The organizers in addition to Nornickel were the Public Council under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, as well as the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation. The forum discussed the adoption of technologies for the environmental modernization of Russian industry in the face of external sanctions pressure, according to the press release of Nornickel, published on Friday.
In an address to the forum participants, Konstantin Tsyganov, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources outlined the course taken towards the ecologization of industry and the consistent reduction of the harmful impact of enterprises on the environment as one of the basic modern values of the state. The formation of an ecological culture and respect for nature is one of the most important national goals, Tsyganov said.
Svetlana Radionova, Head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources, highlighted Nornickel's contribution to the conservation of natural resources. She awarded the employees of the Moscow Zoo and representatives of Nornickel, which had rescued two polar bears in Taimyr. On behalf of the company, the awards were received by Stanislav Seleznev, Vice President for Ecology and Industrial Safety, and Andrey Grachev, Vice President for Federal and Regional Programs.
Svetlana Radionova in her speech noted an important feature of the environmental pollution problem. According to her, only in some cases can one immediately feel that a person's health is being seriously damaged. Basically, the environmental load - even from massive pollution - is hidden, long-term, "unpleasant, but not so acute" at the moment. The more important, according to the head of the Service for Supervision of Natural Resources, is to involve people in activities related to solving environmental problems. “Environmental supervision is the only type of control where the population actively participates,” said Radionova, recalling the work of active volunteer environmental services in Russia.
Radionova stressed that her ministry suspended scheduled inspections of industrial enterprises under the sanctions. In her opinion, it has already been possible to attract sufficient attention to environmental issues from various groups so that the industry ecologization begins to develop independently. According to her, the near future will show how business actually relates to the environment without constant active attention to it from the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources.
Stanislav Seleznev, Vice President for Ecology and Industrial Safety at Nornickel, spoke about the Sulfur Program being implemented in the Norilsk city, aimed at reducing sulfur dioxide emissions into the air. According to him, the company is guided primarily not by the goals of economic expediency, but by social concerns through this project. Consistent reduction of sulfur emissions to the zero level will remove Norilsk from all ratings of dirty cities, says Seleznev. And this, according to him, is a very effective motivation for a company that cares about its employees.
Andrey Grachev, Vice President for Federal and Regional Programs of Nornickel, drew the attention of the participants to the fact that his company does not receive any profit from the implementation of the Sulfur Program. But at the same time, its value is high, since the improvement of the environmental situation has a positive effect on the company's employees and their families, and this effect is difficult to assess in terms of money. He recalled that Nornickel has another large-scale environmental project in progress. The Nornickel’s Polar Division is implementing measures under the Clean Norilsk program, which is designed for 10 years and will require investments of 40 billion rubles. Under this program, an area equal to 140 large football fields has already been cleared of industrial and construction waste.
Vyacheslav Fetisov, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Russian State Duma, Chairman of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation, noted that polar environmental issues require special attention, since the Arctic is particularly susceptible to the climate change impacts. He believes that Norilsk may become a center of ecological tourism in the future. According to him, one of the promising areas for the Russian industrial companies is the industrial production development of treatment facilities.
Aleksey Matushansky, Department Director for Strategic Development and Corporate Policy of the Russian Ministry for Industry and Trade, recalled that the country began to actively deal with industrial policy issues related to the industry ecologization several years ago. Initially, these initiatives were sustained in the logic of global cooperation. Now it is necessary from his point of view to switch to the logic of technological sovereignty. He recalled the current measures of state support for import substitution measures, including support to set up production of equipment for water and gas purification, industrial waste disposal. According to Matushansky, it will be possible to see the real results of the ongoing work in a few years.
Alexander Zakondyrin, Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, said that most large companies have kept plans for environmental modernization. In addition, he recalled the expansion of the Clean Air federal project: new 29 industrial cities were added to the previously 12. Zakondyrin called to treat the ecologization and modernization of production as investments in future competitive advantages that are important in the long-term development.
On the second day of the IX Environmental Forum, Vladimir Zhukov, Nornickel Vice President for Investment Community Relations, spoke about climate change and the company's priorities in this area. “There is a global requirement to reduce carbon emissions. The company has a good starting position in this matter, we have a low carbon emission. But this does not mean that we are not expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, because we are already the best in the industry,” said Vladimir Zhukov. “Because of climate change, the ecologization scenarios were approved, which the company will use for analysis and forecasting.” According to him, the company chose three scenarios that were localized for the Norilsk industrial region, because there are the most significant physical risks. “An increasing amount of precipitation and snow cover is expected, so the thawing of soils is highly likely,” said Zhukov, adding that climate change is an inevitable process. “Therefore, we are working through all the predicted risks and studying the possibilities of their neutralization,” summed up the top manager of the company.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
MMC Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgical company, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper. The company also produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium and other products.
The production units of Norilsk Nickel Group are located at the Norilsk Industrial District, on the Kola Peninsula and Zabaykalsky Krai in Russia as well as in Finland.
MMC Norilsk Nickel shares are listed on the Moscow and on the Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchanges, ADRs are accepted for trading on the Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchange.
Norilsk Nickel fully supports the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The company considers social responsibility and commitment to the principles of sustainable development as one of the pillars of operational efficiency and business development. Nornickel seeks to continuously improve its activities in the areas of environmental protection, human rights, health and safety, environmental impact assessment, and biodiversity preservation. The company spent RUB 221.5 billion on SDG-linked projects in 2021.
Vladimir Malakhov, Rough&Polished
