Air
Our priorities
Improving air quality in order to protect the environment and public health from air pollutants while complying with statutory standards for permissible emissions.
Our principles
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.
Our commitments
- Take measures to reduce the negative impact of our operations on air and improve air quality in the regions of presence;
- Monitor pollutant emissions;
- Ensure transparent outcomes and efficiency of emissions management across Nornickel companies;
- Engage with stakeholders, including local communities, government bodies, and partners, to manage air pollution;
- Embrace best practices and meet requirements of international standards for managing air pollution.
Our targets
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 Sulphur Programme 2.0 , an environmental initiative unique in its scale and financing, which is intended to make a significant contribution to improving air quality in our regions of presence.
Norilsk division: SO2 emissions forecast, %
Zapolyarny Division (Norilsk and Kola sites): S02 emissions
Zapolyarny Division (Kola site) realized realized
- 2020 — Optimisation of operations in Nickel town to cut SO2 emissions in the Russian-Norway border zone;
- 2021 — Complete shutdown of smelting operations in Nickel town and the copper line in shop;
- 2023 — A 90% reduction in SO2 emissions compared to 2015 as a result of the implementation of the Sulfur Program.
Zapolyarny Division (Norilsk site)
- 2023 — Launch of the anchor sulphur project at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant to capture furnace gases;
- 2024 — Nornickel launched comprehensive testing of the second process line, boosting sulphur dioxide recovery from gases to approximately 390 kt;
- 2027+ — Production reconfiguration at Copper Plant;
Implementation of the federal program “Clean Air”: monitoring of atmospheric air quality in the regions of presence
Air quality monitoring and forecasting system
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.
Our current results
Air pollutant emissions
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.