US$ 24 million on measures to ensure environmental compliance US$ 12 million on projects to improve its environmental performance
EVRAZ’ steel and mining operations have significant energy and water requirements and can potentially impact the environment through waste generation, wastewater discharge, air emissions and land contamination.
Environmental legislation strictly regulates these operations and requires the Group to obtain environmental permits and licences. EVRAZ must maintain compliance with their terms for them to remain valid and be extended. This generally requires implementing certain environmental commitments, recruiting qualified personnel, maintaining necessary equipment and environmental monitoring systems, and periodically submitting information to environmental regulators. Noncompliance on any of these fronts carries the potential for the environmental permits and licences to be suspended, amended, terminated or not renewed, or could entail significant costs for the Group to eliminate or remedy any such violations.
EVRAZ strives to continuously improve its environmental management systems, including via its ongoing ISO 14001 audit programme. While international certification is not a legal requirement, nine of the Group’s sites are currently certified to the ISO 14001 standard, including such key operations as EVRAZ NTMK, EVRAZ ZSMK and EVRAZ DMZ.
EVRAZ conducts an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of all new operations and projects, during which it consults with local and regional governments, businesses and community members in the affected area. The ESIAs evaluate any potential direct and indirect impacts that the new operation may have on the local community and surrounding environment. The ESIA process entails creating mitigation plans to minimise and manage any potential impact, as well as consulting with local communities regarding any decisions that may be made throughout the project’s life.
EVRAZ supports the European Union’s health and environmental goals as established in Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which governs the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals ( “REACH” REACH – Regulation (EC) № 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, according to which as of 1 June 2007, all chemical substances, mixtures and substances in articles (in some cases) produced in or imported to European Economic Area (EEA) territory above 1 tonne per year are subject to mandatory procedures such as registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals. If chemicals are not registered in accordance with REACH, the products are not allowed to be manufactured in or imported into the EEA. ). The Group strives to maintain REACH compliance.
The Group’s environmental strategy aims to minimise any negative impacts caused by its operations, as well as to make efficient use of natural resources and find optimal industrial waste management solutions. Environmental compliance is a top long-term priority.
In 2012, after determining the key challenges and focus areas, EVRAZ voluntarily adopted five-year environmental targets (over 2012-17) aimed at:
- reducing air emissions Including nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx), dust and volatile organic compounds only. by 5%;
- decreasing fresh water consumption by 15%;
- recycling 100% of non-mining waste The rate of the amount of waste recycled or used versus annual waste generation, not including mining waste. It can exceed 100% due to recycling of waste from prior periods. .
The Group’s non-compliance-related environmental levies and fines increased by 7 % to US$2.1 million in 2016 from US$2.0 million as it was in 2015. No significant environmental permits or licences were missing or revoked in 2016, although the Russian government has tightened the requirements for obtaining environmental permits and licences. This was the reason for the delay in issuing some of the new permits, which led to non-compliance levies of US$ 0.5 million. EVRAZ’ assets had no significant environmental incidents or material environmental claims during the reporting period.