Kola MMC joined the Zero Environmental Impact intiative launched by The Bellona Foundation, an international environmental NGO. The purpose of the effort is to cut down the industrial emissions by means of the companies’ voluntary agreeing to short-term voluntary operation shutdown (where permitted by the production processes).
The Zero Environmental Impact event was held on December 2, when the refining shop at Monchegorsk site was shut down for routine maintenance. Besides, the operation of the three ore-thermal furnaces installed at the smelting shop in Nickel settlement and the converter smelting section of the metallurgical shop at Monchegorsk were suspended for an hour.
“We consider bringing down the environmental impact as our key priority. That is why we decided to join the initiative”, says Vyacheslav Shain, Production Division Director of Kola MMC. “The move was planned ahead, so the idle time could be used for maintenance. We are still in line with the production program”.
During the effort, not only had Kola MMC reduced the emissions, but also saved more than 400k kWh of power.
Ongoing phase-by-phase modernization helped Kola MMC reduce its sulfur dioxide emissions almost by half over the past 18 years with its environmental investments for the period over RUB 15 billion. (Nornickel/Ukrainian metal)