A study by the PwC Advisory confirmed ALROSA’s status as a leader among gold and diamond mining companies in terms of investments in social programmes, the Company announced yesterday.

The study  covers the period from 2016 to 2018 and  is based on the official reports of companies which mine precious metals and rough diamonds, “and focuses on key aspects of sustainable development, including investments in social programmes and environmental protection measures, energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and the number of female employees”, the Company elucidated.

“Every year ALROSA allocates 3% of its revenue to social expenses and remains the absolute industry leader by this indicator,” the Company stated. “In 2018, the company allocated almost US$168 million for social investments, including regional development programmes, corporate social programmes for employees and their families, as well as about 500 social and charitable projects.”  

ALROSA further said that its expenditure on environmental activities exceeded US$ 76 million in 2018, which amounted to 2.2% of the company’s consolidated revenue. In an effort to minimise its environmental impact, the Company undertakes a wide range of measures, including investments in treatment facilities, land reclamation, financing of environmental studies, monitoring and other initiatives.

Moreover, the company supports equal opportunities. “According to a PwC research, ALROSA employs the highest percentage of women – 34% of the total number of employees,” the Company said.

Though ALROSA is slightly behind other representatives of the industry in terms of the average number of hours of personnel training, ALROSA has an active training centre, with about 99% of the total number of professional development courses being held at ALROSA's own training site.

In terms of the share of recycled water supply and reused water in production processes, ALROSA was found to be significantly ahead of other companies – currently this share accounts for over 90% of the total water intake.

“As can be seen from the study, the company continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions every year, and gradually upgrades its mining and passenger transport, converting it from diesel and gasoline engines to gas ones,” ALROSA noted. “As of 2018, 300 units of the company's transport are powered by natural gas, and greenhouse gas emissions in the CO2 equivalent have been reduced by half over the past five years.”

What is more, in the 2016-2018 period, ALROSA significantly reduced the share of carbon-intensive fuels in total energy consumption. “Thus, the amount of coal consumed decreased by 80%, diesel fuel by almost 90%, and crude oil by half. Moreover, the share of renewable energy exceeds 90% in the total amount of energy consumption,” the Company averred.

"ALROSA is a company of regional significance in Yakutia, with about 50,000 people living in our monotowns today,” said Sergey Ivanov, CEO of ALROSA. “Therefore, social responsibility is our top priority and we continue to be one of the leaders in this area. We also contribute to the social and economic development of the Arkhangelsk region, where our subsidiary Severalmaz operates. Our social investments in 2018 amounted to almost US$ 168 million. Separately, the company finances environmental projects, for which we allocated over US$ 76 million. These results achieved by ALROSA last year were made possible thanks to the efforts of all the company's employees,"

Maria Gordon, Member of the Supervisory Board, Senior Independent Director, Chairman of the Audit Committee commented: "Owing to its city-forming roots, ALROSA has long been a leader in community engagement. In the past few years, the board and the management has strengthened the focus on embedding the best of class HSE practices across all our facilities as we see this as a non-negotiable in terms of doing business.”