Moscow, 31 March 2025 — Nornickel announces the strengthening of its charitable and volunteer activities by combining its key corporate projects into "People of the Territory", a large-scale social capital development programme.

Nornickel is thus merging its "World of New Opportunities" charitable programme and its "Kombinat Dobra" corporate volunteering programme. This will create a synergistic effect and take the company’s best charity practices to a new level.

Irina Zhuikova, Director of Nornickel's Social Policy Department, commented: “‘People of the Territory’ is a philosophy that reflects our vision for the future. It is human-centric, meaning it’s about people — each one of us who lives, works, dreams, and acts. It's about our values, our aspirations, and our responsibility. We believe that people are the main driving force behind any development. It is also geo-centric, meaning it’s about the territory — the place where we live, which shapes us and which we, in turn, shape. It is about our connection to the land, its resources, its history, its present, and its future.”

Over a decade ago, Nornickel established its unique approach to charity and created an accessible tool for a wide audience. The programme has fostered a proactive approach among residents in solving local social problems, met the needs of the territories during its development, and was an effective response to the challenges of its time.

Over the course of the "World of New Opportunities" programme, a favourable environment for regional development and a culture of charity and community engagement have been formed:

An environment for youth development has been established, with projects introducing children to engineering and blue-collar professions not only at the company's facilities but also in city organisations, and a community of inventors has been formed.
Conditions for the emergence and growth of non-profit organisations have been created, local experts have emerged, and initiatives by active citizens to solve local social problems have been supported.
The groundwork for local business development has been laid, providing support to small and medium-sized enterprises through interest-free, repayable loans for business growth, leading to new services and products.

Corporate volunteers from the "Kombinat Dobra" programme have become true community leaders: they improve urban spaces, assist nature reserves, conduct environmental awareness events for schoolchildren, and implement their own volunteer initiatives. Furthermore, a personal donation programme allows employees to provide help where it is truly needed: employees contribute personal funds, and the Company doubles the donation amount.

The "People of the Territory" social capital development programme will retain all key projects and benefits while offering new opportunities to support the initiatives and ideas of local residents. The update is aimed at enhancing the programme’s systematic approach and transparency for every participant, with a focus on developing local residents' competencies and encouraging their proactive stance. By uniting Nornickel's social and volunteer initiatives, the programme will improve management efficiency, enable a comprehensive approach to related challenges, increase local community engagement, and enhance the synergistic effect.

The renewed programme will feature the necessary elements for brand recognition and promotion, as well as a clear delineation of responsibilities with other participants in the region's social development ecosystem: the Norilsk Development Agency, the Monchegorsk Development Agency, the Pechenga District Social Projects Centre "Vtoraya Shkola", the "Our Norilsk" Endowment Fund, and the "Kola" Endowment Fund.

Nornickel launches "People of the Territory", a new programme to support local community initiatives