Sustainable growth strategy

GRI 2‑23, 2‑24

EACH EMPLOYEE:

  • is capable of challenging conventional approaches and striving for improvement – change should be driven by the energy of action; without it, inertia cannot be overcome;
  • seeks opportunities and finds solutions – asking “What can I do?” is always more productive than asking “Who is to blame?”;
  • takes ownership of the overall outcome – real team success is only possible when each person takes personal responsibility for their area of work
  • follows the rules and gets their priorities right – an employee who achieves great results at the expense of safety is not a hero, but a safety violator;
  • takes care of themselves and looks out for others – leading by example is more powerful than any words;
  • takes responsibility and always assesses risks – any violation sets us back and diminishes the hard work of many
  • supports colleagues and knows how to be useful – words of encouragement are important, but actions always speak louder than words;
  • shows respect for themselves and for others – self‑respect helps distinguish justified criticism from rudeness, leadership from arrogance, and confidence from indifference;
  • is willing to help and values the help received – selfless contribution and sincere gratitude make us stronger

GRI 2‑6 / TCFD Sb, Sc / TNFD Sb, Sc

Nornickel’s production growth plans include developing the South Cluster, constructing Talnakh Concentrator’s third stage; developing reserves at Severny Mine operated by the Polar Division’s Kola site metals and mining enterprise down to a depth of 730 metres; upgrading a flash smelting furnace at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant; and establishing a facility to manufacture and overhaul underground mining machinery. For more details about these projects, please see Nornickel’s 2024 Annual Report as well as the 2024 Financial Results investor presentation.

The Company complements and expands its strategic priorities in sustainable development through the 2031 Environmental and Climate Change Strategy and the 2030 Socially Sustainable Development Strategy.

To maintain its financial stability, the Company takes a disciplined approach to investments through systemic, risk‑based end‑to‑end prioritisation of its investment programme. Key focus areas include safe, continuous, and lean production, mitigation of technology risks, and delivery against strategic targets. The projected decrease in CAPEX for 2025F is due to the completion of the Sulphur Project at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant.

The Company is implementing the Operational Efficiency Programme for 2024–2026 to contain cost increases. The programme provides for designing and deploying initiatives with a lasting and sustainable impact and a focus on improving operational performance both through increased production volumes, improved product quality, and expanded sales market, and through cost reduction and innovation.

Nornickel’s contribution to the Stable and Dynamic Economy national goal

Targets and objectives:

Increase capital investment by at least 60 percent by 2030 compared to 2020 through continuous improvements to the investment climate

The Company’s management will make every effort to achieve these goals while maintaining our strong credit quality and compelling investment case despite any headwinds.

Sergey Malyshev, First Vice President – CFO

Nornickel’s development strategy captures external geopolitical and economic challenges, global trends in climate change and the energy transition as well as stakeholder demands for the compliance of Nornickel’s products and wider operations with sustainability principles.

By producing metals essential for transport electrification, hydrogen‑based solutions, wind turbines, and other components of the green transformation, the Company is well positioned to gain market leadership and build growth momentum in the years ahead. Nickel, copper, cobalt, and other low‑carbon metals produced by Nornickel are recognised internationally as critical Source: International Energy Agency. and play a significant role in supporting Russia’s low‑carbon social and economic development.

2031 Environmental and Climate Change Strategy

Nornickel reiterates that environmental protection remains one of its strategic priorities. In 2024, the Company updated its 2031 Environmental and Climate Change Strategy, which included, among other things, extending the planning horizon to 2035; expanding the list of assets involved in implementation; adding 54 new initiatives; postponing or cancelling certain initiatives; and revising the targets for SO2 emissions reduction and land rehabilitation.

Currently, the 2031 Environmental and Climate Change Strategy includes 324 initiatives, either already in progress or planned for implementation in the short term. Nornickel is primarily focused on mandatory initiatives under its environmental performance improvement programme.

Given the high degree of external uncertainty and the need for monitoring and control of the economic and environmental impacts of individual measures, the Strategy is subject to annual review

2021 version
21 goals
(16 quantitative metrics across 6 areas, and 5 focused on compliance with international standards)
>360 initiatives
with an indicative budget of RUB 536 billion until 2031
2024 version

The updated Strategy is structured into mandatory and voluntary sections:

  • the mandatory section is aimed at ensuring compliance with Russian environmental protection laws (nine performance targets);
  • the voluntary section covers optional environmental dimensions (seven performance targets).
Key focus areas and targets of the 2031 Environmental and Climate Change Strategy 2024 version.

TCFD Ma, Mb, Mc / TNFD Ga, Sb, Ma, Mb, Mc

Element Goals and performance targets 2020 baseline 2022 actual 2023 actual 2024 actual 2031 target
Mandatory
Number of emergencies Number of interregional and federal emergencies affecting the environment in the regions of operation (GRI 14.15.3) 1 0 0 0 0
Air SO2 emissions (kt) 2,009 2015. 1,778 1,671 1,269 213
Reduction of SO2 emissions Vs the 2015 base year.  (%) 0 11.4 16.8 36.8 90
Water Compliance with the Russian regulatory requirements as regards pollutant concentrations in discharges – 56 59 59 100
Compliance with freshwater withdrawal limits (%) 100 100 100 100 100
Tailings and waste Compliance of waste disposal facilities with Russian regulatory requirements (%) 95 95 90 90 100
Land Disturbed land rehabilitation in 2022–2031 (reclamation, reforestation, and clean‑up) (ha) 0 498 245 235 3,996
Biodiversity Achievement of net zero biodiversity loss resulting from the Company’s operations (∆ Integrated Ecosystem Health Indicator (IEHI)) 0.89 0 0 0 ≥0
Stock exchange requirements Compliance with stock exchange requirements (London Metal Exchange, Shanghai Futures Exchange, etc.) (%) – 100 100 – The LME compliance report is submitted in late June in the year following the reporting year. 100
Voluntary
Climate change Amount of GHG emissions (Scope 1 and 2) Excluding GHG emissions from electricity and heat supply to local communities and other consumers, including the Sulphur Project and logistics. (mln t of CO2 equivalent) 8.5 7.6 7.6 7.5 TBD
Share of renewable energy use (%) 46 51 55 54
Tailings and waste Share of non‑mineral waste recycling (%) 16 6 6 14.8 TBD
Share of mineral waste (other than gypsum waste) recycling (%) 20 20 20 19.2
Share of gypsum waste recycling (%) – – 100 100
Standards Compliance with sustainability standards

Implementation of the TCFD, ICMM, and IRMA compliance roadmaps (and reaching the IRMA 50 achievement level)

Implementation of measuresEfforts to ensure compliance with GISTM

In progress In progress In progress Roadmaps implemented

2030 Socially Sustainable Development Strategy

In 2024, Nornickel continued implementing its 2030 Socially Sustainable Development Strategy, aligning it with the Company’s strategic business priorities, commitments to employees and local communities, and its broader goal of contributing to societal well‑being.

The four pillars of the 2030 Socially Sustainable Development Strategy
Health and safety
Employee health and safety is one of Nornickel’s strategic priorities
Talent management and corporate culture
As one of the world’s best employers for talented professionals, Nornickel supports each employee in unlocking their potential and achieving their goals
Development of technologies and products that help foster technological and social progress
Nornickel strives to contribute to society’s well‑being through its products and is committed to transparency about the social dimensions of its operations
Involvement in the lives of local communities and society at large
Nornickel is the industry leader in driving the social agenda and improving the quality of life for local residents and indigenous communities
The four pillars of the 2030 Socially Sustainable Development Strategy
Goals and KPIs under the 2030 Socially Sustainable Development Strategy, and key initiatives to meet them
Priority Goals KPIs 2024 progress in figures Key activities to achieve the goal in 2024 and their progress

Health and safety

Achieving zero fatalities and reducing work‑related injuries and ill health Zero fatalities and no major accidents at the Company’s facilities
  • In 2024, the Company achieved an all‑time low fatal injury frequency rate (three accidents, FIFR: 0.025)
  • Increasing transparency of accident data (LTIFR: 0.64)
  • Reducing the number of cases of work‑related ill health (139 cases in 2024)
  • Made further progress on embedding the updated H&S incident notification, registration, accounting, and internal investigation process (932 incidents were investigated in 2024 in line with the updated requirements for the process).
  • Deployed an updated incident registration module in the Control, Management, Safety automated system (CMS AS) (53 alerts generated and distributed in the Lightning format).
  • Launched an information system to automatically detect violations of the Golden Rules of Safety (GRS), along with functionality for logging such violations in CMS AS (196 GRS violations identified in 2024).
  • Continued the health resort treatment and recreation programme (24.6 thousand participants in 2024).
For more details, please see the Workplace Safety and Fostering Talents sections
No major accidents
  • Zero major accidents in 2024
  • Introduced a unified incentive system offering fixed payments for identifying workplace hazards (with 1,450 hazards identified in 2024, and over RUB 10 million paid to reporting employees in bonuses).
  • Made further progress on a safety culture transformation project with a risk‑based focus across all mines of the Company (except for Taimyrsky Mine) (4.2 thousand hazards identified, 3.1 thousand hazards removed, and 1.2 thousand employees trained).
Consistently reducing safety risks to an acceptable level –
  • Developed and piloted contractor assessment criteria focused on safety performance during repair and CAPEX project construction (four audits of major repairs, seven audits of construction projects, and 170 repair contractor assessments).
  • Introduced a new audit format – shifting from compliance control to maturity audits (with new‑format audits conducted at nine facilities).
  • Conducted a functionality diagnostic and developed a target governance structure for the H&S and operational control services at Polar Division mines.
  • Successfully completed a recertification audit to ISO 45001:2018.
  • Developed and implemented a methodology for critical risk management based on a three‑tiered safety barrier model (technical, procedural, and behavioural) across all Company mines.
Aligning living and working conditions with employee expectations
  • Overhauls of welfare facilities completed across 187 facilities measuring 25,026 sq m overall
  • Workplace amenities improved for more than 11.8 thousand employees
  • Continued Made with Care, a workplace welfare facility repair programme aiming to provide employees with safe and comfortable working conditions (with facades, classrooms, and holiday camps repaired in 2024, and pilot repairs completed for recreation rooms).

Talent management and corporate culture

Attracting young talent and experienced professionals, including to Russia’s Far North A Top‑3 employer in Russia’s metals and mining sector according to leading ratings and rankings
  • A total of 3.8 thousand young specialists (under 35) were permanently employed
  • Eight thousand applicants were accepted, with over 1.2 thousand relocated to their place of work under the Assistance programme
  • Nornickel earned recognition among its target audience in respected employer rankings, such as Changellenge, HeadHunter, and others
  • Continued systematic collaboration with educational institutions and the development of the regular cadence of engagement with educational institutions while also making further progress on the Engineering Talent project.
  • Attracted candidates from other regions, with relocation support provided to them.
  • Advanced the development of approaches to career growth and internal mobility.
For more details, please see the Fostering Talent section
Facilitating employee retention, professional growth, and development
  • 12.4% – employee turnover in 2024
  • Expanded the use of professional competency models (PCMs), updating and scaling them across the Company (26 PCMs used in total, with 4,978 employees assessed against PCM criteria).
  • Built a talent pool for management roles (with close to 2.5 thousand employees included for mid‑ and senior‑level leadership positions).
  • Relaunched the insourcing programme.
  • Trained 77.8 thousand employees during the year.
  • Continued corporate programmes such as In Good Company (with over 7 thousand participants registered via the programme’s app), Those Who Care (1.5 thousand participants, 95 change teams, more than 50 projects), and Plant of Goodness (over 4 thousand participants, more than 400 activities completed).
Improving the onboarding system to support new hires and increase engagement among seasoned employees
  • 67% – employee engagement rate in 2024 (in line with the industry)
  • Rolled out the Onboarding automated system (29 enterprises covered by the system, +2 enterprises in 2024), with 6,809 employees supported by the system, 2,544 managers involved in onboarding processes, and 81 existing employees designated as onboarding mentors alongside immediate supervisors).
  • Provided employees with access to customised onboarding plans via the Supernika mobile app.
  • Implemented over 700 activities to boost engagement.
  • Made further progress in implementing social programmes and enhancing employee benefits (Digital Investor, Co‑Funded Pension Plan, etc.).
  • Set up the Award Policy, a comprehensive incentive system (4,377 employees recognised in 2024).

Developing technologies and products that foster technological and social progress

Building supply chain transparency on social metrics Supply chain transparency
  • 100% of mineral suppliers covered by due diligence
  • ESG assessment coverage expanded to 35% of suppliers of goods, works, and services
  • Conducted due diligence on mineral suppliers, with no risks identified.
  • Carried out a pilot ESG questionnaire survey of suppliers of goods, works, and services.
  • Published responsible supply chain reports for 2021–2022, 2023, and 2024.
For more details, please see the Responsible supply chain section and Nornickel’s 2024 Responsible Supply Chain Report
Developing technologies and products that benefit society at large TBD
  • Five new palladium‑based materials created
  • Continued operations of a dedicated centre focused on the development of palladium‑based solutions and advanced high‑tech materials, conducting further laboratory testing to confirm their superior properties compared to market alternatives.
  • Built an international partnership network with research institutions and the business community.
  • Created the Battery Technology Centre in Saint Petersburg.
For more details, please see the Research and Development section

Involvement in the lives of local communities and society at large

Minimising the Company’s impact on local communities Raising the City Life Index
  • Advanced the corporate healthcare programme (a new healthcare centre was commissioned in Talnakh, licenses for dental services were obtained, and a total of 117 thousand medical services were provided by healthcare centres during 2024).
  • Continued the Sulphur Project (achieved over 99% sulphur dioxide recovery at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant).
  • Developed a concept framework to assess climate‑related risks and completed a scenario analysis of the consolidated financial and economic model based on global economic and climate change scenarios.
  • Collected feedback from stakeholders (including input from local residents on a broad range of topics).
For more details, please see the Comfortable and Safe Living Environment, Climate Change, and Nornickel’s Contribution to the UN SDGs and Alignment with the National Strategic Priorities sections
Fostering sustainable social and economic development across the Company’s footprint Raising the City Life Index Russian City Life Index. VEB.RF website.
  • Continued implementing activities under agreements with regional governments in Nornickel’s operating regions, the Comprehensive Plan for the Social and Economic Development of Norilsk for 2021–2035, the World of New Opportunities charitable programme, and initiatives by the Norilsk Development Agency, Monchegorsk Development Agency, and the Second School Centre for Community Initiatives.
  • Implemented automated tracking of financial and non‑financial metrics of charitable activities through the Beneficiary’s Account.
  • Developed and adopted the Charity Policy.
Supporting the interests of indigenous peoples of the North Adhering to the Policy of Engagement with Indigenous Small‑Numbered Peoples –
  • Completed the 2020–2024 programme for promoting social and economic development of the Taimyrsky Dolgano‑Nenetsky Municipal District.
  • Extended the Taimyr Students targeted programme (involving 73 students).
  • Took measures to create a more comfortable environment and improve housing conditions for Tukhard residents.
  • Continued the World of Taimyr contest: Nornickel held two rounds (in 2020 and 2022), supporting 46 projects; in January 2025, the Company opened the next application round.
  • Updated the Policy of Engagement with Indigenous Small‑Numbered Peoples.
Contributing to the well‑being of society nationally and internationally Contributing to 13 Russian national projects by integrating the UN SDGs into the Company’s strategy and operations
  • RUB 374 billion – spending on projects contributing to UN SDGs
  • Delivered a systemic contribution to national and federal projects as well as to the UN SDGs through relevant projects, activities, and initiatives.
  • Obtained the status of Partner of Russia’s National Projects.
Sustainable growth strategy