The Role of Universities in Advancing Sustainable Development and the ESG Agenda

The article presents the directions of theoretical research of human capital, the role of higher education institutions and universities in the implementation of the concept of sustainable development of Russia and the ESG agenda, including those published in the journal «Theoretical Economics». The factors of growing demand from businesses for specialists in the field of sustainable development and ESG are revealed, and examples of leading companies in terms of the number of vacancies in the field of sustainable development are given. The functions of higher education institutions and universities in the sustainable development and ESG transformation of the country’s and regional economies are shown. International and Russian conferences on the sustainable development and ESG agenda, and the results of the Priority 2030 project are reflected. A list of the world’s 10 leading sustainable universities according to global educational rankings: QS and THE is presented. An overview of sustainable development programs at leading universities in Europe and the USA, and educational programs in the Russian educational space is given. The article presents the results of several studies on the trends in the development of ESG education in Russian universities, examples of bachelor’s and master’s programs in the areas of training related to SD and ESG, examples of partners of educational programs on SD and ESG. Proposals for improving ESG education in Russian universities are presented. The issue of transforming the concept of a «green» university into an ESG strategy for its development, the adoption of a national concept for the development of ESG in the education system and the development of a new model of the university as a large ecosystem aimed at reproducing a new type of society and economy is raised. The significance of the professional standard of a specialist in achieving sustainable development goals, approved in 2024 by the Ministry of Labor of Russia, is revealed.