Norilsk Nickel is driving the shift towards sustainable and responsible production
Our priorities
Comply with globally recognised climate disclosure standards
Promote low-carbon transition by supporting R&D to search for and scale up innovative solutions and encouraging intra and cross-sectoral dialogue on climate change
Incorporate climate factors and risks into the Company’s development strategy
Strive to increase the share of low-carbon consumption by the industry and between industries
Continue to work on reducing GHG emissions in the long term
Our commitments
Develop and regularly update our climate change strategy
Implement management systems and risk management tools to respond to climate change and have them integrated into the corporate risk management framework in line with the TCFD requirements
Expand engagement and partnership with stakeholders on climate change agenda
Identify and measure the contribution of the Company’s products to the low-carbon economy in the process of organisational life-cycle assessment
Attract and effectively allocate capital to implement our climate change strategy
Promote advance practices and innovations
Organise regular audits of climate-related risk management and publicly disclosed climate change indicators
Review commercially sensible opportunities to reduce carbon footprint, including the use of assessment tools for responsible value chain management and the development of green technology partnerships to accelerate the decarbonisation of the Company’s operations
Adopt key performance indicators (KPIs) related to climate change goals for managers and employees of the Company
Responsibility for climate change
The Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing climate management, including the approval of the climate change policy, strategy, and risk appetite, as well as monitoring climate risk management. In order to ensure a deeper focus on climate change, in 2021 the Board created the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Committee led by the Chairman of the Board of Directors. At the management level, climate change matters are reviewed and overseen by the Risk Management Committee of the Management Board led by the Company’s President. Information on key risks, including those related to climate change, is reviewed on a quarterly basis. Vice President for Environment and Industrial Safety of Nornickel is in charge of the Company’s sustainable development policy, including climate change. Dedicated units of the Head Office, branches and Group companies are responsible for certain aspects of the climate change policy and strategy within their scope. Read more about responsibilities for key areas of sustainable development.
Our next steps to achieve our targets
Nornickel’s approach to climate change
Nornickel has a long-term sustainable development strategy in place seeking to enable environmentally conscious production. The strategy involves the modernisation of production assets using best available technologies and clean tech solutions, maintaining a low carbon footprint among global diversified metals and mining players, and improving energy efficiency and long-term resilience to climate risks.
In 2022–2023, the Company made significant progress in identifying and assessing physical risks. The first step made was a joint project with the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS) focusing on the analysis of historical climate change data starting from the 1960s. Retrospective analysis was followed by scenario modelling of changes in climate risk factors through 2050. The global scenarios were localised for all regions of the Company’s operation.
Our current results
Key climate change indicators
8.6 mt — Scope 1+2 GHG emissions (GHG protocol), one of the lowest CO2 footprint among global mining majors.
5.5 mp of CO2e — Scope 3 GHG emissions (GHG Protocol) as of 2024.
8.9 kg of CO2 per kg of metal — carbon footprint of nickel produced in accordance with international standards ISO 14040, 14044 and 14067.
Norilsk Nickel’s GHG emissions, (Scope 1 and 2) mt of CO2e1
Estimated Scope 3 GHG emissions, downstream, mt
Use of renewables and energy efficiency
54% — share of renewables in the Group’s total electricity consumption in 2024
58% — share of renewables in total electricity consumption in the Norilsk Industrial District in 2024
12% — share of renewables in the total generation of electricity and fuel for the Group in 2024
Nornickel has one of the highest shares of renewable energy and prioritises hydropower, which is generated by the Group’s Ust-Khantayskaya and Kureyskaya hydropower plants. Natural gas accounts for almost 100% of the remaining types of fuel used by the Company’s heat and power plants. We have minimised reliance on high carbon fuels across our energy assets.
The Group attaches great importance to improving the energy efficiency of the production sites under construction and in operation. As part of this program for 2021-2030, it is planned to invest more than 8 billion US dollars in the modernization and improvement of the industrial safety of the Company’s energy infrastructure. Investments include a wide range of projects related to the replacement of equipment in thermal and hydroelectric power plants, the modernization of fuel tank storage and electricity grid and gas pipeline systems
Norilsk Nickel has one of the highest shares of renewable energy