Quantcast
Published On: Thu, Aug 13th, 2020

Nornickel’s Battle Against Pollution

Russia is a huge country with many places that are fascinating and inimitable

This article, however, will describe one of the cities that has recently become popular all over the world. 

A great city with hospitable people, which has a unique atmosphere and local color, is famous for lots of things. It is cold and mysterious, catchy, and scary at the same time. 

The city is always gloomy and dark due to its weather conditions; however, people are really friendly and open-minded. They are ready to give you a helping hand in various situations and will never leave you alone in any trouble. 

The temperatures in winter are unbelievable as it can be up to -50 °C.  The place has lots of myths and legends, which are funny but not usually true.

 What city is it? Did you guess? This city is Norilsk, a city full of surprises and unusual things. 

Norilsk is famous for many things, but it is proud of its industrial sphere. It has the largest in the world complex of both mining and metal-producing enterprises. The majority of people living there are involved in industrial production and work for one of the most popular companies – Norilsk Nickel, which is now known as Nornickel. 

Image/alvpics via pixabay

The company plays a huge role not only in the regions of its operations but also in the global arena. 

It takes part in various activities, provides financial support to various spheres of life as well as takes care of the environment. However, instead of the fact that Nornickel provides the majority of workplaces in the region and devotes lots of time and effort into the development of social life, people underestimate the company and note that the tragedy happened in Norilsk annuls all the company’s efforts. 

It is true that Norilsk suffers from pollution and some measures should definitely be taken in order to prevent the worsening of the situation, but it is also obvious that the company is not the main evil and the root of the problems goes deeper.

Nornickel fights against pollution and implements various measures in order to change the environmental situation in the region. Moreover, there are lots of factors that affect the region and Nornickel is not on the top of the list. With the availability of social and environmental programs provided by the company, the region has become attractive to many people who want to move there despite harsh living conditions. 

This article will overview the main activities of the company and show life in one of the most intriguing cities in Siberia. 

Nornickel’s Efforts to Combat Pollution –Ways of Reducing the Outcomes of Industrial Production

It is widely known that industrial production and mining industries have lots of disadvantages such as:

  • Air pollution. Various substances can be picked by the wind and cause some problems among people living in the places where these industries are.
  • Water pollution. For example, mining can cause metal contamination and acid mine drainage, and, as a result, the water bodies become unsafe for plants and animals. It can also affect soil and have a bad impact on the lives of people.
  • Loss of land. It means that the destruction of soil makes it is impossible to use the land for various purposes as farming, for example.
  • Destruction of animal habitats. This disadvantage is obvious as mining can destruct the habitats of some animals and even lead to their extinction.
  • Local community issues. Industrial production as well as mining can have a huge impact on people living in the places where these spheres prevail. Lots of health problems, the shortage of resources, and the abundance of chemicals make the living conditions harsh and unfavorable. That is why it is vitally important to take all the possible consequences seriously and prevent the risks of having a bad impact on both the environment and the lives of people.

Nornickel is a huge company with its largest operations that are located in the Norilsk–Talnakh area near the Yenisei River, in northern Russia. 

Nornickel is associated with pollution as the regions of its operations have various ecological problems. However, the company should not be blamed for the environmental issues as it plays a huge role in implementing various projects that are environmentally-friendly.

The company has a long history. It was founded 85 years ago. Nornickel has undergone many changes but has always rightly been considered as one of the best in the sphere. 

The main missions of Nornickel are technological advancement, sustainable development as well as social responsibility. They take all the possible risks into consideration and implement various programs that help to eliminate the consequences of industrial production in the region. They also note that they are responsible for the efficient use of natural resources and equity and they provide some CRS principles, which are described on their website, in various spheres. 

For example, their main CRS social principles are in producing high-quality products and adherence to international agreements and best practices. In the sphere related to local communities, they are ready to provide local jobs, support to socially disadvantaged groups, and also guarantee environmental and industrial safety. 

Furthermore, they offer competitive salaries, safe working conditions and the company declares its commitment to human rights as provided by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and other Russian laws. Nornickel is the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium and is amongst the leading producers of copper and platinum. 

Nornickel has been ranked as the 17th best of 92 oil, gas, and mining companies on indigenous rights and resource extraction in the Arctic. The company goes towards its goals and overcomes all the challenges on the road. 

Surely, there is no doubt that such a giant industrial monster has lots of impacts on the environment. However, before blaming the company for all the ecological issues of the region and consider Nornickel as the major pollution contributor, let us have a look at lots of the conservation and environmental protection programs that the company conducts. 

First of all, Nornickel takes part in all the spheres of environmental protection starting from solving issues of air pollution and ending up with the ideas of how to increase the biodiversity of the region’s marine system. They are taking steps and planning future projects wisely considering eco-friendly production as one of the main company’s goals. 

Let us have a look at some measures that are taken by the company in order to implement their key strategies for nature conservation:

  • First of all, they implement a production reconfiguration strategy in order to modernize production facilities. Nornickel takes such steps as the reconstruction of Talnakh Concentrator, diversion of low emission sources to stacks as well as the implementation of some new technologies that help to reduce emissions to the atmosphere in the region of its operation. The company notes that they understand the impact of air pollution and want to minimize the emissions in order to keep the region clean and safe for citizens.
  • Secondly, they also care about water protection and their main goal in this field is to implement the activities that will help to avoid water pollution. They reach their goal with the help of various activities as the installation of wastewater measurement tools or construction of some modern facilities. It is mentioned that water is essential for us and it is impossible to underestimate the importance of water protection. 
  • Nornickel also understands the importance of waste management and devotes lots of time to it as well as to modernize the existing ways of recycling. They even took part in the building of the battery recycling center in Finland. It shows that the company takes care not only about the region of its operations but also about the conservation and protection of the environment in the global arena. 
  • Biodiversity is another priority of the company. They do not only take part in various activities devoted to studying and conservation of biodiversity in the region of its operations but also provide financial support to the companies and organizations working in this sphere. They also plan to release fries of valuable fish into the water bodies of the Taimyr and Kola Peninsula annually. It will help to increase local biodiversity and save the ecosystem.
  • Moreover, Nornickel does not deny the importance of climate change issues and spends lots of time and money in order to solve the problems in this field. The company is involved in lots of regional and international projects the main goal of which is to deal with the consequences of climate change at the global level. Nornickel also tries to raise public awareness of the environmental problems and explains that protection of it depends on all of us
  • Furthermore, the company is working on some special technologies that help to eliminate sulfur dioxide emissions. As a result, dangerous emissions from the Kola Mining and Metallurgy Company dropped by nearly 9 percent during 2017. Norilsk Nickel spends lots of money and efforts in order to develop and implement these technologies as they do care about the environment

It is obvious that the company pays attention to various fields of environmental protection and sets a goal to prevent pollution in any form. 

Nornickel uses low-carbon fuels, organize the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions, provides actual information with all the numbers voluntarily as well as estimates the potential of reducing the emissions with the use of some special technologies. 

They also devote lots of time to the system of ecological management mentioning that this is the thing that helps to coordinate and evaluate different company’s spheres and guarantees the overall effectiveness of the company. 

With all these advantages and measures taken, the company is still associated mainly with the phrase «Nornickel pollution» mainly due to the huge catastrophe that has happened recently in Norilsk and made the company notoriously famous all over the world. 

People keep blaming Nornickel for the huge fuel spill and all tabloids just want to have a catchy headline without even trying to get to the truth. However, the question is still on the agenda as the facts show that Nornickel is not the one to be in charge of the tragedy.

A Terrible Environmental Tragedy – Who to Blame

The world has been suffering from human activities for a long time. More and more ecological problems are appearing every day and one of the most recognizable is global warming. 

It affects various places on the planet, bringing many problems to people worldwide. Unpredictable weather conditions, terrible changes in the atmosphere as well as various catastrophes make people feel that something needs to be changed if humanity wants to save the world. 

Norilsk is not an exception and climate change also affected the city and people living there. 

Recently, the news about a huge fuel spill got around all over the world. As a result, now Nornickel is associated with pollution in the region due to the rumors from mass media. Surely, the tragedy that happened in Norilsk has had a detrimental effect on the environment of the region. The fuel polluted land, rivers, and even drained into a lake linked to the Kara Sea. 

It is said that the recovery of the ecosystem will take lots of time and effort as the nature of the region has suffered a lot. But Nornickel should not be responsible for things they have not done. The only questions, which are important now: «Who should be in charge of the catastrophe? » and «What should be done in order to reduce the possible risks of fuel spreading across a wider area?”

The second question is easier to answer as some measures have already been taken. Nornickel pays lots of attention to the problem and tries to save the environment at all costs. 

They are pumping fuel from another nearby reservoir as a precaution measure in order to prevent possible impacts of the tragedy. They use their own means to fight with the consequences of the catastrophe. Moreover, as it was mentioned before, they implement various programs and activities to forestall tragedies like this. They have been talking about the possible consequences of climate change for a long time but it seems that nobody took their words seriously. 

However, the culprit has to be found and properly punished. And, undoubtedly, it is easier to just find a scapegoat and blame it all on him. «Nornickel is in charge of pollution in the region» – the statement which is all over the news nowadays. 

The company as well as the city have become notoriously famous and the tragedy has crossed out all the credits. However, nobody really wants to deepen into the roots of the problem and admit that the main guilt is not on the company but on climate change. This theory is proven and logical, so, if the authorities had paid attention to the warnings before, probably the tragedy would not have happened at all.

Why did it happen? So, basically, this tragedy has happened due to the subsidence of concrete parks and the destruction of the reservoir. As a result, oil products poisoned the soil and leaked to the water bodies nearby – two rivers and a lake that provide water to local residents. It caused irreversible damage to the nature and ecosystem of the region and has resulted in many problems that have to be solved as soon as possible.

Scientists had warned that something like this could happen due to climate change. It is obvious that the stability of pipelines and buildings depends directly on the condition of the land they are placed on. With all the changes happening in the atmosphere, the permanently frozen ground has started to melt and led to things that happened. 

The government as well as local authorities did not want to pay attention to the warnings and did not take any precaution measures in order to avoid possible catastrophes. Moreover, the state of emergency was imposed only two days after the spill and precious time was wasted. The local authorities kept denying their involvement in the tragedy and instead of taking steps straight away, they were looking for someone to blame. 

Nornickel is blamed for pollution, for the tragedy and for various things they have not done. The problem is deeper as the local authorities just did not want to find the ways of solving the issues. And the tragedy is an excellent example of their work. They usually prefer to delay the time and hope that awful truth would not be disclosed.

However, the company started to work immediately and used its own means to eliminate all the consequences. Furthermore, Nornickel even tried to cope with pollution as well as prevent the risks of tragedy a long time ago as they started to study and evaluate changes happening in the environment and even took part in some activities worldwide. 

Now, Nornickel does not deny responsibility and takes all the possible measures for saving the region’s ecosystem. Even though they are blamed for no reason, they continue to work on saving the environment of the region. 

Norilsk Nickel did not wait for any help and started all the operations using their own resources and forces. They attracted foreign colleagues and specialists in order to solve the problem in the shortest possible time. 

The work for eliminating the consequences is being done on a 24-hour basis. But the company is still considered to be the one in charge of the tragedy as the authorities keep trying to look for someone to take the fall as it is easier than bear the consequences. 

As for Nornickel, they do not only cope with the consequences of the fuel spill but have also started a thorough audit of all their objects. 

According to the note of the head of the company, Nornickel is checking all their petroleum products storage facilities together with Rostekhnadzor. They will spend more than RUB2,5 billion this year and RUB11 billion in 2021 in order to find and eliminate weak points. Full clearance is expected to be conducted no later than 24th July. 

The tragedy in Norilsk has become the second-largest since the one that happened in Komi in 1994. The head of the company also notes that they will continue to work until they eliminate all the damage and will cooperate as well as provide financial support to all the organizations and companies involved in the restoration of biodiversity in the region. 

All the works will be implemented into three main steps:

  • During the first 2-3 months, the company is planning to pump the water-oil substance into separation places
  • After that, they are planning to conduct soil disposal and they will have 11 months for it according to the government restrictions. They are sure that they will be able to overcome this phase during this time
  •  The last step will be devoted to the restoration of biosystems. The measures will depend on the statistics from authorities and the company is ready to provide financial support to various organizations that are ready to work in this sphere

However, according to the news dated 19th June, the company is working ahead of deadlines as most of the fuel has already been collected. 

Even the president of the Russian Federation has noted the remarkable work made by Nornickel. He mentions that the situation is under control and all the operations are being done professionally. 

It is also noted that the second phase of cleaning-up the accident is almost complete and the company is almost ready to start the third step. Nornickel realizes the seriousness of the problem and will make every effort in order to eliminate the consequences and restore the ecosystem of the region. Nornickel always tries to reduce pollution and implement all possible measures in order to save the environment. 

Undoubtedly, the roots of the tragedy require further investigation and the reputation of the company should not be tainted by the accident. Nornickel uses its own means and has already spent RUB5 billion on the elimination of the consequences of the disaster. 

It is not fair to blame those who are always ready to provide a helping hand not only in the field of solving this tragedy issues but also in lots of other cases.

Nornickel – a Company that Matters

Though the main priority of the company now is to cope with the massive fuel spill, they also take part in different activities devoted to the development of the region. 

Lots of huge corporations usually pay attention only to getting profit and do not really care about the sustainability and development of other spheres. 

However, Norilsk Nickel is the opposite example as they try to improve not only their company but also the regions of their operations. The citizens note that the company is the main source of working places as well as the one that cares about the quality of life in Norilsk. 

It should be known that Nornickel spends lots of money in order to reduce pollution in the region and people should not unconditionally believe in all the rumors about the company. 

The company plays a huge role in society as it implements programs that literally change the lives of many people. 

It is known that life expectancy in Norilsk is lower than all over Russia due to many factors. People live in harsh conditions, spending the majority of their time working and staying inside. It is compounded by bad habits as smoking, drinking, and avoiding any sports on a daily basis. 

But the company wants to change the rules and tries to make life in the region more eventful and active. For example, they have a new rule in the company and hold a special competition in 16 various sports in order to give healthy habits to their employees. Nornickel also provides financial support for different organizations that develop the sports sphere in the region. Moreover, Nornickel is a partner of the Russian Olympic Committee, International Sports Student Federation, and the Russian Hockey Federation.

With all the changes made in social life, life expectancy in the region has raised. Children enjoy new sports places and facilities that help them understand that sport is vital for a healthy life. 

Nowadays Norilsk can offer the availability of almost all known sports sections as basketball, football, volleyball, table tennis, hockey, etc and it allows people to choose the things they like. People change their habits and prefer to spend their time doing some sports and taking part in various activities rather than being a couch potato. 

Citizens note that they cannot underestimate the contribution of the company to the development of the region and wait for the future projects held by Nornickel. 

And, it is true, the company does not want to stop here and plans to continue the improvements they have already made. They have long-term projects in various spheres and consider developing inside not only the company but also helping people in the region to live better and longer lives. 

Nornickel contributes to:

  • Economic development. The company is one of the largest taxpayers in Russia. It provides lots of employment places in the region of its operations as well as supports collaborative linkages and operation of vital enterprises;
  • Infrastructure development. The company is responsible for the reconstruction of bridges, landscaping, construction of houses, construction of recreational, scientific and sports objects, connection to high-speed internet in Norilsk;
  • Development of local communities. As it was mentioned before, the company plays a huge role in the region of its operations. It provides financial support, provides various charitable projects, helps educational institutions, and volunteer projects.

So, it is obvious that Nornickel cares not only about pollution level and ecological problems, the company also plays a huge role for society. 

Let us have a closer look at all the spheres of involvement and check the measures provided by the company in order to maintain a stable and prosperous life of people. 

Employment Opportunities Provided by the Company

As the main employer in the regions of its operations, the company conducts active vocational orientation and provides employment opportunities for all groups of the population including young people. The main vocational orientation audience targeted is people not older than 35. 

Nornickel cooperates with educational organizations and actively involves young workers, supports the interest to the engineering field and provides help to talented teachers in the sphere. 

Moreover, the company has an agreement with regional Labour Exchanges that helps those who are unemployed to get the education in various occupations in demand. The statistics show that such measures help to reduce the level of unemployment in the region of the company’s operations. 

Lots of young people choose the company as Nornickel offers dynamic growth, unique projects that give professionals a chance to unlock their potential, career progression, and a team of like-minded professionals. Those who work there note that the company guarantees stability and certainty as the company believes that sustainability serves as a foundation for achievements. 

The other points that make people choose Nornickel as the place of work are fair pay which is totally based on the performance and achievements, social benefits and respect, and well-developed social infrastructure that shows that the company takes care of both the employees and their families. 

The development of Collaborative Linkages

Nornickel is developing a business relationship with various enterprises and these integrations usually play a huge role in regional development as they help to support small and medium-sized enterprises. 

For example, the chain of shops called «Podsolnukh» which is part of the Nornickel companies’ group has nine small shops and one supermarket in Norilsk. The average prices are lower than in the other shops all over the region due to the cooperation and agreements mentioned above though the variety of suggested products is the same.

Infrastructure Development – Key Points

Nornickel actively takes part in the construction and reconstruction of various social infrastructure objects that help with the improvement of social and working conditions of life in regions. 

The company is involved in works of the improvement of public spaces, maintenance of sports grounds, transport facilities as well as in the development of education infrastructure. One of the main goals of all the projects is to focus specifically on improving accessibility for persons with disabilities, old people, and pregnant women. 

Nornickel spends lots of money on such projects, for example, in 2018 the company spent $3, 6 billion in order to make the life of people better and easier. While changing the facilities, Nornickel does not forget about pollution level in the region and the company establishes projects bearing in mind environmental problems of the region.

Charitable Activities and Projects

Since 2014, the company implements a program «The world of new opportunities» the aims of which are to develop social competencies of representatives of the local community, introduction, and implementation of new social technologies, support, and stimulation of social initiatives as well as the creation of the conditions for the development of the cross-sectional partnership. 

The program has three main modules:

  • Partnership
  • Innovation
  • Development

The partnership is devoted to supporting volunteer initiatives of active local residents, giving new knowledge to the participants of the program, and also makes its contribution to the development of the expert community in the region. It has various activities and helps to unite those who are interested in volunteer and charity spheres. 

The innovation aims at creating conditions for the implementation of new technologies, development of scientific and technological capacity, and engineering. 

This project is mainly devoted to those who are interested in new technologies and scientific thoughts. It helps to discover new talents especially among students and gives them a chance to share their projects.

Development is an engagement of active citizens as well as representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises into solving regional social problems with the use of business technologies. 

The social effect of the program cannot be underestimated:

  • More and more young people are being involved in the social life of the region
  • Development of sustainable partnerships
  • Development and implementation of new technologies that make life easier and better
  • Development of local communities that actively take part in social life
  • Various conferences that are held both locally and all over Russia

The company does not just support and provide financial help to the projects, it is actively engaged and gives new knowledge to all the participants as well as create conditions for the development of local initiatives and support of new ideas.

Nornickel also continues providing targeted assistance, which can be got by applications from organizations. Since 2014, the company has its own committees that process applications and provide support to such organizations for vulnerable social groups as participants of the Second World War, disabled, large families, and others. 

Nornickel also takes part in helping local non-profit organizations to hold sports activities, art competitions, etc. Moreover, the company provides help to educational organizations in Norilsk annually. They buy literature, special equipment, and helps with renovation. These measures, undoubtedly, contribute to the quality of education. 

Corporate Volunteer Program – Key Points 

Nowadays volunteer projects are an essential part of corporate culture as it helps to unite the workers on the base of common values as well as contributes to the development of such competencies as mobility, responsibility, and leadership. Various volunteer activities held by Nornickel gave them lots of international awards and rates from the expert community. The volunteer projects contributed to social life and the development of environmental sustainability.

The Agency of Development in Norilsk

Another successful project is the agency in Norilsk the main idea of which is to create conditions of development of urban service economy in order to improve the quality of life in Norilsk and promote local products and services to external markets. 

This is Nornickel’s long-term project which is carried together with the city administration and Vladimir Potanin’s charitable foundation. With the help of the projects some programs devoted to tourism development in the region have already been implemented. 

Nornickel and its Support to Various Sports Organizations and Activities

As it was mentioned before, the company actively takes part in the development of the sports sphere in the region. 

All the projects held by the company have a huge impact on the city and improve the conditions of life. Nornickel provides financial support to various organizations such as the Russian Olympic Committee, International University Sports Federation, Russian Football Union, etc. Since 2015, the company is the general partner of XXIX World Winter Universiade 2019 in Krasnoyarsk. 

The aggregate contribution of the company to this event is more than $2 billion. The company helped with the development of infrastructure and still provides financial support that serves as a base of social improvements.

Cultural Projects and Overall Effectiveness of Social Programs

Cultural projects are an essential part of the company’s policy. Nornickel annually holds various corporate activities that involve the workers and their families. But they also support cultural projects that usually become famous all over Russia. 

The variety of programs that get financial support surprise and make it possible for everyone to find something he likes.

All in all, the company does not only provide support in various spheres of social life but also evaluates the quality of all the projects in order to improve them in the future. They have a complex evaluation system that allows looking at the projects from various angles. 

As can be seen, the company plays a huge role in the region. They provide help to various spheres of life and take care of people. But it is not the end, for sure. 

As the whole world has undergone challenging times recently due to the new virus affected all spheres of our lives, Nornickel proved that they should not be known as the company that is responsible for pollution in the region as their environment-saving activities speak for themselves. Nornickel did not just stand aside and tried to help those who struggled during the virus. 

They covered expenses for their employees in Norilsk and Murmansk Regions and paid the average salary to its staff. Furthermore, the company provided some financial help to support some organizations and spend money on medical equipment in the regions of its operations. They pay attention to the health conditions of their employees and provided the opportunity of online work for more than 10 thousand of their employees. 

Moreover, the company kept the full payment even for those who did not have an opportunity of working remotely due to various factors. Those who have to work during these challenging times have got some extra payment for their loyalty and commitment. 

The company has allocated RUB10, 5 billion to fight with COVID-19, and notes that they are ready to defeat this virus together. The company started a special volunteer campaign on the base of which hundreds of volunteers help to deliver food, medicine, and clothes to those who need as well as teach old people how to use the Internet.  

But it is not the end as Nornickel continues its work and will support seven projects of social entrepreneurs devoted to the improvement of quality of life in Norilsk and will provide more than 20 million roubles as two-year interest-free loans. 

With this financial support, such places as a family center and a media school will be opened. Moreover, as it was mentioned before, the company will also provide financial support to entrepreneurs and give them interest-free loans amounting to 30 million roubles. Nornickel notes that business should be devoted to production and modern types of trades, improvement of ecological situations as well as the tourism and hospitality sector. 

The main priority of the companies should be the creation of not less than 10 more new workplaces. Furthermore, the company keeps working on the projects and continues developing social activities even during the epidemic times. 

For example, it suggests students from 12 to 18 to take part in the online forum «SVET ON» which will be held on 25-27th June. 

The forum will have four blocks:

  • Startup. Devoted to young people who want to start their own enterprises
  • Volunteering. For those who want to become a volunteer or continue volunteer work professionally
  • Engineering. The new discoveries in engineering, science, and inventions
  • Technologies. The new digital world and social media. How to become popular on the Internet

It shows that the company pays attention not only to the profit but also to the sustainability and development of social life. They care about people and try to provide help to different spheres. 

Nornickel – Future Plans and Goals of the Company

Though all the forces are thrown to the eliminating of the consequences of the tragedy that happened in Norilsk now, the company has lots of projects and ideas that are ready to be developed and implemented in the near future. 

Nornickel keeps reducing pollution level, develop social life and solve various environmental issues in the regions of its operations. The leaders of Nornickel have recently introduced a 10-years development program of the company pointing that the main strategy is a market response for increasing the production of the base company’s metals such as nickel, copper, palladium, platinum, and so on. 

The company notes that the main growth should be achieved with the use of recent trends such as hybridization and electrification of vehicles as well as the tightening of exhaust gas legislation. 

Moreover, the company has changed its policy and now they provide 10 years plan instead of 5 years, which was usually introduced before. They note that they understand the resource base better now and it gives them the chance to have long-term plans. 

Nornickel assumes that the new program can lead to an increase in business and capitalization of the company. For example, ore mining in Norilsk is planned to be doubled. In order to reach this goal, the company is ready to increase production at all the mines of its Talnah cluster. 

But all the natural resources have to be processed that is why the company is ready to modernize the Talkhan concentrating factory adding the capacity for processing of 8 more million tons. All the measures which will be taken by the company will lead to a significant investment increase in the company’s capital projects, and, as a result, expenses will also raise up to $3,5-4 billion in 2022-2025.

As it was mentioned before, the company pays lots of attention to environmental issues and Nornickel tries to reduce pollution in the regions of its operations, that is why they include «green» projects into their long-term development plans. 

They are planning to put into operation special environmental facilities that will help to decrease a heavy toll on the environment. Nornickel wants to spend $3.5 billion on ecological projects, especially on those which require a reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions as they are the main pollutant to the atmosphere nowadays. 

Nornickel plans to reduce emissions at ten times to 2025. All the new facilities suggested for the company growth already include new technologies that allow capturing of 90-95% of sulfur dioxide. 

The «Sulphur Dioxide Project 2.0» will be implemented in a stepwise manner. It is supposed that the new configuration will help to achieve a higher level of emission reduction. The strategic goal is to decrease emissions at twenty times to 2030. 

Nornickel also plans to close two workshops that cannot be modernized as it will also help to reduce the emissions. These places do not play a vital role in the economic part of the company and will not affect the average performance but the shutdown will definitely play a huge role in the ecosystem. 

Furthermore, the head of the company notes that all the mentioned above measures will play a huge role not only in the regions of presence but also in the global arena and probably more companies will take ecological problems more seriously. 

It is noted that the implementation of modern technologies is wise and promptly as environmental issues have a great impact on the whole world.

Why the Company will Continue Growing?

Although many people associate Nornickel with the main source of pollution in the region according to the view that is imposed by mass-media and rumors, the company continues implementing more and more essential ecological and social programs in order to make the life of people living in the regions of its operations better. 

This company keeps growing and shows that all its projects are socially beneficial. 

First of all, it is a leading metal and mining company which is known not only in Russia but also has its name all over the world. Nornickel has a rich resource base and produces all key metals at a comparatively low cost. 

It makes the company attractive to lots of investors and they note that they choose Nornickel due to such factors as:

  • Popularity and leadership in the global arena
  • Huge resource base and the lowest cash cost of nickel production compared to peers
  • Attractive portfolio of investment projects. It shows the sustainability and trust
  • Wise and well-developed investment management system
  • And, the most important part is high profitability that is proven by statistics

Investors also note that they are encouraged by the long-term projects provided by Nornickel and evaluate the positive trend of future investments in the company. Moreover, the company’s shares did not go down much in value even during COVID-19 and it shows that Nornickel is the company you can trust. 

All in all, Norilsk has lots of things to be proud of. It is a developing region with its features and highlights. 

Talking about the city is not possible to omit to mention Norilsk Nickel – the leading Russian company that is also the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade metal nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper. Recently it has become notoriously famous and people mainly know Nornickel as the company that is blamed for the massive fuel spill in Norilsk. 

However, it has already been proven that the company has nothing to be blamed for as Nornickel does not only eliminate the consequences of the situation but also plays a huge role in the fight for reducing pollution in the regions of its operations. The catastrophe happened because of climate change that affected the permafrost and led to the tragedy. Local authorities are not ready to take responsibilities and the company is working on eliminating the consequences of the massive fuel spill by its own means. They involve foreign colleagues, provide financial support, and have already developed a stage-by-stage project devoted to the restoration of the ecosystem of the region. 

Moreover, the company keeps supporting and implementing the other projects the main goal of which is to improve the quality of life of people in the regions of its operations. 

People note that the company plays a huge role in the region and they especially realized it during these harsh times. 

Nornickel spent lots of money during the epidemic in order to support the medical sphere as well as small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. It shows that the main priority of the company is to maintain stability and provide help to those who are in need. 

The company also set long-term goals that will enhance the quality of life as well as lead to the development of the region. 

On the DISPATCH: Headlines  Local  Opinion

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd ) [ALL INFO CONFIDENTIAL]

About the Author

- Outside contributors to the Dispatch are always welcome to offer their unique voices, contradictory opinions or presentation of information not included on the site.

Displaying 1 Comments
Have Your Say

Leave a comment

XHTML: You can use these html tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

like_us_on_facebook

 

The Global Dispatch Facebook page- click here

Movie News Facebook page - click here

Television News Facebook page - click here

Weird News Facebook page - click here 

DISPATCH RADIO

dispatch_radio

THE BRANDON JONES SHOW

brandon_jones_show-logo

Archives