Insofar as Basic Element enterprises work across a number of industries which represent potentially high environmental risks, great attention is paid to environmental responsibility and, in particular, to combating climate change. Specific environmental targets and indicators will be included in strategic plans for all of Basic Element's enterprises, and all modernization programs encompass a strong ecological component.
Russian Aluminum has already invested around USD1 billion in environmental protection and will invest a further USD1.4 billion in implementing environmental programmes by 2013.
The procedure for implementing environmental programmes and modernising production is simple enough: the Company has identified key strategic directions to improve environmental indicators which to some extent apply to most businesses.
The first target is to comply with the limits for emissions into the atmosphere set by the countries where we operate.
The Company also supports initiatives to apply the best production practices and promote the establishment of a modern regulatory framework for the environmental production of aluminium and alumina in Russia.
UC RUSAL first began large-scale investment in the installation of modern equipment and implementing measures to protect the environment in the first half of 2000, immediately after the Company began acquiring new businesses.
About USD50 million has been spent on environmental activities at the Bratsk Smelter in the past six years, resulting in a 26% fall in emissions. Last year, the enterprise adopted a new investment programme which provides for a further investment of USD350 million. The project involves the installation of new gas treatment facilities, as well as point delivery of raw materials, which will significantly reduce dust emissions.
A similarly ambitious programme costing more than USD300 million is already nearing a successful completion at the Krasnoyarsk Smelter, where emissions have been reduced by a third.
In August 2007, the international certification body Det Norske Veritas (DNV) from Norway conducted an audit of the Aluminium Division and awarded an umbrella certificate to the Company and a series of the Division's enterprises saying that their environmental management systems complied with the requirements of the International Standard ISO 14001.
Glavstroy's environmental standards
Glavstroy pays particular attention to environmental protection when setting up new and modernising existing production facilities. Mospromstroymaterialy-Vyatka is a striking example of environmental protection in the timber industry. The company, which started work last summer, produces glued laminated wood, cut lengths of timber and fuel pellets. Its main product is glued laminated wood, which is used in the production of Europeanstandard windows at other Glavstroy factores.
The manufacturing technique for making the final product provides for the full utilisation of the raw materials and supplies. Part of the waste from production is processed and converted into fuel pellets, part is delivered to the factory's boiler room. The result is a highly efficient and environmentally friendly business.
Moreover, Mospromstroymaterialy-Vyatka has been certified by the SmartWood programme, a globally recognised "seal of quality" which shows that an enterprise complies with strict environmental and socioeconomic standards and also obliges it to meet stringent obligations to preserve timber resources.
GAZ Group's environmental policy ranked among Russia's best
The GAZ Group is ranked 11th in the Independent Ecological Rating Agency's (NERA) annual rating of 3,000 Russian enterprises. GAZ Group is among the top three in the regional ecological ratings.
- Nizhny Novgorod Region: Pavlovo Bus - second, Gorky Automotive Works - third;
- Yaroslavl Region: Avtodiesel - second, Yaroslavl Diesel Apparatus Plant - third
- Chelyabinsk Region: Ural Automotive Plant - third.
The GAZ Group has put 32 local purification units into service since 2000 and has put an end to industrial effluent discharge into the River Oka. GAZ started to use new chemical agents in 2002 which have improved the efficiency rate for effluent treatment by 20%. It has also built a new landfill, with purpose-built water-proof concrete facilities to recycle waste. New effluent treatment facilities were commissioned at the Avtodiesel engine plant in Yaroslavl in 2009-2010.
Separate industrial waste collection systems have been installed and temporary storage sites equipped at all GAZ Group enterprises in the Russian regions. Constant efforts are made to lessen the human environmental impact by industrial sites.
Ecological aspects of Imeretinskaya Riviera Project
In the framework of one of the biggest investment projects of Olympic development Imeretinskaya Riviera by Altius Development the ecological aspect set as a priority. Special stress was made on the implementation of safety ecological system in Sochi and integration the complex of environmental procedures to minimize construction influence on the ecological zone.
By request of Altius Development the Ecostandard company has conducted an independent analysis of the ecological situation around Imeretinskaya lowland (particularly, on the Olympic Village construction site). The habitat of the nested birds, the stops of migrant birds, the eco-fauna of existing reservoirs, and their protection zones were thoroughly evaluated. The recommendations received resulted in the basics of the project concept and in offer to create Green Corridor that are supposed to unite the existing reservoirs in the lowland parts of the territory into one ecological complex with big Dendropark.
Resource-efficient technology at Basic Element's aviation enterprises
The Basic Element Group's aviation businesses work in full compliance with accepted Russian labour and environmental protection requirements. They also adhere to international standards for the aviation industry, including demands set down by the IATA, ICAO and EU regarding fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and noise limits.
Constant enhancement of measures to improve work conditions and to minimize negative impact on the environment are integral aspects of the policy of the Group's aviation assets in the framework of the ISO 9001/2000 Quality Management System that is being implemented.
Environmental projects are carried out in two areas: environmental efficiency of flights and the environmental efficiency of services at the Group's airports. All aircraft meet accepted international noise standards and constantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In keeping with accepted policy, the Group's aviation enterprises are developing the aircraft fleet and gradually renovating it in favour of modern and economic planes from the world's leading manufacturers.
The Group's airport businesses use the latest technological solutions when designing and modernizing ground infrastructure, resulting in natural resource conservation. For example, the main terminal at Sochi International Airport is equipped with solar traps to heat water, energy saving regulators, air quality sensors and regulators and an air recirculation system. The terminal building uses the ‘air curtain' climate control system.
