Sustainability in war research: Ukraine as CAHRA case

Sustainability Scorex (SCX) and the European Business Association is launching a qualitative and quantitative study,  “Sustainability during the war: Ukraine as CAHRA experience".

How Ukrainian businesses sustain sustainability and resilience during war

For almost five years of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Ukrainian companies have been operating under conditions faced by no EU market: missile and drone attacks, blackouts, workforce mobilisation and migration, destroyed or inaccessible data, and competition between capital needed for survival and investment in sustainability. Despite this, businesses continue to advance sustainability: preparing for reporting under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), with some companies already reporting voluntarily as part of European integration.

Ukraine today represents Europe’s largest live stress test of sustainability practice in a Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Area (CAHRA). Its experience is important for understanding how ESG and due diligence work in armed-conflict settings, where people’s safety, business continuity and the ability to recover form part of long-term business resilience.

For Ukrainian businesses, these are everyday decisions: how to protect people, keep production safe, manage disrupted value chains, and decide when and how operations can resume. Each escalation cycle forces companies to recover, reorganise logistics and adapt again.

The study aims to document how companies assess impacts on people and the environment, adapt occupational safety practices, and recover while escalation continues - alongside preparing for sustainability reporting.

What the study covers

• The key sustainability challenges businesses face during war and how companies address them.
• Safety and resilience practices that are already working: energy, workforce, veterans, business continuity and recovery.
• How prepared businesses are to report under the ESRS, and where global standards do not account for CAHRA realities.
• Businesses’ needs for adapting reporting standards to CAHRA markets.

Who can participate

Representatives of Ukrainian companies responsible for sustainability / ESG, compliance, HR, DEI and communications, as well as Chief Sustainability Officers and business owners. Small, medium-sized and large businesses across sectors are invited to participate.

Timeline and participation

The survey will run throughout October 2026. It is anonymous and takes up to 15 minutes.

Take part in the survey →

The findings will be presented in late November 2026, in Ukrainian and English, through the EBA platform.

Contact for questions: davydova@sustainabilityscorex.com

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