GMK Noril'skiy nikel' : NORNICKEL REWARDED BY RSPP FOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Nornickel has received the award for environmental responsibility at the All-Russia Contest 'Leaders of Russian Business: Dynamics and Responsibility 2016' organized by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP).

The award ceremony was part of the Russian Business Week (RBW), RSPP's key event currently taking place in Moscow. RSPP President Alexander Shokhin presented the award 'For Environmental Responsibility' to Nornickel's Vice President Elena Bezdenezhnykh. The Company received such a valuable award for its comprehensive project to close down the Nickel Plant in Norilsk, associated with not only environmental but also social issues.

Speaking at the Environmental Forum of the RBW, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoy praised Nornickel's environmental efforts. The government is keeping a close watch on how businesses invest in environmental protection and production modernization, he said. And Nornickel is the total leader in environmental changes in Russia's industrial policy.

For her part, Elena Bezdenezhnykh added that the Company was currently a 'guide' to the leading available environmental technologies in the world. She also noted that Nornickel focused only on innovative solutions and made record-breaking investments in environmental protection. 'The completion of the large-scale project to close down the oldest Nickel Plant reduced sulfur dioxide emissions, and Norilsk became really cleaner. To be successful in implementing the environmental program until 2023, the Company will invest about 250 billion rubles in environmental protection projects. Such investments are the largest among major industrial companies worldwide,' Elena Bezdenezhnykh underlined.

RSPP also rewarded Nornickel for achievements in social responsibility. The Company won in the category 'For Support and Development of Social Entrepreneurship.' The award was presented by Alexander Shokhin to Nornickel's Senior Vice President Larisa Zelkova. According to Larisa Zelkova, social entrepreneurship provides new opportunities for the development of towns and their residents. The Company supports projects that are of minimal benefit to the entrepreneur but help the community live an easier and brighter life. 'We are the mainstay of the local economy in the regions of our operations. Nornickel finds it fundamentally important to make every place where it has a presence attractive to our workers of today and tomorrow in terms of not only work but also life,' Larisa Zelkova said.