Innovation

The innovation of Nornickel that we would like to highlight is its change towards green production, which became true after several turning points. It is not merely about operating facilities but also about a range of other initiatives that make the approach to green innovations holistic.

Not so long ago Nornickel could have been accused of air pollution and having an irresponsible attitude to the citizens of Norilsk but the company has made a great effort to improve its image. “Nornickel is a company with more than 80 years of history, with a strong environmental policy, it strives to follow the current international agenda in the field of sustainable development,” according to Inessa Chernova. “The company is transforming itself into a Green Nornickel by launching a cycle of reinvestment programs. Green production is a key point in the short-term strategy of the company with respect to the environmental modernization of production,” says Chernova.

In 2016 Nornickel closed its oldest and most polluting plant in Norilsk, improving the air quality. Moreover, it recently signed a contract to install sulfur dioxide filtration and storage technologies at its remaining plant in Norilsk. It will be one of the largest environmental projects of its kind. Once the initiative is completed in 2020, sulfur emissions will be reduced by 75%.

Inspiration

As it was described by Chernova, “The company was driven by the willingness to create decent life, improve health and make air cleaner. The overall desire is to make Norilsk more attractive. Motivation and inspiration comes from the things we should be doing anyway. The kind of projects that refer above all to ecology.” An important fact about Nornickel is that it is located in a monocity. That mean Nornickel is “responsible” for managing the city of Norilsk. If the company brings harm to its the place operations it will eventually face problems of its own making. Consideration of these factors has led to understanding that it is necessary to rebuild and restructure the company in order to maintain trust of the local community.

Overall impact

Recently the ecological situation in Norlisk has been improved. This represents a great achievement for Nornickel. In our opinion, this company really cares about ecology and the citizens of Norilsk. We can look at the impact from two perspectives – that of the operational sites and that of the world.

First of all, in Norilsk and the surrounding areas CO2 emissions have been reduced by 35%, with a goal of further reductions by 2023. The closed recently closed nickel plant was one of the largest emitters in the area so, its closure helped to was an important part of this achievement.

Nornickel also organizes numerous social activities connected with the improvement of the environment, which is considered to have long-term benefits for Norilsk.

Moving on to the global environmental initiatives Nornickel supports the development of hybrid cars. According to the annual report the company organized 70 eco campaigns in 2017 in the region of its operations. Beyond that, the company participated in some events aimed at habitat protection. “If you want your metallurgy to be clean, you need to change metallurgy”, said Chernova, expressing the view that systemic changes in the industry are necessary.

Business benefit

The company has made an effort to become green. This both attracts new talented employees willing to work in the company with such a green culture and increases employee retention. “The main benefit here is that the process of operation is modernized and became less harmful for the society which improved the image of the company”, said Inessa Chernova.

Social and environmental benefit

Nornical's reforms have benefitted many stakeholders.

The citizens of Norilsk will now have better living and working conditions. More and more people are engaged in a wide range of social projects and events organized by the company, especially activities for young people. The city has also become more attractive for tourists.

From the environmental perspective, Norlisk has experienced a significant decline of emissions, which led to a higher quality of life and better ecology. After the innovation was introduced, habitat conditions habitat for animals, especially endangered species improved.

Interviews

Inessa Chernova, Chief Manager of the Social Policy Department

Inessa Chernova, Chief Manager of the Social Policy Department