Nikolay Utkin, first vice president of Norilsk Nickel, spoke about measures that the company is taking to improve the environmental situation in the regions of its operations.
He presented the company’s efforts at the session "Environmental Well-Being of the Arctic: Strategies for Cooperation between the State and Business", held as part of the International Arctic Forum. According to him, the company's strategy for ecology and climate change until 2031 lists a number of environmental measures and investments. For example, its investment in the Sulphur Program exceeded more than 200 billion rubles, and Nornickel did not receive any commercial benefit from it.
"But these are investments that must pay for themselves in terms of the health of Norilsk residents, as well as environmental protection. And this is more valuable than money," Utkin explained.
After the sulfur dioxide utilization complex reaches its design capacity, emissions of this substance, the main air pollutant in Norilsk, should decrease by 735,000 tons by the end of 2025. Over the past year, in the commissioning stage, it managed to process about 390,000 tons of sulfur dioxide.
Utkin also said that at the end of 2024, the company launched an air quality monitoring system in Norilsk at 16 automated stations in different areas of the city. Citizens can assess the air quality on the mayor's office web portal.
"We are installing sensors directly on the smoke stacks themselves. I hope this will help close the eternal dispute between businesses and government control agencies. It will simply be possible to see exactly how much sulfur dioxide has stopped escaping into the atmosphere," he explained.
Utkin also noted other environmental projects of the company - the "big cleanup" as part of the Clean Norilsk program, and a geotechnical monitoring system for permafrost.
"Our company is focused on sustainable development, where ecology and economics go hand in hand. We are confident that only with this approach is harmony possible between industrial growth and the preservation of the Arctic’s natural resources for future generations,” the top manager concluded.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
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