conflicts of interest∙ anti-corruption training∙ handling reports received via feedback channels.

15

NEW SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES COVEREDBY ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAMMES IN 2022

The expenditure contracts signed by the subsidiaries and affiliates also contain an anti-corruption
clause, which allows them to terminate a contract when the counterparty was found to havebreached the commitment to refrain from any actions prohibited by anti-corruption laws.

220

PJSC Rostelecom fully implements internal controls
to counter the legalisation (laundering) of proceedsof crime, the financing of terrorism, and the financingof the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The year of 2022 saw significant legislative changes aimed at improving the systemof countermeasures, taking into account the risk-based approach. In particular, telecom
operators are now required to monitor financial transactions (receipts or payments) of non-profit
organisations regardless of the amount, the return of advances over RUB 100 thousand, andtransactions by persons on Rosfinmonitoring’s lists.
Rostelecom developed measures to support the daily monitoring of potentially suspicious
financial transactions by subscribers and to identify transactions subject to mandatory monitoring.
The Company is streamlining and automating the procedures to control user identification, assess
subscriber-related risks, identify transactions subject to monitoring, and submit mandatory reports
to Rosfinmonitoring.

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Sustainability Report 2022

5.1.9. PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTSHuman rights
are protected by Russianand international law
and promoted by
the following corporate
regulations:

∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

05. G ­— GovernanceRussian labour law
PJSC Rostelecom’s Code of Ethics
UN Global Compact principles
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

The Group is committed to protecting and respecting human rights andassesses its risks and impact in this area. We inform our staff and contractors
about the Company’s standards, principles, and regulations for performing all
business processes with integrity.

Protecting and respecting human rights
are foundational to Rostelecom’s operations.
PJSC Rostelecom
and all of its subsidiaries
and affiliates havezero tolerance fordiscrimination against
employees in labour rights
and freedoms, or benefits
on grounds of:∙ gender, race, colour, ethnicity, language, origin, age, place of residence, religious views, beliefs,
membership in (or failure to join) particular civic associations or social groups∙ material, marital, social, or official status∙ any other circumstances unrelated to the employee’s professional performance.

Rostelecom provides employees with equal opportunities in recruitment,
hiring, evaluation, promotion, development, training, discipline,
and compensation. Mutual respect and trust in each other are foundational
to the Company’s corporate culture.

PJSC Rostelecom has in place a collective bargaining agreement to make sure our employeremployee relationships are based on the principles of social partnership, which seeks to improve
Rostelecom’s operational efficiency and protect social and labour interests of employees.
The collective bargaining agreement sets out the approaches that have been aligned between
the parties across social, labour, and associated relations, pay and working conditions, working
hours, social and labour guarantees, and benefits.
PJSC Rostelecom’s Code of Ethics sets out the employees’ right to engage in political,
educational, charitable, or community activities unless they impact the performance of theirjobs or contradict the Group’s interests. Rostelecom does not restrict the right of its employees
to form or join any non-governmental organisations that represent their interests.
All Rostelecom employees and contractors take training on human rights. The Company monitorsand evaluates employee achievements in this area to ensure that human rights are respectedacross all levels.
An effective grievance mechanism is an important tool in protecting human rights. Our employees
can report violations of their rights via any feedback channel available at the Company (for moredetails, see the Responsible Business Practices section).
Rostelecom has zero tolerance for the use of child and forced labour, or infringements on
the rights of indigenous minorities. The Company calls on all its partners and suppliers to
observe and respect human rights by complying with all relevant laws and ethical principles.
Rostelecom is also committed to upholding and protecting human rights for society. The
Company has in place Digital Equality, an integrated social programme geared to safeguard
human rights and freedoms, including the right to information. The Group strives to achieve ahigh information security level that will protect private life, personal and family privacy and ensure
security of restricted information.

222

223

Sustainability Report 2022

06. Appendices

06
APPENDICES

224

225

Sustainability Report 2022

6.1. About the Report
GRI
(2–2)

GRI
(2–3)

GRI
(2–4)

Rostelecom Group’s Sustainability Report 2022
(the “Report”) is the twelfth public non-financial report
prepared by PJSC Rostelecom and targeted at a diverse
range of stakeholders. The Report describes the Company’s
activities from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022.
It covers important events that occurred after the reporting
period but are closely connected to it as well as Rostelecom
Group’s plans for the medium term.
We adhere to an annual reporting cycle, with the previous Report issued in 2022 and detailing our
performance in the 2021 reporting year.
Rostelecom improves its reporting process and strives to present detailed information on its
performance to stakeholders. The Report has been prepared in accordance with the Sustainability
Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (the GRI Standards). The Report also
complies with:∙ key provisions of Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament as regards disclosure of
non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups,1 in particular,
methodology and information disclosure indicators∙ some United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) core indicators forentity reporting on the contribution towards the implementation of the UN SDGs
∙ AA1000SES Stakeholder Engagement Standard∙ UN Global Compact Communication on Progress (CoP) Policy∙ ISO 26000:2010, Guidance on social responsibility.
Since 2017, the Company has been reporting its contribution to the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (UN SDGs) outlined in Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development that was adopted in 2015. This approach was incorporated in thisReport as well.
The 2022 Report preparation was coordinated by PJSC Rostelecom’s External Communications
Department and involved the Group’s key business units. The Sustainability Report is available tostakeholders in Russian and English in print and digital.

06. Appendices

Report structure
The aim of this Report is to provide stakeholders
with the most material information on the economic,
environmental, and social aspects of Rostelecom’s
operations.
The Report focuses on the following areas of Rostelecom’s business:∙ Development strategy and business model∙ Corporate governance∙ Risk management, including sustainability risks∙ Supply chain management and supplier engagement∙ Business ethics, human rights, and anti-corruption∙ Sustainability management system∙ Stakeholder engagement∙ HR management, employee development, training, and engagement∙ Cooperation with the public education system∙ Occupational health and safety∙ Support and development of local communities in the Company’s regions of operation∙ Environmental protection and energy efficiency improvement∙ Provision of high-quality, affordable, and safe products and services
The Report uses references to PJSC Rostelecom’s Annual Report 2022 and corporate website,which makes the Report more informative and easier to read.

Report boundaries
The Report is published by Rostelecom Group (the “Group”,“Rostelecom Group”, “Rostelecom”, “we”) and discloses
the most material sustainability performance indicators
of PJSC Rostelecom (“Rostelecom”, the “Company”),
its regional branches, and key subsidiaries and affiliates.
The 2022 Report covers the Group’s most material economic, environmental, and social impacts.
The environmental protection and HR management indicators presented in this Report include
sustainability data for PJSC Rostelecom and the Group’s most significant subsidiaries and affiliates.
Unless stated otherwise in a note, all data for 2018–2022 in this Report have the same scopefor all periods and include indicators for all key subsidiaries and affiliates covered in this Report,
regardless of their consolidation date.
The Company’s legal address: 15 Dostoevskogo St., Saint Petersburg, 191002, Russian Federation

1226

3’2’Directive 2014/95/EU on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information.

227

Sustainability Report 2022

Reporting principles

Internal procedures to ensure quality and accuracy of the Report

When determining the Report’s content, Rostelecom Group was guided by the GRI Standards.
An appendix to the Report features a GRI Compliance Table.

Rostelecom Group has an internal reporting system in place and has designated the units
responsible for the collection and provision of consolidated data on every aspect of the Group’s
key sustainability dimensions. Their scope of responsibility includes the quality and accuracy ofboth qualitative (text) and quantitative information.

The comments and recommendations of the RSPP Council on Non-financial Reporting, which had
been received following the assurance of the 2021 Sustainability Report, were considered during
the preparation of the Report.
Material topics
Indirect economic
impacts
Markets and competition
Providing quality,
affordable services
Contribution
to the developmentof the Company’s regionsof operation
Employee development
Rollout of innovations
Employment

06. Appendices

SASB Standards
Material topics
When determining material topics to cover, we were guided by the GRI Standards and took
the following steps:∙ The working group for the Report preparation with the involvement of subject experts in nonfinancial reporting, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability put together a list ofsignificant impacts related to the Company’s operations.
∙ We assessed significant impacts based on an online survey of management and key
stakeholders according to the following two criteria:→ o The significance/severity of Rostelecom’s impact – the impacts were divided into threegroups (moderate, major, or critical impact)→ o The remediability/irremediability of negative impact – the impacts were also divided into
three groups (reversible, difficult and expensive to compensate, or irreversible)∙ Based on the survey results, we prepared a list of Rostelecom’s most significant impacts

In a first for the Company, Rostelecom applied Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
Standards during the preparation of its 2022 Sustainability Report. Eight metrics for the Internet
Media and Services, Telecommunication Services, and Software and IT Services industries aredisclosed in the Report. For more details on the disclosed indicators, see the SASB Indicators
Table appendix.
The Company will consider increasing disclosure of SASB metrics in the future.

Public assurance of the Report
This document was assured by an independent party – the RSPP Council on Non-financial
Reporting.

In the reporting period, in addition to the above-mentioned stakeholder engagement tools,
Rostelecom held a dialogue with key stakeholders. In the future, we plan on further developing
our approach to incorporating stakeholder views in our reporting.

We will take into account RSPP’s recommendations and comments received during the public
assurance of the 2022 Report and incorporate them into our future reports.

Principles for defining report quality

Disclaimer Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The following principles of the GRI Standards were applied during the preparation of the Report:∙ Balance. The Report reflects both the positive and negative aspects of the organisation’s
performance to enable substantiated evaluation of the overall performance∙ Comparability. The information in the Report is presented in such a way as to enable
stakeholders to track changes in the organisation’s performance over time and to benchmark
against other organisations∙ Accuracy. All material topics are disclosed in detail so that the stakeholders can evaluate
the Group’s performance. All data are officially recognised by Rostelecom Group and are
confirmed by internal and publicly available documents∙ Clarity. The information in the Report is presented in a form that is clear to stakeholders who
have the necessary understanding of the organisation and its activities∙ Completeness. The Report provides sufficient information to assess the Company’s impacts
during the reporting period∙ Context of sustainable development. The Company reports on its impact in the broader context
of sustainable development∙ Verifiability. Information is collected and presented in the Report so that it can be verified∙ Timeliness. The Report contains information for 2022 and is published in 2023

This Report contains information on PJSC Rostelecom’s plans and intentions for the medium
and long term. These plans and intentions are forward-looking and may be influenced, inter alia,
by a range of economic, political, and legal factors beyond the Company’s control (the global
financial, economic, and political situation, the situation in key markets, changes in tax, customs,
and environmental legislation, etc.). Consequently, actual performance in future years may differ
from the forward-looking statements published in this Report.

Health and safety
Responsible businesspractices andanti-corruption
Responsible procurement
Safe internet
Economic performance
Energy consumption

228

229

Sustainability Report 2022

06. Appendices6.1.1. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Rostelecom Group’s total environmental protection expenditures and investments, RUB thousand
2020

2021

2022

Landfill disposal fees for municipal solid waste

95,561

95,237112,246

Disposal/neutralisation fees for non-landfill wastes

9,951

9,364

9,389

Environmental charges for air pollution

415

441

425

Environmental charges for water pollution

33.2

13.7

6.6

Environmental charges for waste landfill

6,598

2,174

2,894

Third-party fees for drafting an environmental charge
declaration

614

1,862

17

Permit/licence fees and duties

72.5

7.5

214

16,0707,630

684

Fees for emissions inventory, the development of
maximum allowable emissions limits, obtaining air
pollution permits
Fees for inventory of waste sources, the development ofdraft waste generation rates and disposal limits, obtaining
approvals for waste generation rates and disposal limits

–

89

1,652

667

Employee training and upskilling

1,889

906

357

Expenses related to setting up separate waste collection(procurement of containers, setting waste collection
sites, waste sorting, etc.)

1,398

840

1,710

Expenditures on area improvements and urban greening

5,158

2,927

2,757

Expenditures on air pollution control and climate change
mitigation (filter installation and repairs, air sampling andanalysis, developing adverse weather conditions actionplans, etc.)

9,032

6,863

6,876

Expenditures on surface water and groundwater pollution
control and wastewater treatment (renovation andrefurbishment of water treatment facilities, water wellreconstruction and liquidation, cleaning of river beds,
setting up sanitary protection zones around water bodies
and wells, etc.)

2,898

90

4,397

205

77.8

86.0

0

Expenses on wastewater laboratory testing

1,910

1,605

1,186

Expenses related to the development and approval ofdraft projects to establish buffer zones and sanitarywater protection zones

10,861

14,56010,352Fees for official registration of facilities affecting theenvironment

1,449

543

0

Fees for the development of environmental operational
control programmes and progress reports

3,481

2,333

449

Fees for waste certification

386

343

980

Noise measurements at the borders of buffer zones inline with the monitoring programme

47.6

0

22.9

1,388.0

76.1

1,628

Developing projects to implement measures aimed at
reducing pollutant emissions in the periods of adverse
weather conditions, obtaining information on adverse
weather conditions

717

1,580

79

Other

244

11,6571

14,829TOTAL

174,008

163,903

174,468

2,105

2,008

2,764

2

Monetary value of significant fines imposed on Rostelecom Group for non-compliance with environmental laws
and regulations, RUB thousand

1

2

3

230

2022

Monetary value of significant fines

Expenditures on soil contamination control (sampling,
decontamination, reclamation, etc.)

Expenses on groundwater laboratory testing

2021

Setting up temporary waste accumulation sites,
purchasing containers

0

Expenses related to obtaining subsoil licences (for wells)(excluding duties)

2020

2020

2021

2022

3

2283

0

Note: Other includes RUB 10,719 thousand of expenses related to the development and approval of reports and other permits and RUB 838 thousandof expenses related to other focus areas.
Note: Other includes RUB 14,176 thousand of expenses related to the development and approval of reports and other permits and RUB 653 thousandof expenses related to other focus areas.
Note: RUB 58 thousand for officers and RUB 170 for a legal entity.

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Sustainability Report 2022

06. Appendices6.1.2. GRI CONTENT INDEXStatement of use

PJSC Rostelecom has reported in accordance with the GRI Standards for the period from
1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022

GRI Standard

Disclosure

Location

Omission

2-1 Organisational details

About the Company-

2-2 Entities included in the organisation’s sustainability reporting

About the Report appendix-

2-3 Reporting period, frequency and contact point

About the Report appendix-

2-4 Restatements of information

About the Report appendix-

2-5 External assurance

Sustainability Report 2022 has passed the public assurance
process at the RSPP Council on Non-financial Reporting.
For more details, see website: https://www.company.rt.ru/
social/report – the Opinion of the RSPP Council on Nonfinancial Reporting on PJSC Rostelecom’s Sustainability
Report 2022 Submitted for Public Assurance Purposes-

2-6 Activities, value chain and other business relationships

Responsible supply chain-

2-7 Employees

Breakdown of employees

Breakdown by region

2-8 Workers who are not employees

Breakdown of employees-

2-9 Governance structure and composition

PJSС Rostelecom’s corporate governance structure

Information is partially not disclosed in accordance with theDecree of the Government of the Russian Federation No.
1102 as of 4 July 2023

2-10 Nomination and selection of the highest governance body

Induction of Board members-

GRI 1 Foundation 2021 (no disclosures)
GRI 2 General Disclosures 2021

2-11 Chair of the highest governance body232

Information is not disclosed in accordance with the Decreeof the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1102 as of
4 July 2023

2-12 Role of the highest governance body in overseeing the managementof impacts

Board of Directors’ and its committees’ performance report-2-13 Delegation of responsibility for managing impacts

PJSС Rostelecom’s corporate governance structure-

2-14 Role of the highest governance body in sustainability reporting

The Board of Directors approves the Sustainability Report-2-15 Conflicts of interest

Conflict of interest management-

2-16 Communication of critical concerns

Feedback channels

Total number of calls

2-17 Collective knowledge of the highest governance body

Induction of Board members-

2-18 Evaluation of the performance of the highest governance body

Evaluation of the Board of Directors’ performance-

2-19 Remuneration policies

Remuneration-

233

Sustainability Report 2022

GRI Standard

Disclosure

Location

2-20 Process to determine remuneration

06. Appendices

Omission
Information is not disclosed in accordance with the Decreeof the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1102 as of
4 July 2023

2-21 Annual total compensation ratio-

Information is not disclosed in accordance with the Decreeof the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1102 as of
4 July 2023

2-22 Statement on sustainable development strategy

Letter from the President-

2-23 Policy commitments

Our approach to sustainability-

2-24 Embedding policy commitments

Our approach to sustainability-

2-25 Processes to remediate negative impacts

Our approach to sustainability-

2-26 Mechanisms for seeking advice and raising concerns

Stakeholder engagement-

2-27 Compliance with laws and regulations

Responsible business practices

Number of instances where fines were incurredand number of instances where non-monetary
sanctions were incurred

2-28 Membership associations

Membership of Associations appendix-

2-29 Approach to stakeholder engagement

Stakeholder engagement-

2-30 Collective bargaining agreements

Protection of employee rights

201 Economic Performance 2016201-3 Defined benefit plan obligations and other retirement plans

Social benefits and compensations-

203 Indirect Economic Impacts 2016

203-1 Infrastructure investments and services supported

Digital Equality integrated social programme-

Supporting our regions of operation
205 Anti-corruption 2016205-2 Communication and training
about anti-corruption policies
and procedures

Responsible business practices

302 Energy 2016

302-1 Energy consumption within the organisation

Energy efficiency

303 Water and Effluents 2018

303-1 Interactions with water as a shared resource

Water consumption-

Emission management-

Waste management--

303-2 Management of water discharge-related impacts
303-3 Water withdrawal
303-4 Water discharge
303-5 Water consumption
305 Emissions 2016305-1 Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions
305-2 Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions
305-5 Reduction of GHG emissions
305-7 Nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and other significant

306 Waste 2020306-1 Waste generation and significant waste-related impacts
306-2 Management of significant waste-related impacts
306-3 Waste generated

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GRI Standard

Disclosure

Location

Omission

Breakdown of employees, Social benefits andcompensations

Breakdown by region

06. Appendices306-5 Waste directed to disposal
401 Employment 2016

401-1 New employee hires and employee turnover401-2 Benefits provided to full-time employeesthat are not provided to temporary or part-time employees-

401-3 Parental leave
403 Occupational Healthand Safety 2018403-1 Occupational health and safety
management system

Ensuring workplace safety-403-2 Hazard identification, risk assessment,
and incident investigation
403-3 Occupational health services
403-4 Worker participation, consultation,and communication on occupational healthand safety403-5 Worker training on occupational
health and safety

404 Training and Education 2016403-6 Promotion of worker healthCorporate culture and internal communications

403-7 Prevention and mitigation of occupational
health and safety impacts directly linked
by business relationships

Ensuring workplace safety

403-9 Work-related injuries

The number of hours worked

403-10 Work-related ill health-404-1 Average hours of training per year per employee

Employee training and development-404-2 Programs for upgrading employee skills
and transition assistance

405 Diversity and Equal
Opportunity 2016404-3 Percentage of employees receiving regularperformance and career development reviews

Remuneration and incentives

405-1 Diversity of governance bodies
and employees

Remuneration and incentives-

405-2 Ratio of basic salary and remunerationof women to men

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06. Appendices6.1.3. UNCTAD INDICATORS TABLE

Area
A

Economic indicators

А.1

Revenue and/or (net)value added

Indicators

Calculation methodology

Rostelecom Group’s performance indicators in 2022

A.1.1. Revenue

IFRS 15

RUB 610.295 billion

A.1.2. Value added

Revenue less cost of materials, goods,
and services purchased(gross value added, GVA)

RUB 382.207 billion

A.1.3. Net value added

Revenue less cost of materials, goods,
and services purchased and lessdepreciation of tangible assets(net value added, NVA)

RUB 299.262 billion

А.2

Payments to the Government

A.2.1. Taxes and other payments to the Government

The total amount of taxes paid and payable(including income taxes as well as other fees
and taxes, such as property tax or VAT) plus
any related fines paid, plus any royalties,
licensing fees, and other payments to budgets
at various levels for a specified period

RUB 137.156 billion (including VAT)А.3

New investment/expenditures

A.3.1. Green investment

The total cost of the said investments
aimed mainly at preventing and reducing
pollution and other detrimental effects
on the environment, in absoluteand percentage terms

RUB 143 million1

A.3.2. Community investments

А.4

Local supplier/purchasing
programmesВEnvironmental indicators

В.1

Sustainable use of water

RUB 143 million
These expenditures account for 0.05 % of the Group’s
net value added in 2022.

The total amount of voluntary/charitable
donations and investments (CAPEX and OPEX)
in a wider community where beneficiaries
are not directly related to the Company,in absolute and percentage terms
for the reporting period

The Group has no consolidated records of community investments.

A.3.3. Total expenditures on researchand development

The total expenditures on researchand development in the reporting period
in absolute and percentage terms

RUB 11.983 billion

A.4.1. Percentage of local procurement

The share of the Company’s procurementfrom local suppliers (based on invoices
and commitments made by the Company
in the reporting period) in percentage
and absolute terms

In 2021, Rostelecom’s expenditures on local procurement
for infrastructure construction amounted to RUB 72.9 billion(15.04 % of the total procurement spending in 2021).

B.1.1. Water recycling and reuse

The total volume of water recycled
and/or reused by the Company
in the reporting period in absoluteand percentage terms

The Company does not recycle or reuse water. Water supplied by public
utilities or withdrawn from water supply wells is used in one production
cycle and then sent for treatment to public or own sewage systems(in the latter case, after treatment water is discharged into water bodies).

Charitable investments, which are part of our external social policy,
amounted to RUB 275.36 million in 2022 (0.03% of revenue).

These expenditures account for 1.9 % of the Group’s revenue in 2022.

For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Water Consumption subsection) of this Report.

1

The sum of OPEX featured in lines 1, 2, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 24 of the table “Rostelecom Group’s total environmental protection expendituresand investments, RUB thousand”. For more details, see the Key Performance Indicators appendix to this Report.

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Area

06. Appendices

Indicators

Calculation methodology

Rostelecom Group’s performance indicators in 2022

B.1.2. Water use efficiency

Water consumption per unit of net value
added in the reporting period.

Water consumption by the Group in 2022 amounted
to 1,609 thousand cu m. Water consumption per net value added
was 5.38 cu m per RUB 1 million of net value added.

Water consumption dynamics per unitof net value added over two reporting
periods (where water consumption
is defined as water withdrawal plus
the total volume of water received
from third parties) in percentage
and absolute terms and over time
(difference)
B.1.3. Water stress

Water withdrawal by source (surface water,
groundwater, rainwater, wastewater) specifying
regions with water scarcity (as a percentageof relative total water withdrawal) in absoluteand percentage terms

Water consumption decreased by 13 % year-on-year in the reporting
period.
For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Water Consumption subsection) of this Report.

The total water withdrawal in 2022 amounted to 1,685 thousand cu m:
Groundwater (artesian water) – 141 thousand cu m (8.4 %)Water from public utilities (mainly surface water with a minor shareof groundwater) – 1,544 thousand cu m (91.6 %)Rainwater and wastewater are not used.
The Group does not operate in regions with water scarcity.
For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Water Consumption subsection) of this Report.

В.2

Waste management

B.2.1. Reduction of waste generation

Waste generation per unit of net value added
as a percentage, over time (difference)and in absolute terms

In 2022, 36,014 tonnes of waste were generated. Waste generation per net
value added was 0.12 tonnes per RUB 1 million of net value added.
Waste generation increased by 8 % year-on-year in the reporting period.
For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Waste Management subsection) of this Report.

B.2.2. Waste reused, re-manufactured, and recycled

The total volume of recycled or reused waste
in absolute terms, in percentage terms
and over time (difference)

In 2022, 11.22 tonnes (0.03 %) of waste generated were reusedfor own operational needs.
Waste reuse decreased by 81,5 % year-on-year in the reporting
period (60.5 tonnes in 2021).
For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Waste Management subsection) of this Report.

B.2.3. Hazardous waste

The total amount of hazardous waste
in absolute terms as well as the shareof treated hazardous waste, considering
the total amount of waste declaredby the Company (in absolute and percentage
terms and over time (difference))

In 2022, a total 25,897 tonnes of Hazard Category 1–41 waste
were generated (71.9 % of the total waste generated by the Group).
In the reporting period, generation of Hazard Category 1–4 waste per net
value added was 0.087 tonnes per RUB 1 million of net value added.
Treated hazardous waste (environmental Hazard Category 1–4, handed
over for neutralisation or recycling) amounted to 3,392 tonnes(9.42 % of the total waste generated).
The amount of environmental Hazard Category 1–4 waste handed
over for neutralisation or recycling increased by 52.4 % year-on-year
in the reporting period (2,225 tonnes in 2021).
For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Waste Management subsection) of this Report.

Greenhouse gas emissions

B.3.1. Greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1)

Scope 1 emissions, in absolute terms,
as a percentage, and over time (difference)

In 2022, Scope 1 emissions amounted to 158,823 tonnes of CO2
equivalent (9.63 % of the total GHG emissions). In the reporting period,
Scope 1 emissions per net value added were 0.531 tonnes of CO2
equivalent per RUB 1 million of net value added.
Scope 1 emissions decreased by 8.33 % year-on-year in the reporting
period due to a lower consumption of major fossil fuels.
For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Emission Management subsection) of this Report.

1

The Russian legislation currently has no definition of waste with hazardous characteristics. Waste can be categorised into five environmental and four humanhealth Hazard Categories. The total includes waste of environmental Hazard Category 1–4; no records are made for human health Hazard Categories.

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Area

06. Appendices

Indicators

Calculation methodology

Rostelecom Group’s performance indicators in 2022

B.3.2. Greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 2)

Scope 2 emissions, in absolute terms,
as a percentage, and over time (difference)

In 2022, Scope 2 emissions amounted to 1,419,476 tonnes of CO2
equivalent (86.1 % of the total GHG emissions). In the reporting period,
Scope 2 emissions per net value added were 4.743 tonnes of CO2
equivalent per RUB 1 million of net value added.
Scope 2 emissions decreased by 3 % year-on-year in the reporting
period due to lower electricity and heat consumption.
For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Emission Management subsection) of this Report.

В.4

Chemicals, including pesticides
and ozone-depleting substances

B.4.1. Chemicals, including pesticides
and ozone-depleting substances

The total volume of ozone-depleting
substances (ODS) (bulk chemicals /substances in pure form or as a mixture)
per unit of net value added

The Group does not use ozone-depleting substances.

B.5

Energy consumption

B.5.1. Renewable energy

The share of renewable energy
in the total final energy consumption

Renewable energy may include:
Self-generation – solar installations (33 units), hybrid wind andsolar installations (82 units), and micro turbines (19 units). The shareof renewables in the total energy consumption is less than 0.1 %.
Heat generation from combustion of biomass (firewood and fuelbriquettes), at 12,054 thousand kWh in 2022 (0.28 % of the total energy
consumption).
Purchased grid electricity from hydropower plants and other renewablesources: as electricity suppliers do not provide data on its origin, its sharein the total energy consumption is unknown. Therefore, it is obtainedby calculation: electricity consumption in each federal district of Russia
is multiplied by the percentage of renewable electricity in this district;the share of renewable electricity consumed by the Group in 2022
was 426,282 thousand kWh (13.4 % of the total electricity consumption,
9.9 % of the total energy consumption). The data for calculating energy
consumption in each federal district are taken from Rosstat’s website1(the share varies from 0 % to 61 %, the average share of electricity
generated from renewable sources in Russia is 19 %).
For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Energy Efficiency subsection) of this Report.

B.5.2. Energy efficiency

Energy consumption per unitof net value added

In 2022, the total energy consumption amounted
to 4,316,761 thousand kWh.
In the reporting period, energy consumption per net value added
was 15.85 thousand kWh per RUB 1 million of net value added.
For more details, see the E – Environmental section(Energy Efficiency subsection) of this Report.

C

Social indicators

С.1

Gender equality

С.2

1

Human capital

C.1.1. Proportion of women in managerial positions

The number of women in managerial
positions relative to the total headcount(full-time employees)

The proportion of women in managerial positions was 34 % in 2022.
For more details, see the Rostelecom for Employees section(Breakdown of Employees subsection) of this Report.

C.2.1. Average hours of training per year per employee

The average number of training hours
per year per employee (as the total
number of training hours per year divided
by the total number of employees),possibly by employee category

The average amount of training received by employees in 2022 was 32.2
hours per employee.

C.2.2. Expenditure on employee training per year
per employee

Direct and indirect training costs (including
trainers and teachers’ fees, training supplies
and materials, training equipment, and related
travel expenses) per year per employee,
possibly by employee category

Direct and indirect training costs in 2022 were RUB 5,650 per employee.1

Rosstat’s data for 2021 https://www.gks.ru/folder/11189.

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Area

С.3

Employee health and safety

Indicators

Calculation methodology

Rostelecom Group’s performance indicators in 2022

C.2.3. Employee wages and benefits by employment typeand gender

The total payroll (wages, benefits package,and other compensations) divided by the total
revenue for the reporting period

The Group’s total payroll in 2022 amounted to RUB 111.2 billion(18.22 % of the Group’s revenue).

C.3.1. Expenditures on employee health and safety
as a proportion of revenue

C.3.2. Frequency/incident rates of occupational injuries

С.4

Coverage of collective agreements

D

Institutional indicators

D.1

Corporate governancedisclosure

06. Appendices

The total expenditures on health and safety
and healthcare programmes funded directlyby the Company and all expenditures incurred
to improve working conditions and address
health and safety issues in the reporting period
divided by the total revenue for the same
periodInjury frequency rate: the number of new
injuries divided by the total number of hours
worked by employees in the reporting period;
lost time injury frequency rate: the total
amount of lost time accident days expressedas the number of hours divided by the total
number of hours worked by employees
in the reporting period

For more details, see the Rostelecom for Employees section(Remuneration and Incentives subsection) of this Report.

The total expenditures on health and safety amounted to RUB 934
million in 2022 (down 44,3 % year-on-year), which is equivalent to 0.16 %of the Group’s revenue.
For more details, see the Rostelecom for Employees section(Ensuring Workplace Safety subsection) of this Report.

In 2022, injury frequency rate was 0.31 per 1,000 employees.2
Due to historical and legal reasons, injury frequency rate in thecommunications industry is calculated as the number of incidents divided
by 1,000 employees.
Lost time accident days – 2,7113 (down 16.6 %).
For more details, see the Rostelecom for Employees section(Ensuring Workplace Safety subsection) of this Report.

C.4.1. Percentage of employees covered by collective
agreements

The number of employees coveredby collective bargaining agreements relative
to the total headcount (full-time employees)

100 %D.1.1. Number of board meetings and attendance rate

The number of Board meetings
in the reporting period and the numberof Board members attending all Board
meetings in the reporting period divided
by the total number of Board members
multiplied by the number of Board meetings
in the reporting period

In 2022, the Board of Directors had 14 meetings4 (2 meetings in personand 12 meetings in absentia).

D.1.2. Number and percentage of female board members

D.1.3. Board members by age range

The number of Board members attending all Board meetings
in the reporting period divided by the total number of Board members
multiplied by the number of Board meetings in the reporting period – 14.
For more details, see the Corporate Governance section of this Report.

The number of women on the Board of
Directors in relation to the total number ofBoard members

With one woman serving on PJSC Rostelecom’s Board in 2022,
the percentage of female board members was 9.1 %.

The number of Board members by age
category (e.g. under 30 years old,
30–50 years old, over 50 years old)

The average age of the Board members was 54.7 years,
the average tenure on the Board of Directors was 6.1 years.

In subsidiaries and affiliates, the percentage of female board members
was 14 %.

Members of PJSC Rostelecom’s Board of Directors by age group(as at 31 December 2022):
under 30 years old – 0
30–50 years old – 4
over 50 years old – 7

1
2
3
4

Data for PJSC Rostelecom.
Data for PJSC Rostelecom.
Data for PJSC Rostelecom.
Data for PJSC Rostelecom.

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Area

D.2

Anti-corruption practices

06. Appendices

Indicators

Calculation methodology

Rostelecom Group’s performance indicators in 2022

D.1.4. Number of meetings of audit committee
and attendance rate

The number of meetings of the Boardof Directors during the reporting period
and the number of members of the Audit
Committee attending all meetings of the Audit
Committee during the reporting period divided
by the total number of members of the Audit
Committee multiplied by the numberof the Audit Committee meetings during
the reporting period

In 2022, PJSC Rostelecom’s Audit Committee held 5 meetingsin absentia.
For more details, see the Corporate Governance section of this Report.

D.1.5. Total remuneration and remuneration per memberof the board of directors and management

The total remuneration for the year(including base salary and variable
remuneration) awarded to each executive
and non-executive director

Information is partially not disclosed in accordance with the Decree of
the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1102 as of 4 July 2023

D.2.1. Amount of fines paid or payable due to settlements

The total monetary value of paid and payablecorruption-related fines imposed by regulatorsand courts in the reporting period

No corruption-related administrative fines were imposed in the reporting
period.

D.2.2. Average hours of training on anti-corruption issues
per year per employee

The average number of anti-corruption training
hours per employee per year (the total numberof anti-corruption training hours per year
divided by the total number of employees)

All PJSC Rostelecom’s new hires working at automated workstations
take a 45 min induction course on the Code of Ethics, including an anticorruption section. In 2022, more than 7,500 Rostelecom employees
successfully completed the online Code of Ethics course and passed
end-of-course tests.
PJSC Rostelecom employees in positions exposed to corruption riskneed to take additional advanced training on corruption prevention
and anti-corruption in either classroom (2 hours) or remote (1.5 hours)
environments, once every two years. In 2022, about 4,500 employees
successfully completed the course.

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6.1.4. SASB ACCOUNTING METRICS

6.1.5. GLOSSARY

Disclosure

Accounting Metric

Section of the Report

TC-IM-130a.1(1) Total energy consumed

Energy Consumption

5G

The fifth generation of mobile technology achieving higher bandwidths than
4G, driving greater mobile availability, extremely reliable large-scale networkingof devices, lower latencies, bandwidths of 1 Gbps–2 Gbps, and lower energy
consumption by batteries. 5G adoption will drive the expansion of the Internetof Things

AC

Audit Committee

ACRA

Analytical Credit Rating Agency

AD

Administrative Department

AGSM

Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting

AI

Artificial intelligence

AMR

Automated meter reading

ARPU

Average revenue per user

B2B

Business-to-business

B2C

Business-to-consumer

B2G

Business-to-government

B2O

Business-to-operator

BDD

Bridging the Digital Divide

Big data

Large amounts of varied structured and unstructured data efficiently processedby horizontally scaled software toolsbnBillionBroadband

Broadband internet access

BVS

Balanced ventilation system

CAPEX

Capital expenditures

CCTV

Closed circuit television

CDN

Content Delivery Network

CENTR

Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries

CEO

Chief Executive Officer

CGC

Corporate Governance Committee

CLS

Core live sub

CO

Carbon monoxide

CO2

Carbon dioxide

TC-TL-130a.1
TC-SI-130a.1

TC-IM-130a.2(1) Total water withdrawn,

TC-SI-130a.2(2) total water consumed, percentage
of each in regions with High orExtremely High Baseline Water Stress

TC-IM-230a.2
TC-TL-230a.2
TC-SI-230a.2

TC-IM-330a.2
TC-SI-330a.2

TC-IM-330a.3
TC-SI-330a.3

Water consumption

Description of approach to identifying
and addressing data security
risks, including use of third-party
cybersecurity standards

Annual Report, Information Security
Cluster

Employee engagement
as a percentage

HR management assessment

Percentage of gender and racial/ethnic
group representation for

Breakdown of employees(1) management,(2) technical staff, and(3) all other employees

TC-TL-440a.1(1) Materials recovered throughtake back programs, percentageof recovered materials that were

06. Appendices

Responsible Consumption(2) reused,(3) recycled, and(4) landfilled

TC-TL-000.A

TC-TL-000.D

248

Number of wireless subscribers

Network traffic

Annual Report, Residential Segment(B2C)

Annual Report, Residential Segment
(B2C)

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Sustainability Report 2022

CoP

Communication on Progress

GWh

Gigawatt hour

Corporate social responsibility

A concept according to which organisations take into account the interestsof society, taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on companies
and other public stakeholders

HackathonAn event in which software developers collaborate to solve a problem

HEI

Higher education institution

CPI

Consumer price index

HR

Human resources

CTF (Capture the Flag)

Team hacking competitions where the key objective is to capture the opponent
team’s “flag”

HRM

Human resource management

cu m

Cubic metre

HSE

Health, safety, and environment

CVS

Cloud video surveillance

IaaS

Infrastructure-as-a-Service

Data centre

Data processing centre

ICC

Industrial competence centre

Digital Economy

The Digital Economy of the Russian Federation programme approvedby the Russian Government’s Decree dated 28 July 2017

ICS

Internal control system

ID

Identity document

06. Appendices

ECD

External Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility Department

IFRS

International Financial Reporting Standards

Employee engagement

Emotional and intellectual commitment of employees to go above and beyondin doing their job

IIC

Industry IoT Consortium

EMS

Environmental management system

IIDFInternet Initiatives Development FundeNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score)

A method to measure employee loyalty

ILO

International Labour Organization

EUR

Euro

Internet of Things (IoT)

A global network of physical devices (“things”) that are connected to the internet,
equipped with sensors, and able to transfer data

EOC

Environmental operational control

IP

Internet Protocol

ESG

Environmental, social, and corporate governance

IPTV

FASIE

Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises

A system through which television services are delivered using the internet
protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as a local area networkor the internet

FCF

Free cash flow

IQHRIntelligent IT system for recruitment

FOCL

Fibre-optic communications line

ISO

International Organization for Standardization

FPS

Faster Payments System

IT

Information technology

Gamification

Application of gaming approaches that are widely used in computer games
in non-game contexts to engage people in solving practical tasks and using
products and services, and to strengthen customer loyalty

ITU

International Telecommunication Union

IVR

Interactive voice response

Gbps

Gigabits per second

kg

Kilogramme

Gcal

Gigacalorie

KPI

Key performance indicator

GEI

Gender-Equality Index

kWh

Kilowatt-hour

GHG

Greenhouse gases

l

Litre

GLF

Global Leaders’ Forum

LED

Light-emitting diodeGRI Standards (The Global Reporting
Initiative)

The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines offer an international standard
for the preparation of voluntary sustainability reports by organisations

LNG

Liquefied petroleum gas

GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications

LTE

Long-term evolution

GVA

Gross value addedmMillion250

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M&A

Mergers and acquisitions

MBO

Management by objectives

MHz

Megahertz

MIPT

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

MPMN

Modern and Promising Mobile Networks

MSW

Municipal solid waste

NACC

National Association of Contact Centers

NCIT

New communication internet technologies

NCR

National Credit Ratings

NGO

Non-governmental organisation

NO

Nitrogen monoxide

NO2

Nitrogen dioxide

NPO

Non-profit organisation

NPS (Net Promoter Score)

An index reflecting consumer loyalty to a product or company(likelihood to recommend) and used to gauge repurchase intent

NRC

Nomination and Remuneration Committee

NVA

Net value added

O2O

Rostelecom’s project, Operator-to-operator, aimed to offer network infrastructure
support, operation, and development services to other operators

ODS

Ozone-depleting substances

OHMS

Occupational Health Management System

OIBDA

Operating income before depreciation and amortisation

OPEX

Operating expenses

OS

Ordinary shares

OTT

Over-the-top

Outsourcing

An agreement in which one organisation contracts another one, which has
expertise in a needed area, to be responsible for certain types of operations
or functions

p.p.

Percentage point

Pay TV

Subscription-based television services provided by both analogue and digital
cable and satellite television as well as via digital terrestrial and internet television

PBX

Private branch exchange

PCR

Polymerase chain reaction

PJSC

Public joint stock company

PPE

Personal protective equipment

252

06. Appendices

PSU

Power supply unit

PUE

Power Usage Effectiveness

PVC

Polyvinyl chloride

R&D

Research and development

RAEC

Russian Association for Electronic Communications

RAS

Russian Accounting Standards

RCC

Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications

Regions of operation

Regions where the organisation has production facilities and key employees

RID

Russian Institute of Directors

RMS

Risk management system

ROIC

Return on invested capital

RSPP

The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

RUB

Russian rouble

SASB

Sustainability Accounting Standards Board

SC

Strategy Committee

SIA

Social Impact AwardSLA (Service Level Agreement)

An agreement on service level between the customer and the service provider
containing a description of the service, its quality, and each party’s rights
and responsibilities.

Smart City

A project aimed at making Russian cities more competitive, improving
the efficiency of city management, and creating a safe and comfortableenvironment for urban residents

Smart Home

A high-tech solution for integrating diverse household systems under artificial
intelligence control

SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises

SO2

Sulphur dioxide

Soft skills

A cluster of non-technical abilities that are cross-cutting across jobs and areimportant for one’s career as they are used by employees to successfully engage
in a working process and enhance their labour productivity

sq m

Square metre

Stakeholder

An individual, group, or entity that can be affected by the Company and/or that
can affect the Company

Subscriber

An individual or an entity with a valid contract who has used any service entailingdata traffic, a subscription fee, or a service charge in the past six months

Sustainability

Societal development that meets the needs of the present generations withoutcompromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

t

Tonne

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TLD

Top-level domain

TSR

Total shareholder returnTV

Television

UBS

Unified Biometric System

UCE

Unified centre of excellenceUN

United Nations

UNCTAD

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UN SDGs

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets that all membersof the United Nations agreed to achieve by 2030

VAT

Value added tax

VDI

Virtual desktop infrastructure

VHI

GRI
(2–28)

06. Appendices6.1.6. MEMBERSHIPOF ASSOCIATIONS

Name

Date of admission

Type of membership

Association for Educational, Scientific, and Business
Collaboration between Educational Institutions, Businesses,
and Organisations in the Telecommunications Industry
Sodeystviye

1992

MemberRegional Commonwealth in the Fieldof Communications (RCC)

1997

MemberInternational Telecommunication Union (ITU)

1999

Member of the ITU
Telecommunication
Standardisation Sector

Union of InfoComm Design Engineers ProjektSvyazTelekom

2011

MemberVoluntary health insurance

Russian Institute of Directors

2011

Member

Virtual PBXA service which allows IP telephony operators to replace traditional on-premise
telephony hardware

Innovation and R&D Directors Club

2012

MemberNational Association of Procurement Institutes

2012

Member

VPN / IP VPN (Virtual private
network)

A virtual private network for expanding a dedicated network through a public
network (the internet), enabling desktops to send and receive data via a sharedor public network as if the desktop was directly connected to the private
network, while taking advantage of the public network functionality, security
policy, and management capabilities

NATIONAL RADIO ASSOCIATION

2012

Member

Association of Electronic Document Communications

2013

MemberMedia Communication Union

2014

MemberWi-Fi

Wireless local area networking (WLAN) of devices

ASSOCIATION OF CABLE TV OF RUSSIA

2014

Member

WLAN

Wireless local area networking

International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC)

2014

MemberxDSL

Digital subscriber lines

Anti-corruption Charter of Russian Business2014

Signatory

National Association of Contact Centres (NACC)

2015

MemberIndustry IoT Consortium (IIC)

2015

MemberRussian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC)

2015

MemberConstruction Association(Association of Self-Regulatory Organisations)2017

MemberAutonomous Non-profit Organisation Digital Economy

2017

MemberRussian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP)

2017

MemberFinTech Association

2017

MemberInternet of Things Association

2018

MemberTM Forum

2018

MemberITW Global Leaders’ Forum (GLF)

2019

MemberBig Data Association

2019

MemberSRO Association CENTRIZYSKANIYA

2019

MemberCompetition Experts Association (CEA)

2021

Member254

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6.1.7. AWARDS
Responsible business practice awards
Corporate governance rating assigned by the Russian Institute of Directors (RID):1 7++ – advanced
corporate governance practice.
For the third year in a row, Rostelecom topped the national Anti-corruption Ranking of Russian
Business.

Sustainability and reporting awards
In 2022, Rostelecom was ranked 43rd among Russian companies in the Expert magazine’s
sustainability ranking.
Rostelecom is also included in the two sustainability indices of the Moscow Exchange and theRussian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. The Company topped the ESG indices compiledby the RSPP in 2022, namely the Responsibility and Transparency Index and the Sustainable
Development Vector Index.
Rostelecom made it to the top of the Corporate Philanthropy Leaders ranking – the mostprestigious social activity competition for Russian businesses. The Company was named the bestin Group A – Best Practice.
In early 2022, our gender equality efforts earned global recognition as Rostelecom was includedin Bloomberg’s 2022 Gender-Equality Index – for the second year in a row.
PJSC Rostelecom’s ABC of the Internet project became the champion at the World Summit on
the Information Society Prizes 2023 international competition in the AL C4 category: Capacity
Building (Action Line C4 Capacity Building).
Rostelecom ranked fourth (first place corresponds to the lowest environmental impact) among
the largest holdings in AK&M’s 2022 social performance rating of the largest Russian companies.

06. AppendicesAwards for supporting and developing the regionsof operation
In November 2022, Rostelecom received the highest score in the Corporate Philanthropy Leaders
ranking compiled by the Donors Forum association.
Rostelecom’s Digital Region project came second in the Best Corporate Social Investment
Programme in the Area in Terms of Sustainability and Business Strategy category of the Corporate
Philanthropy Leaders project.

Product innovation and customer service awards
In 2021, Rostelecom was the leader1 in the B2B broadband market by revenue and numberof subscribers (49 % of the market).
In 2021, Rostelecom became the market leader2 by number of Virtual PBX subscribers, growing
its customer base by 37 % from 2020.
In April 2022, Rostelecom confirmed its leadership in the public Wi-Fi access market, according
to a ranking by TMT Consulting.
In July 2022, Rostelecom strengthened its leading position in the data centre market, according
to CNews Analytics.
According to TelecomDaily’s study of the cloud video surveillance (CVS) market, Rostelecom
gained the leadership position by number of installed CVS cameras with a market share of 28 %.
According to the independent consultancy J’son & Partners Consulting, Rostelecom was
the market leader in 2021 by number of subscribers (36.6 % of all B2B subscribers) and total
revenue from Pay TV services in the B2B segment.
In 2021, Rostelecom Group topped the ranking of Russian cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
providers according to iKS-Consulting.

According to AK&M, Rostelecom’s sustainability reporting rating was RESG1 in 2022, the highest
level of sustainability disclosure in the Company’s public reports.
In September 2022, AK&M affirmed Rostelecom’s top sustainability reporting rating.

Human capital development awards
According to hh.ru, Rostelecom ranked among the top 10 employers in Russia in the Largest
Companies category, was named the best employer in the telecommunications industry(eighth place in the overall ranking), ranked first among telecom companies in a job seeker survey
and second in the Most Advanced HR Processes subranking.
Rostelecom was named platinum employer in the Forbes ranking.
Rostelecom’s Internship for Students at the Cyber Attack Monitoring and Response Centre project
received a special Community Choice award at GRADUATE AWARDS 2022.

1
1

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Affirmed in January 2021.

2

According to the independent agency TMT Consulting.
According to the independent agency TMT Consulting.

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Sustainability Report 2022

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