Environmental protection and innovations in recycling were discussed at the plenary session

The plenary session "Investing in Ecology - Investing in the Future" was held at the International RUSSIA EXPO on January 26 as part of the Ecology Day. Its participants discussed the contribution of business in preventing environmental pollution, talked about environmental challenges facing both the state and industrial business structures.

"Our country is a stabilizing supplier of food to the world market. The same can be said about ecology. We rank first in the world in terms of the area of specially protected territories. Russia is actually the lungs of the planet. And we realize our responsibility for preserving Russia's unique natural wealth. That is why all environmental reforms in our country are being developed based on the principle of balancing the interests of the country's development and environmental preservation," Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Victoria Abramchenko emphasized in her speech.

According to her, in recent years the Government has adopted more than 300 nature protection regulations in various spheres. And the most important role in the field of environmental protection belongs to Russian business - without ecological modernization of enterprises it is impossible to achieve national development goals.

Victoria Abramchenko also spoke about the new norms concerning waste processing.

"On the instructions of the President, we are reforming the system of extended liability of manufacturers and importers. If earlier there was a principle of "polluter pays", and the polluter constantly evaded responsibility, now the principle of extended responsibility can be formulated differently - "recycle or pay". From January 1, 2027, the entire volume of packaging produced or imported into Russia must be recycled," said Victoria Abramchenko.

President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin noted that in recent years environmental safety issues have been at the center of attention of companies' activities.

"Undoubtedly, foreign economic restrictions, severe sanctions pressure could not but affect the investment opportunities of companies. Nevertheless, according to our surveys, we see that 35% of companies have already undertaken major investments in 2022-23, and the same number of companies plan to spend in 2024. Capital investment without environmental modernization is impossible. The agenda is key not only because it is "trendy", but because any new technology inevitably has environmental components. That is why companies are trying to find reserves for investments in ecology without slowing down," said Alexander Shokhin.

Alexey Mordashov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PJSC Severstal, is confident that the topic of climate protection and environmental protection continues to be extremely important and pressing for Russian business.

"There has been a lot of talk that under the conditions of sanctions and revision of our economic ties, ecology will take a back seat. All this does not correspond to reality. We understand perfectly well that the topic of climate change is urgent, and to think that Russia can remain on the sidelines is an illusion. For Russian business, as for all companies in the world, it is important to maintain efforts to decarbonize and protect the environment. This is not a matter of ratings. We are responsible to future generations and we must leave our planet fit for life," emphasized Alexey Mordashov.

Vladimir Bogdanov, General Director of OJSC Surgutneftegas, emphasized in his speech that eco-riendliness of production is one of the strategic tasks for the enterprises.

"Over the last five years alone, we have allocated 154 billion rubles for environmental preservation. We act in full compliance with the environmental legislation of the country, but we also show our own initiative to protect nature without slowing down," said Vladimir Bogdanov.

The participants of the plenary session also paid attention to the issue of waste recycling.

"If we talk about the target task of working with waste, it is just the extraction of useful things, if not fossils, then fractions from waste. If we combine the municipal solid waste projects and the closed cycle economy, it is just a project about raw material redistribution. We are saying that after a certain period of time, which is quite ambitious and short in our plans set by the President and the Government, we must switch from the basic consumption of original raw materials to the consumption of secondary resources. And bring these shares to extremely significant parameters. By 2030 they should make from 20 to 50% depending on direction," said Denis Butsaev, Director General of the Public-Legal Company Russian Ecological Operator.

The International RUSSIA EXPO is the most important achievements of the country gathered in one place. During the whole time of the Exposition, guests are welcomed by cultural events, a rich business and educational program. The expositions of 89 regions of Russia, leading federal departments, corporations and public organizations are presented to the visitors.