PJSC Polyus (“Polyus” or the “Company”) has published its Sustainability Report for the year ended 31 December 2019.
Key sustainability achievements for 2019
- Focus on carbon intensity reduction across all assets, achieving a 16.1% y-o-y reduction in carbon intensity, despite production growth, and a 45.1% reduction vs 2015. Polyus achieved a 2.7% drop in absolute amount of GHG emissions y-o-y, with Olimpiada and Blagodatnoye contributing most to this fall.v
- Extension of ISO certification at Polyus assets, with the first Energy management certification ISO 50001 conducted at Polyus Verninskoye. Alluvials has upgraded its ISO certification to 45001:2018 and 14001:2015.
- Strongly improved safety performance with an 11% LTIFR reduction y-o-y, and the lowest LTIFR rate among mining companies 2018–2019. Polyus improved safety accountability with the appointment of individuals responsible for safety and operations for each hazardous area of operations. Focus on injury prevention continued with the implementation of the high-risks mitigation programs.
- Enhanced employee development programmes with the establishment of the Personnel Management System Strategy for 2019–2021, creating a framework to further transform and improve the system. 93% of Polyus employees received training in 2019.
- Maintained commitment to community investment, with $47.3 million allocated towards supporting local community activities in 2019.
Improved transparency, reporting and recognition
- ESG Ratings upgrades achieved from MSCI, RobecoSAM, Sustainalytics; inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Market ESG Leaders.
- Improved scores in CDP assessments for ‘Water’ and ‘Climate Change’. Polyus was one of the few Russian companies to complete the ‘Forests’ category and was named among the “frontrunners” for its responses to biodiversity-related data disclosure requests.
- Comprehensive disclosure of tailings storages safety data in a publicly available TSF Safety Report following a request by the investment community.
Collaboration to help set global standards
- Active collaboration with the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) through participation in working group discussions, including discussions on the development of an international standard for tailing storage facilities, represented by Pavel Grachev, CEO.
- joining the United Nations Global Compact Polyus confirmed its support for the Ten Principles of the UN’s Global Compact and committed to setting an example and promoting Sustainability best practices, both within the Russian business community and across the global mining industry.
Pavel Grachev, Chief Executive Officer of PJSC Polyus, commented:“I am pleased to present Polyus’ Sustainability Report for 2019, which reflects a year of strong progress against our company’s Sustainability targets, with particular improvements in the key areas of health and safety and carbon intensity.
We continue to focus on enhancing our disclosure for the benefit of all stakeholders and were pleased to receive recognition from CDP for our transparency on key sustainability indicators in 2019.
As the largest gold producer in Russia and a member of ICMM, we recognise our responsibility to set an industry standard in responsible mining, and we are proud to take a proactive and integrated approach towards sustainability management.
In addition, we firmly believe that a sustainable future for the planet is only fully achievable through successful collaboration, and we are pleased to have formally aligned our approach with that of the UN Global Compact in 2019.
Our commitment to the sustainable development of our business and the industry remains resolute, and we look forward to providing further updates on progress in the coming year.”
Investor and Media contact
Victor Drozdov, Director, Business Communications & Investor Relations (CIR) Department
Roman Dertinov, Director for Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainable Developmen
Daria Grigoreva, Head of Sustainability
Alex Čaičics, ESG/SRI Investor Relations