Russian Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of refined nickel and palladium, has released the results of its sustainable development efforts in 2020 and its plans for the near future to improve environmental performance and safety at work.
According to the company in a press release, Nornickel has retained leadership in the global metals and mining industry in terms of industrial health and safety. The injury rate has fallen to a record level. The Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate reduced further to 0.21 per 1,000,000 man-hours in 2020 from 0.32 in 2019. The total number of occupational accidents decreased 32% year-on-year.
Norilsk Nickel has developed a draft comprehensive environmental strategy, which is expected to be approved by the company’s board of directors in 2021. According to the document, the company plans to invest $ 3.6 billion in measures to reduce air emissions, $ 1,1 billion – in measures to protect water resources, $ 0.6 billion in minimize harm from industrial waste, $ 0.3 billion – in the reclamation of lands affected by the construction and development of the company’s deposits. Also, as part of the strategy, the company plans to invest in combating climate change and preserving biological diversity. The volume of investments in these two areas will be determined during the year.
One of the most important achievements in sustainable development in 2020 was the preparation of a new comprehensive environmental strategy. Six key focus areas have been identified within the strategy covering various aspects of environmental protection, with selected targets set for 2030. For instance, as part of its climate change strategy, Nornickel intends to maintain greenhouse gas emissions at the 2020 level in absolute terms of less than 10 mt of CO2-equivalent while aiming to increase production volumes by 25–30%.
Overall, in 2020, Nornickel had a significant progress in reducing the intensity of its environmental impact. The intensity of pollutant emissions decreased by 20.7% from 2019, while the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 23.3%.
Providing comprehensive support to the regions of operations is one of the Nornickel’s key priorities. In 2020, the Company became the leader among Russian industrial companies in terms of total spending to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of RUB 12 bn was allocated in 2020 to fight the pandemic and support social stability, with another RUB 8 bn planned for 2021. A number of initiatives were developed to support small- and medium-size businesses in the regions of the Company’s operations. In 2020, Nornickel spent in total over RUB 47 bn on various social programmes, charity and social infrastructure, a third more than in 2019.
Vladimir Potanin, Nornickel’s President, commented: “The challenges we faced in 2020 confirmed our strategic adherence to the principles and goals of sustainable development, in particular, the principles of the UN Global Compact. We managed to pursue our employees’ health and safety as a priority amid the COVID-19 pandemic and effectively adapt our business processes to the new reality. A quick and well coordinated response to the unprecedented fuel spill in Norilsk helped to prevent a major environmental disaster in the Arctic. The Company has learned its lessons, improved its risk management system and set new goals to mitigate its environmental impact.”