Sustainability Scorex at URC2026

URC2026 in Gdańsk confirmed one clear shift: Ukraine’s recovery is no longer only about rebuilding what was destroyed. It is increasingly about creating the conditions for sustainable investment, resilient infrastructure and long-term competitiveness.

We joined URC2026 because this is exactly where Sustainability Scorex works. Our mission is to help investors and businesses look beyond traditional ESG risks by integrating Safety - armed conflict and wartime context - directly into due diligence and investment decision-making. URC2026 was the clearest signal yet that the market is moving in the same direction.

A recurring theme: Ukraine’s advantage today lies not only in its technologies, but in years of real-world deployment, field testing, rapid adaptation and the ability to scale solutions under extraordinary conditions.

The strongest signal this year: for the first time, security and defence became a distinct dimension of the recovery agenda. This reflects a new reality - in Ukraine, resilience is no longer separate from sustainability. The two now have to be assessed together.

That shift was visible across the side events we attended:

• European Commission - “Science for Ukraine’s Recovery”: energy security, resilience and smart reconstruction solutions.
• U-Nation: the business dimension of recovery, shaped by major corporate players such as Philips and Bolt.
• Ukraine on the European Digital Innovation Map: BlackRock, NVIDIA and local players showing how technology and capital can move faster than the war destroys - through GovTech, digital public services, defence innovation and a deep talent base.
• IMPACTA Law, Clyde & Co and Marsh, with EBRD, IFC, Horizon Capital and Dragon Capital: the real question of bankability - how to turn recovery ambitions into financeable renewable projects despite war-risk and insurance gaps.

Several projects showed how sustainable recovery is already taking shape:

• DTEK and Octopus Energy Group announced a joint venture to finance Project RISE - a €100 million initiative to deploy rooftop solar and battery storage across Ukraine.
• In Mykolaiv, a new pipeline is restoring reliable drinking water for around 500,000 residents after the destruction of the city’s main water supply in 2022.
• At the Port of Odesa, QuinteQ’s THOR-X flywheel energy storage system demonstrated how to improve grid reliability while reducing peak demand and fuel consumption.

The key takeaway from URC2026 is clear: successful recovery will depend not only on rebuilding infrastructure today rather than tomorrow, but on delivering projects that are resilient, investable, secure and sustainable from day one.

This is exactly where Sustainability Scorex aims to contribute.