ALROSA has been confirmed as a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series, a global series that rates a company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. The evaluations are carried out by global index and data provider FTSE Russell and the index is used by a wide variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds and other products.

The Russian miner was first included in the FTSE4Good Index in 2016 and has been retained every year after that as one of the global businesses that meet a variety of environmental, social and governance criteria. 

“We are pleased that our sustainability efforts have been positively assessed by FTSE Russell for the fourth consecutive year. As the world leader in diamond mining and a major Russian subsoil user, ALROSA is trying to show by its example that modern diamond mining is a transparent, responsible business that meets the best international practices,” noted Sergey Ivanov, CEO of ALROSA.

He added that the company pays great attention to environmental safety and combating climate change on the planet, introducing the latest energy and resource-saving technologies. “Together with our business, the regions where we operate are also developing: we take into account the values of the indigenous people, respect the rights of employees, implement corporate social programs, and create all the conditions for a comfortable life of people,” Ivanov said.

In 2018, ALROSA allocated almost RUB 11 billion (approx. US$ 172 million) for social investments, including pension payments, regional development programmes, corporate social programmes for employees and their families, and about 500 social and charitable projects. Environmental expenditures exceeded RUB 5 billion (approx. US$ 78 million).

ALROSA said that it also has a BB rating in the MSCI ESG rating system that assesses environment, social responsibility and corporate governance. Besides, the company is in the top 10 of the environmental responsibility rating of Russian mining companies developed on the initiative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) of Russia and the UNDP / GEF project of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia. In 2019, the company received the Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF) award for implementing social projects in the regions where it operates (Community Stewardship).