Moscow, June 8, 2022 — MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper announces its 2021 sustainable performance results.

In 2021, Nornickel continued to deliver on its comprehensive environmental programme. After the shutdown of its smelting operations, Kola Division’s sulphur dioxide emissions reduced 78% year-on-year in 2021, or 90% from the base year of 2015. In the Norilsk division, sulphur dioxide emissions reduced 14% in 2021. The construction of the Sulphur project in Norilsk is in its active phase, with commissioning due to start within the next few months.

In June 2021, the Board of Directors approved the 2031 Environmental and Climate Change Strategy, which marked an important milestone for the Company’s effort to systematically advance its sustainability agenda internally. This strategy spans six main areas of impacts, including water, soil, air and biodiversity, with a set of concrete goals set in each, aiming to improve environmental performance.

The strategy also included climate change initiatives and targets. In February 2022, these targets were set more ambitiously, such as a 25% reduction of Scope 1+2 GHG emissions to 7.7 mtpa by 2028 (factoring in the production growth targets and Sulphur Programme 2.0), and a 37% reduction in carbon intensity (СО₂ per tonne of Ni equivalent) down to 5.0 tonnes.

The current carbon footprint of refined nickel produced by the Company is 8.1 t of СО₂ equivalent per tonne[1], which is among the lowest among global mining peers.

Supporting the global climate change agenda and focusing on customer demand, last year Nornickel started producing carbon-neutral nickel. The first batch of 5 kt of nickel cathodes was manufactured by the Group’s Kola Division.

The global climate change calls for more efficient controls and monitoring of relevant risks, above all in relation to the rising temperatures in the Arctic. In 2021, Nornickel started to deploy a permafrost-based foundations system in Norilsk, covering operating and residential buildings and structures. This system is designed to provide a real-time monitoring of permafrost-based foundations with a help various sensors and detectors, identify geocryological risks and develop adequate risk mitigation initiatives.

Nornickel remained one of the leaders in the Russian metals and mining industry in terms of social expenses. In 2021, the Company’s social investments, including social infrastructure, charity and sponsorship expenses, amounted to RUB 75.9 bn[2], representing approximately 6% of the corporate revenue.

Nornickel was persistent in fostering further collaboration with the indigenous peoples of the North. In 2021, Nornickel increased its spending 5-fold to over RUB 420 m on projects supporting the indigenous northern communities.

Last year, Nornickel was the first company in the history of the Russian mining industry to launch a free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) procedure, enabling indigenous peoples of Taimyr to choose a relocation option for a tundra village of Tukhard. This process guarantees the protection of indigenous rights to independently define political, social, economic, and cultural priorities. The procedure was successfully completed in 2022.

The Company maintains high level of social support for its employees. The average monthly salary remains among the highest in Russian mining industry. During the coronavirus pandemic, Nornickel managed to avoid any redundancies, whereas now it is actively recruiting for its new ambitious projects.

At the same time, we regret to note an increase the rate of work-related injuries in 2021. Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) rose to 0.38 although remained below the average of the global mining industry.

All fatal incidents that occurred in 2021 were reported to the Board of Directors and were thoroughly investigated to develop mitigation initiatives, which should help to avoid similar cases in the future. Nornickel’s management considers strong health and safety performance as its primary priority and reiterates the target of zero work-related fatalities. Various prevention programmes in industrial safety are being rolled out. So far, in the first five months of 2022, the Company recorded zero fatalities.

Nornickel continues to support social, cultural, and economic development of its regions of operations. In particular, the city of Norilsk will see the realization of a Comprehensive Plan for Social and Economic Development tailored to improve the quality of life in the city. The total financing of RUB 120 bn has been budgeted until 2035, of which Nornickel will contribute RUB 81.3 bn. The plan was approved by the government of Russia and envisages cooperation between the Company, the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic, the Krasnoyarsk Region, and the city of Norilsk.

As part of the strive to improve local healthcare, Nornickel launched the Corporate Healthcare programme. In December 2021, the first private medical centre for the Company’s employees was opened in Norilsk.

Vladimir Potanin, Nornickel President, commented on the Company’s sustainability performance in 2021:

“Nornickel’s strategic goals are inseparable from the sustainability agenda. In the face of the new global challenges this topic becomes even more relevant for our Company. Our key priorities are focused on improving our resource- and energy-efficiency, reducing environmental impact and cleaning up legacy pollution, managing climate change risks, improving the quality of life in the regions of operations and sustaining the reputation of one of the top employers in the Russian industry.

For us, sustainable development is a business philosophy, a management mindset, a corporate culture and a platform to create long-term value for our stakeholders.”

More details about Nornickel’s sustainability performance can be found in the 2021 sustainability development report.

Nornickel reports 2021 sustainable development results