NLMK Group, a global steel company, has won the “Ecological culture. Peace and Harmony” international competition, held by the Vernadsky Non-governmental Ecological Foundation. NLMK Group’s “Steel Tree” volunteer program came first in the “Social initiatives aimed at promoting an ecological culture” category.
The competition was established in 2012. It promotes successful corporate and private initiatives aimed at developing a culture of environment awareness, preservation, environmental safety and sustainable use of natural resources.
The “Steel Tree” program of environmental initiatives was launched in 2017. With the financial support of NLMK’s “Miloserdiye” charity fund and guided by the company’s experts, it enabled NLMK Lipetsk employees to execute more than ten community-oriented environmental initiatives of their own.
Galina Khristoforova, NLMK Group Director for the Environment, said: “Our “Steel Tree” program is a real chance for those who care and want to make a difference to put environmental ideas into practice and show their worth by making the world a better place. Last year our participants successfully executed a number of important environmental projects. I am sure there will be even more volunteers this year. We see that there are a lot of interesting ideas out there, and we are actively supporting these environmental initiatives.”
As part of the “Steel Tree” program in 2017 participants of NLMK’s “Young Leader” corporate competition conceptualized and executed a number of projects in Lipetsk, including amelioration of the Matyr reservoir, cleaning of the Nizhny Park drainage system, installation of solar batteries on a multi-apartment residential building, creation of a graffiti art object, green belt clean-up and tree planting, revival of the recreational area at Syrskoye village, organization of an eco-quest, and an eco-festival of intellectual games.
Starting from 2018, the “Steel Tree” environmental program is open to local residents and environmental organizations of Lipetsk and the Lipetsk region, and two other regions where NLMK Group facilities operate, namely Stary Oskol (the Belgorod region), home to Stoilensky Mining and Beneficiation Plant, and Zarinsk (Altai Territory), where Altai-Koks, NLMK’s coke and chemical facility, is located. (NLMK/Ukrainian metal)