Local Communities
and working in the Arctic Circle
Nornickel invests in social infrastructure and human capital, prioritising continuous improvements to quality of life for employees and their families as a core pillar of its strategy.
The Corporate Healthcare project supports the development of private healthcare as a complement to the public healthcare system in the Company’s key regions of operation – the Norilsk Industrial District and the Kola Peninsula. Its primary goal is to provide high-quality, affordable medical care to employees and their families The project’s total budget exceeds RUB 10 billion, with implementation scheduled until 2030. As part of the project, the Company is modernising and upgrading corporate healthcare facilities and medical examination rooms located at Company sites, while also establishing new medical centres in the cities where it operates. Since the project launch in 2019, a total of 35 medical facilities have been commissioned. In 2024, the Company continued to expand its healthcare footprint at the Norilsk and Kola industrial sites. Shop-level medical units were launched to support disease prevention and deliver high-quality medical care to employees directly on-site.
With the Company’s focus on improving the living standards in Norilsk and the wider region, this is one of the most important tools to attract and retain skilled talent. In 2021, a four-party agreement was signed with federal and regional authorities to renovate housing and social infrastructure in Norilsk up to 2035, with Nornickel to contribute RUB 81 billion to the total budget of RUB 120 billion. Under the initiative, a master plan for developing Norilsk was greenlit, a social and economic development programme for the city up to 2035 was developed, and a major housing renovation programme was rolled out. The programme also includes the construction and overhaul of social infrastructure (polyclinics, kindergartens, sports centres, the Arctic Museum of Modern Art, tourist attractions and infrastructure, etc.), landscaping (greening the city, landscaping areas adjacent to city parks and recreation camps), the upgrade of local utilities, and the overhaul of local transport infrastructure.
Nornickel runs the World of New Opportunities charity programme to provide sustainable development capabilities and opportunities to communities across its regions of operation. The programme aims at developing social skills in local communities, demonstrating and introducing new social technologies, supporting and encouraging community initiatives, and creating a favourable environment for cross-sector partnerships.
Nornickel’s corporate volunteering programme comprises a vast array of volunteer and charitable projects across all of Nornickel’s regions of operation: the Norilsk industrial District, the Kola Peninsula, Chita, and Moscow. The programme supports employee volunteers’ own social initiatives, aimed at contributing to the social development of our operating regions and a better quality of life for local communities. Since its inception in December 2015, the programme has expanded significantly. Over the eight years, it has expanded its outreach to more than 4,000 people from several hundred participants; the number of annual events has grown sevenfold, from 60 events in 2016 to 410 in 2024 (development programmes, environmental drives, eco-camps, a charity fair, and a personal donation programme).