Acron Group invests heavily in environmental protection each year. The Group’s environmental projects focus on protecting air and water resources and reducing the impact of production waste. In 2019, Acron Group invested RUB 213 million in environmental protection measures.
Over the course of 2019, the Group’s chemical enterprises upgraded their main shops to improve the environmental safety of their operations and products.
Acron (Novgorod region) implemented air protection measures and performed technical upgrades at its NPK and nitric acid units. The Group also continued monitoring the condition of forest land and soil in the Company’s sanitary protection zone. Independent experts perform an annual assessment of the condition of the forest around Acron each year in order to develop measures as necessary to preserve the ecological diversity of the forest in the sanitary protection zone.
Dorogobuzh (Smolensk region) adopted measures at its AN, NPK, and ammonia units and its railway workshop in order to ensure the stable and efficient operation of the gas treatment units and to comply with emission standards for emission points.
NWPC’s Oleniy Ruchey mine in Murmansk region installed new dust removal systems in the buildings as part of the second stage of the processing plant construction. These measures are key for improving both the environmental situation and the workplaces inside the workshops. Approximately RUB 10 million were invested in the dust aspiration equipment.
To protect water resources, Acron implemented measures to meet wastewater treatment parameters and comply with sanitary laws at its biological treatment plant, as well as at the NPK unit and the water supply and sewage units. Dorogobuzh’s measures to protect surface waters involved maintaining the trouble-free operation of biological treatment plants and hydraulic structures. NWPC spent RUB 2.5 million to release 12,000 fry into a tributary of the Umba River in the White Sea basin.
The Group introduced new technologies to reduce waste generation. In 2019, the Group also took measures to comply with the requirements of Russian sanitary and environmental laws when handling waste generated during biological wastewater treatment and the operation of waste disposal facilities.
In the reporting year, the Group remained under the permitted values for all indices related to air and water resources protection and waste management.
In 2019, Acron Group won the high-profile Ecology and Environmental Management award as part of a contest called Russia’s Top 100 Organisations.