Improving air quality in order to protect the environment and public health from air pollutants while complying with statutory standards for permissible emissions.
Norilsk Nickel is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 “Good Health and Well-Being” and 11 “Ensuring openness, security, resilience and environmental sustainability of cities and towns”. The Company considers it crucial to reduce negative environmental impact of cities, including by focusing efforts on air quality improvement.
Reduction of SO2 emissions by 2031
Reduction of SO2 emissions by 2031
To achieve our quantitative targets at Norilsk and Kola divisions, we are running the
Zapolyarny Division (Norilsk and Kola sites): S02 emissions
At the end of 2024, Nornickel launched an automatic air quality monitoring system in Norilsk. This is the first project launched in the Arctic Circle and one of Russia’s first projects enabling real-time assessment of air pollution levels.
For the project, 16 environmental monitoring stations were installed in the Norilsk Industrial District to measure the air content of sulphur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen sulphide (H2S), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and dust, as well as temperature, pressure, and humidity.
Today, the monitoring data are used to calculate an air quality index, which is posted on the норильск.рф website and uses colour indication: green – no pollution, yellow – moderate pollution, red – high pollution.
Air pollutant emissions, kt
Air emissions by pollutant, kt
In 2024, the Group’s total emissions amounted to 1.3 mt, down 24% y-o-y.
This significant decline was driven by the launch of two process lines under the Sulphur Project for comprehensive testing, which boosted the sulphur dioxide recovery rate at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant to 99.1%
Importantly, the Company achieved this record reduction in emissions while maintaining output close to 2023 levels.