Alexey Chekunkov: Russian Railways and Norilsk Nickel are leading companies in terms of participation in the implementation of the Clean Arctic project

One of the key areas of the current Arctic agenda is the cleaning of territories from the already accumulated hazardous traces of economic activity, the volume of which is calculated in millions of tons. This was stated by Alexey Chekunkov, Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic of the Russian Federation during a meeting in the Federation Council dedicated to the implementation of the public federal project "Clean Arctic".
In 2021, within the framework of this project, more than 1,500 tons of waste were collected in the Arctic regions of Russia: barrels for fuel, tires, plastic, and wood, the minister said. According to him, work to eliminate pollution took place in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Provinces, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Yakutia, the Yamalo-Nenets, and Nenets Autonomous Districts, the Republics of Komi and Karelia.
On the business side, the project was supported by leading Russian companies such as Norilsk Nickel and Russian Railways, said Aleksey Chekunkov. “We continue to work actively with business and hope that more business structures operating in the Arctic regions will be involved in this project,” the minister said.
Since July of this year, more than 2,200 volunteers have taken part in the project, and more than 3,000 volunteers have expressed their desire to participate in the project next year, said Aleksey Chekunkov. “The Clean Arctic project not only attracts volunteers but has also become a platform for the emergence of interesting initiatives and new meanings. In the Murmansk Province, volunteers launched the creation of Arctic beaches; in Chukotka, the idea arose of creating an art museum of interesting finds and artifacts found in the process of “Arctic cleaning”.
According to Galina Karelova, Vice Speaker of the Federation Council, the work to clean up the Arctic territories within the Clean Arctic project is an example of well-coordinated interaction between citizens, government officials, environmental and scientific communities, public and volunteer organizations, and business structures. According to her, business representatives are well aware that the support of volunteers in this area is extremely important today.
The Vice-Speaker noted the high state, corporate, and public involvement in the environmental agenda. “The plans include not only the implementation of measures to eliminate negative consequences in the development of the Arctic regions but also the popularization of a responsible attitude to the unique Arctic nature, which affects the climatic conditions of the whole world,” said Galina Karelova.
Nikolai Zuev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Krasnoyarsk Territory cited an action to clean up the banks of the Yenisei from scrap metal as a successful example of interaction between regional authorities, volunteers, and business. "The undisputed leader in participating in the Clean Arctic project is Norilsk Nickel, which supported the volunteer movement," he said. According to the deputy prime minister of the regional government, Norilsk Nickel is doing serious work to renovate its production sites and is liquidating unauthorized landfills. “In total, about 87 dilapidated buildings were dismantled in 2021. The volume of investments in the purchase of special equipment amounted to more than 3 billion rubles. The project participants collected 247 000 tons of construction waste, and 37 000 tons of scrap metal. Sanitary treatment of the freed-up area from garbage was carried out," Nikolai Zuev added. This work will continue, he said. “The main forces will be directed at demolishing old buildings and structures in the Kayerkan area, the Nadezhdino construction base, and the territory of the Norilsk-Taimyr Electric Company,” said the deputy prime minister of the regional government. He noted that the regional leadership plans to expand the circle of project participants attracting other socially responsible companies.
Businesses can and should be involved in the framework of social responsibility not only at the regional but also at the federal level, says Senator Konstantin Dolgov. “We cannot force people, but it is possible to motivate them and rouse their interest. So that appropriate signals go to the regional structures along the business hierarchy from top to bottom,” the senator said. Among the leading companies in social responsibility in the environmental sphere, in addition to Russian Railways and Norilsk Nickel, he also named the Murmansk Commercial Sea Port, which is very actively supporting volunteer events in the Arctic zone.

By Grigory Pavlov