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July 12, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 4
concept. It is easy to say that a big metals or petrochemical plant is a polluter, because they are, but the equation doesn't end there. Norilsk was one of the biggest polluters in the whole world, but the PGMs it produces are used in cars and massively reduce CO2 emissions.
“As we produce nickel and PGMs one has to recognise we are contributing to the green economy as they are used in catalytic converters. Every third or fourth car in the US market uses our metals in these converters,” says Norilsk’s Bugrov.
Sibur has a similar issue. The giant petrochemical company doesn't produce any oil and gas itself, but buys by-products from the majors and processes it to make its range of polymers,
as Dmitry Konov, chairman of the management board of Sibur Holding, described to bne IntelliNews in detail in the feature “Plastics
in the snow” in December 2018.
“We used the associated gas as raw material that would otherwise would be flared off. So this is
a positive contribution to the environment but it is not taken into account in any of the rankings,” says Konov.
government has responded and in Moscow at least the city is introducing laws to force Russians to start sorting their trash for the first time.
“We are still in ESG 1.0 — the simple view of these issues. In ESG 2.0 it will be more nuanced and ESG 3.0 you will be able to bring all the factors together to have a complete view of what you want to do as an asset manager. Like in Norilsk’s case it is important to look at the external realities,” says Jean Raby, chief executive officer of Natixis Investment Managers, which has been following
a sustainable investment strategy for years.
It’s easy to get stuck looking at a tree and losing sight of the forest. Investors have been drawn to the Tesla electric car, for example, as it seems to be a technology of the future, whereas they dumped VW stocks after the company got caught cheating on its emissions levels.
“You might want to invest in Tesla because their cars are cleaner, instead of VW. But Tesla will produce 200,000 cars in total this year whereas VW will produce millions. So if VW make any improvements it is VW that will have the real impact on the environment,” says Raby.
S
For many large Russian companies the S part is hardwired into their genes thanks to the Soviet legacy and Russia’s harsh weather. The big raw material producers tend to be located in the tundra in the middle of nowhere and entire cities were built to house the workforce sent there to exploit the rich deposits. That means the HR departments are intimately intertwined with the local city and its life.
“We spent RUB8bn last year on the social aspects of our faculties and their surroundings. Some 17,500 people work for us and all our cities are mono-cities. We are happy we can take an active part in these communities. We build stadia and ski resorts. We give RUB1.5bn to charity and have a children’s initiative for their spiritual development. There are classes at local schools where they
Sibur is a global company and the petrochemicals it produces have a far-reaching impact on the environment beyond the mere making of its polymers.
“What we produce — synthetic materials
— release less CO2 and we can help other companies use less materials in their own businesses, which also has a positive effect,” says Konov.
Konov adds that government plays a role here too as while plastics are processable and can
be used as stock to make other materials, the bigger issue is to collect plastics that have been used and currently end up in landfills — currently a hot domestic political issue as Russians have been protesting against landfills. However, the