Business Spending on Sustainable Development Advertising Grew 79%
Business has regained the lead in sustainable development promotion spending after a year of state dominance. In January–April 2026, companies invested 10 billion rubles, a 79% increase over 2025.
Russian business spending on sustainable development advertising in January–April 2026 grew 79% year on year. The figures are contained in a study by agency Better (part of Okkam Group), reviewed by Kommersant.
The total volume of investment in promoting the ESG agenda in media over four months reached 17 billion rubles, 38% more than in the same period of 2025. Business regained the lead in investment volume after the state overtook it in 2025 for the first time since 2022.
Where Are the Main Budgets Going?
The breakdown of spending by channel has changed almost not at all:
- television — 57% of budgets;
- outdoor advertising — 38%;
- other media (digital, radio, press) — about 5%.
Television and outdoor advertising continue to form the backbone of ESG promotion, with the combined share of these two channels exceeding 95%.
Who Became the Largest Investor?
By the results of January–April 2026, the distribution of funding sources looks like this:
-
business — 58%, or 10 billion rubles;
-
the state — 33%, or about 5.6 billion rubles;
NGOs — 9%, or roughly 1.5 billion rubles.
Business's return to the lead is due to a sharp increase in private investment specifically: 79% versus a symbolic 10% growth for all of 2025. In four months, companies spent more than half of last year's total private investment.
Why Did State Spending Slow Down?
The growth rate of state budgets at the beginning of 2026 fell from a record 77% by the end of 2025 to 7% for January–April. This dynamic allowed the private sector to regain primacy in the segment.
"In January–April 2026, growth of state budgets slowed to 7%, while business budgets grew 79% versus 10% for all of 2025," Better noted.
What Did the Market Look Like a Year Ago?
The total volume of sustainable development promotion in 2025 amounted to 45 billion rubles. Of these, 47% came from the state (about 21.2 billion rubles), 44% from business (roughly 19.8 billion rubles), and the rest from NGOs (around 4 billion rubles).
It was the 77% growth in state spending by the end of 2025 that secured the state first place for the first time since 2022. Now the balance of power has shifted again: in the first four months of 2026, business spent more than half of last year's private volume and reclaimed the leading position.
What Lies Behind the Trend?
The growth in business spending coincides with the introduction of mandatory ESG reporting for Russia's largest companies and preparations for expanded publication of non-financial data. Better analysts link the dynamics of private investment to the need to communicate ESG strategies to a broad audience through mass media channels.
The 79% growth shown at the beginning of 2026 is the segment's strongest performance in recent years. The recovery of private investment is taking place against the backdrop of tightening regulatory requirements and growing investor attention to the non-financial reporting of public companies. According to the study's authors, the ESG promotion market could exceed 50 billion rubles in 2026 if current rates hold.
A detailed analysis of the market dynamics is available in Kommersant's article "Money in Good Company."
Source: Коммерсантъ
More from Сергей Мельник
179 articles
Related articles
- Elvis Presley Song Rights Holders Demand $41.1 Million from Anthropic
- Pinduoduo and Anthropic paid Kazakhstan 8 billion tenge in taxes
- Disney Will Show Super Bowl 2027 Through the Eyes of Star Wars Characters
- Mom's Touch to Open 50 Restaurants in Kazakhstan with Shin-Line
- Prada answered AI slop with a pencil: 6 million views and mice in the style of Disney