The World Steel Association (worldsteel) for the first time recognized PJSC Severstal as one of the leaders in the field of sustainable development. The Association annually chooses several “champions” in this area (Steel Sustaiability Champios) from among the metallurgical companies most committed to the ideas of responsible business conduct. In the past years, there were no Russian companies in this list.
When choosing leaders in the field of sustainable development, the World Association takes into account the efficiency of resource use, the efficiency of the environmental management system, the level of occupational injuries (LTIFR), employee training, investments in new technologies and products, as well as the distribution of economic resources. In addition, metallurgists must provide worldsteel with data on all resources used and emissions of substances throughout the entire production chain.
“For Severstal, as a socially responsible company, it is of fundamental importance how we contribute to the lives of future generations. Therefore, we devote a lot of attention and energy not only to environmental initiatives at our facilities, but also to the climate agenda and the development of our regions of presence. It is a great pride for us to become one of the champions of sustainable development alongside the largest international metallurgical companies. Acknowledgment of our meritsWorld Association has become very important to us, but we are definitely not going to stop there. We must focus on reducing industrial injuries, reducing the mass of pollutants discharged into the atmosphere and water bodies, and, of course, reducing the company's greenhouse gas emissions by 3% by 2023. In addition, our focus is on improving the energy efficiency of production processes and maximizing the recycling of metallurgical waste. I am sure that the planned activities will help us to strengthen our championship in the field of sustainable development, "commented Alexander Shevelev, CEO of Severstal.
In 2020, Severstal increased its investment in environmental protection by 1.7 billion rubles to 2 , 67 billion rubles (in 2019 - 938 million rubles).
Severstal regularly publishes a sustainability report, which outlines the company's initiatives on the six priority UN Sustainable Development Goals. In December 2020, MSCI revised Severstal's ESG rating from CCC to B. It is designed to help institutional investors assess risks and opportunities that might be overlooked in traditional investment analysis. The improvement of Severstal's positions is associated with an increase in its positions in the Ecology block: the company's progress in the areas of Climate Change, Water Resources Management, Biodiversity, and Emissions and Waste was noted. The upgrade is a confirmation that Severstal's work on ESG and its striving to be as open as possible in these matters is receiving a response from the investment community.
