The ceremony of awarding the Ecotech-Leader 2022, a National Prize in the environmental technologies, was held in Moscow on June 27. According to asi.org.ru, the companies were honoured that gained significant success in the development, implementation and promotion of advanced environmental technologies.
Ruslan Gubaidullin, Chairman of the Board of Autonomous Nonprofit Organization (ANO) Clean Arctic, a member of the award’s expert council, noted the importance of holding such events to support businesses in their desire to develop advanced environmental technologies.
“We all see that the policy of companies is changing, large industrial enterprises are becoming more environmentally friendly, they begin to understand their responsibility in this direction, and such awards as the Ecotech-Leader 2022 become an additional incentive for them,” said Ruslan Gubaidullin.
The judging panel highly appreciated the Clean Norilsk project presented by Norilsk Nickel. The project aimed at the improvement and reclamation of land won the lead in the nomination the “Best Environmental Programme”.
The programme started in 2021 and is gaining momentum now. Over the past year, we have dismantled more than 100 dilapidated buildings, cleaned more than one million square metres of area. This year’s goal is to clean two million square metres. We do not stop working, we work both in winter and in summer,” said Andrey Raduntsev, Head of the Department for Cooperation with Territories for the Improvement at the Polar Division of Norilsk Nickel.
This year, as part of the programme, it is planned to dismantle about 100 objects, remove up to 400,000 tonnes of garbage and 45,000 tonnes of scrap metal. The programme will last until 2030 and its cost is estimated at 40 bn roubles.
In total, the Organizing Committee of the award this year received more than 100 applications from 85 regions of Russia. 28 companies won various prizes:
Arktika 2020: for the project “Use of Waste from Industrial Enterprises in the Construction of Industrial Facilities and Roads in the Arctic region of Russia”
Kraslesinvest: for the implementation of the company’s project for the production of wood pellets
VF “FID-D”: for the thermal demercurization vacuum unit URL-2m
AKSALIT Soft: for the WINGSBE optical separator with NIR technology for automatic MSW (municipal solid waste) sorting
Mosgortrans: for the project “Moscow Electric Bus”
Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Company (MISC): for the project “Reduction of Hazardous Air Emissions from the MISC”
Pipe Metallurgical Company: for the development of the technology of the multi-stage water treatment system “AQA”
LUKOIL-Komi: for the construction of treatment facilities for domestic and rainwater from industrial sites NSh-1,2,3 NShPP “Yareganeft”
VIR-TEKHNOLOGIA: for the VIR-technology (Recycling of Ruberoid)
Polar Branch of MMC Norilsk Nickel: for the Clean Norilsk project
Sustainable Environmental Management Foundation/Eco-Foundation: for the environmental programme “School of Recycling: Electronics”
Sredneuralsky Copper Smelter: for the construction of a steam turbine plant (STP) for using the steam potential of the waste heat recovery boiler in the Vanyukov furnaces
RG-Soft Project Consulting: for the development of software products RG-Soft “Regional Operator” and RG-Soft “Waste Disposal”
Innovative Ecological Platform: for the “Fandobox” Bottle Bank (reverse vending machine)
Mikhailovsky Mining and Processing Plant named after A. V. Varichev: for the implementation of the reforestation project at the Shchigrovsky Forestry (Timsky District Forestry)
National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET): for the development of an autonomous warning device for detecting fires
Russian Climate Foundation: for the implementation of the project “Forests for Climate”
International Association of Eco Fashion (IAEF): for a project to develop a system for collecting clothes for recycling using the solutions offered by the Planetality platform
EuroChem-VolgaKaliy: for the project “ESG - with Care for the Environment”
Segezha Group: for the first high-rise wooden buildings in Russia
Novomet-Perm: for high-temperature corrosion-resistant equipment for lifting geothermal waters “Geyser”
SPLAT Global: for launching the BIO-REFILL stations for the purchase of BioMio household eco products for reusable containers
LUKOIL-Volgogradneftepererabotka: for the project of elimination of sludge reservoirs and biological reclamation of anthropogenically disturbed areas of treatment facilities
Eco-Express-Service: for the project “Preservation of Biodiversity of Overgrown Ecosystems of the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland”
ServiceSoft Engineering: for the development and implementation of automated systems for monitoring air emissions and discharged pollutants
Baltika Brewing Company: for launching the biological local treatment facilities
OPTICOM: for the project “Paper Turnover”
Park-hotel “SUN VILLAGE Arkhyz”: for developing the ecotourism and the creation of a nature-oriented facility in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic.
In addition, the event included a strategic panel session “Environmental Modernization in the New Reality: Unaffordable Luxury or Conscious Necessity?” The participants discussed the priorities of the Russian industrial companies taking into account the new environmental agenda, as well as the ways for the import phaseout to help the environmental modernization.
