Nornickel will invest 155 million rubles in 112 socially beneficial initiatives in the regions where it operates in 2024–2025. The total amount of funds allocated by the company as part of its socially responsible initiatives competition exceeded 1 billion rubles.
Among the 2023 competition winners are non-profits from Norilsk and the Taimyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky Municipal District (Krasnoyarsk Territory), Monchegorsk and its municipality, Pechengsky Municipal District and the Lovozero municipality in the Lovozersky District (Murmansk Region), as well as Chita and the Gazimuro-Zavodsky District (Trans-Baikal Territory).
This year’s most popular nominations have been the Pole of the Future, Pole of Renaissance, and Pole of Energy. The winning bids focus on diverse aspects of social well-being across Nornickel’s footprint.
“The competition experts and curators have noted a number of positive trends, including the improved quality and thoroughness of bids, greater number of partnership projects, and expanded range of proposed social services. Our consistent engagement with the bidders, along with educational programmes and travel grants, has yielded favourable outcomes. This year, we have seen an increase in the number of collaborative projects and the pooling of resources to amplify the social impact of competing initiatives. Corporate volunteers support students and educators in developing projects, innovators come up with solutions designed for the benefit of non-profits and children with special needs, and small businesses contribute their resources to facilitate the monetisation and scaling of projects. Partnerships like these help create synergies and strengthen the sustainability of social initiatives,” said Irina Zhuykova, Head of the Social Policy Department at Nornickel.
“This year, we have seen a significant influx of newcomers and first-time bidders. We seek to support both experienced participants and those only starting their journey from ideas to project implementation. Creating conditions conducive to diverse initiatives and projects is crucial for the social well-being of urban communities,” said Natalya Dunaeva, Head of Charitable Programmes and Corporate Community Development at Nornickel’s Polar Division.
The Socially Responsible Initiatives Competition aimed at supporting public initiatives and facilitating sustainable development is an important part of the World of New Opportunities charitable programme run by Nornickel since 2014. Over the years since its launch, the Company has received 3,613 bids for the competition, awarding grants worth of RUB 1,131.5 million to 967 projects.
