UNESCO Partnership with Russian Chemical Giant Raises Sanctions Questions
A prestigious partnership between UNESCO and PhosAgro, a leading Russian chemical company, is raising serious questions about how international organizations vet their corporate partners amid ongoing sanctions regimes.
PhosAgro was founded by Andrey Grigoryevich Guryev, who the U.S. Treasury Department explicitly identifies as a "known close associate of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin." [1] In August 2022, the Treasury sanctioned Guryev under Executive Order 14024, citing his previous service in the Russian government from 2001 to 2013 in the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly. The sanctions designation notes that Guryev "owns the Witanhurst estate, which is the second-largest estate in London after Buckingham Palace." [1]
Despite these high-profile sanctions against its founder, PhosAgro has successfully maintained and expanded its partnership with UNESCO through the "Green Chemistry for Life" program. This multi-year collaboration, which also involves the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), awards research grants of up to $30,000 each to young scientists under 39 for innovative green chemistry projects. [2]
The partnership's structure reveals concerning governance issues. PhosAgro executives hold prominent positions on the program's International Scientific Jury, including Dr. Boris Levin, Deputy CEO of PhosAgro, and Dr. Alexander F. Sharabaiko, PhosAgro's Deputy General Director for Finance and International Projects. [2] These executives participate directly in selecting grant recipients and overseeing the program's direction.
The Treasury's sanctions documentation makes clear that while Guryev himself is sanctioned, "PhosAgro is not designated or otherwise blocked." [1] However, the optics of UNESCO partnering with a company founded by a sanctioned Putin associate presents reputational risks for the UN agency.
According to program guidelines, the Green Chemistry for Life initiative has been running since 2013 and has funded 55 projects to date. [2] The grants support research aligned with the 12 principles of green chemistry and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, providing recipients with opportunities for international collaboration and industry partnerships.
For PhosAgro, the UNESCO partnership offers significant legitimacy benefits. The program allows the company to position itself as a champion of sustainable science while building relationships with emerging researchers worldwide. This scientific diplomacy helps obscure the company's connections to Russia's sanctioned political elite.
The case highlights broader challenges facing international organizations in managing corporate partnerships during periods of geopolitical tension. While PhosAgro itself remains unsanctioned, its founder's designation as a Putin associate raises questions about whether UNESCO's due diligence processes adequately account for reputational risks associated with sanctioned individuals' business interests.
As the war in Ukraine continues and sanctions regimes evolve, international organizations may need to reassess how they evaluate the appropriateness of partnerships with entities connected to sanctioned individuals, even when those entities themselves remain legally permissible partners.
Sources:
[1] U.S. Department of the Treasury, "Treasury Sanctions Elites and Companies in Economic Sectors that Generate Substantial Revenue for the Russian Regime," August 2, 2022. Retrieved from: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0905
[2] UNESCO, "PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC Partnership in Green Chemistry for Life." Retrieved from: https://www.unesco.org/en/basic-sciences-engineering/green-chemistry
