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Acron Invests RUB 257 Million in Environmental Protection

Acron Group makes significant investments each year in environmental protection. The Group’s environmental projects focus on protecting air and water resources, as well as reducing the impact of production waste. In 2017, Acron Group invested RUB 257 million in environmental protection measures.

Throughout 2017, the Group modernized its chemical plants to improve the environmental safety of its operations and products, monitored air condition at the borders of sanitary protection zones, and analysed emissions from operating facilities.

Last year, Acron upgraded its gas treatment units to improve the stability and efficiency of the ammonium nitrate, NPK, Ammonia-3 and Ammonia-4 units and reduce emissions. North-Western Phosphorous Company (NWPC) and Verkhnekamsk Potash Company (VPC) performed air monitoring and dust suppression within their license areas and irrigated waste dumps and roads in the dry season.

At its facility in Novgorod, Acron took measures to reduce the discharge of water pollutants at the biological treatment plant, as well as at the water supply and sewage, ammonium nitrate and Ammonia-4 units. Similar work was carried out at Dorogobuzh’s at water supply and sewage and industrial wastewater treatment units. NWPC is constructing a unit for treatment of open-pit and underground mine waters, while VPC received a positive finding from the state environmental expert review for construction of the surface complex with tailings facilities.

In 2017, all Acron Group companies took steps to comply with the requirements of Russian sanitary and environmental laws for handling waste generated by biological treatment of sewage. As a result, the total amount of waste was down 17.5% from 2016.

In addition, Acron (Veliky Novgorod) and Dorogobuzh (Smolensk region) organized a series of public lectures on environmental issues celebrating the Year of the Environment, aimed at improving public environmental safety awareness. VPC (Perm Krai) provided financial support for Forest Watch, an event culminating in the planting of 85 cedars, as well as the Stand Together environmental race. NWPC (Murmansk region) held an environmental campaign releasing 9,000 salmon parr into the Umba River to help preserve the unique ecosystem of the White Sea and restore the region’s aquatic biological resources.