Environmental protection
Material TOPICS
- Energy
- Managing the climate impact
- Air emissions
- Water
- Effluents discharge
- Waste
- Сircular economy
- Sustainable agriculture and soil health
GRI, SASB metrics
SASB FB-AG-110a.1 SASB FB-AG-140a.1.1
2021 highlights
ENERGY INTENSITY
CONTRIBUTION TO THE UN SDGs
Environmental management system
GRI 102-11 GRI 103-2Rusagro's production activities have an impact on various components of the environment. The measures taken by the Company to alleviate its negative environmental impact are aimed at complying with Russian laws, introducing best related practices and continuously seeking ways to optimise production processes.
The Company's main environmental goals are to save all kinds of resources, reduce the amount of waste, discharges and emissions generated, reuse raw materials and materials and switch to a circular economy.
Rusagro is guided by the following environmental principles:
- compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and standards;
- consistency in addressing environmental security;
- prevention of adverse effects on people and the environment;
- full disclosure on environmental protection and environmental safety activities.
Environmental management system
Governance structure and environmental protection regulations
GRI 103-2Environmental management involves all levels of the Company. Operational management is handled by environmental specialists under the supervision of line managers and site directors.
Senior management's key performance indicators (KPIs) at some production areas take into account the effectiveness of environment protection activities as to their compliance with legal requirements to minimise the amount of potential fines.
KPIs are also set for Rusagro's line employees: for example, for environmental specialists in relation to the amount of resources used and waste generated, the number of violations and relevant corrective actions.
The environmental goals are accomplished through the development strategy of business segments. The Oil and Fats Business has an Environmental Policy in place in exemplification of the best practice adopted. Detailed requirements for environmental management are contained in the Company's
Environmental compliance controls
GRI 103-2An essential element of the environmental management system is regular industrial environmental monitoring and internal audits, the results of which are used to prepare corrective action plans and to appoint responsible parties.
Contractors are also subject to in-process monitoring of compliance with environmental protection rules, in particular for Regulations on Tender Procedures and Regulations on Safe Works Performance by Contractors at the Customer's Site that each Business Segment has in place.
The environmental management system at some of Rusagro's enterprises also includes internal environmental audits as an additional tool for verifying compliance with environmental regulations to assess the current state of the management system.
The standard for capital construction investment projects in the Meat Business covers environmental requirements not only for construction companies, but also for the originators of design documentation, and stipulates that all stages of any project are to be witnessed by an environmental protection specialist. This practice ensures that the design documentation is reviewed in a timely manner to incorporate necessary environmental requirements and appropriate amendments, thus avoiding the risk of environmental violations in the future.
Environmental training and development of employees
GRI 103-2Rusagro is constantly working towards improving the skills of its environmental team by giving them trainings on highly specialised issues relating to particular environmental aspects. Employees of the Company's environmental services also regularly participate in professional community meetings, round tables and conferences to exchange experience and to shape agenda on current environmental issues, as well as join in Company-hosted training events aimed to develop the environmental safety competencies, such as training in hazardous waste management. To promote a culture of caring attitude to resources and to prevent the environment contamination, Rusagro conducts special events, including waste paper and waste collection and cleaning of territories.
In 2021, Oil and Fats Business in Ulyanovsk run environmental campaigns to collect waste paper, plastic bottle tops and batteries: "Donate Waste Paper – Save a Tree!" and "Kind Bottle Tops".
Environmental risk management
GRI 103-2Environmental risks management builds on a regular review of production processes and related environmental aspects handled by Rusagro's environmental staff on a monthly basis and involves a risk management action plan to be drawn up and accomplished through industrial environmental control programmes.
The four-fold increase in the number of environmental improvement notices filed in 2021 compared to 2020 resulted from a larger number of planned inspections conducted by supervisory authorities. The increase in the total fines was not as significant and exceeded the previous reporting period base by 30%.
Sustainable agriculture as a contribution to the global Sustainable Development Goals
Rusagro recognises the responsibility and importance of its contribution to food security, quality and availability.
The Company's agricultural activities are governed by adaptive landscape cropping projects based on science-based principles, stipulating agrolandscape stability and soil fertility recovery achieved through planning optimal quantity and quality of agricultural products, taking into account the existing environmental and economic factors of the region, market demand, as well as available natural and production resources.
The key sustainable farming methods include:
- multi-cropping in the crop rotation system;
- use of cover (green manure) crops;
- mulching of the soil surface;
- application of mineral and organo-mineral fertilizers;
- satellite monitoring of the crops condition.
Rusagro's sustainable farming projects
Over recent years, Rusagro has made significant efforts to enable the utilisation of by-products as organic fertilizers, which are made out of liquid manure effluents and lime defecate from sugar production. In addition to the direct benefit of maintaining and improving soil yields, the
The Company's initiative for computer-aided monitoring of plant health and growth involves Cropio, a digital service for remote monitoring of farming lands, which allows for operational satellite monitoring of crop area condition, observation of plants growing and accumulation of analytical data on changes in the condition of fields for further forecasting and planning of agricultural operations.
In 2021, Rusagro's launched a comprehensive initiative under the Fertility Project to preserve and enhance soil fertility, including a soil survey and a soil enrichment action plan. Moreover, the Project envisages a discriminatory application of mineral and organic fertilisers, as well as sowing of perennial leguminous grasses on selected fields for two to three years to let the land rest.
Soil conservation
GRI 103-1Land resources are one of Rusagro's most important assets – the Agriculture Segment remains the Company's most profitable business.
Farming is a factor that affects soil and land resources the most, especially in terms of physical stress to soils and landscapes, soil fertility and chemical and biological impact.
Impacts on soil from other Rusagro's segments mainly include the operation of equipment and machinery, construction works on industrial sites, and area contamination with waste generated before the Company acquired the said areas.
Soil conservation approach
GRI 103-2There are two areas the soil conservation measures are focused on: first – sustainable agriculture practices described in "Sustainable Agriculture as a Contribution to the Global Sustainable Development Goals", and second – environmental safety initiatives.
The environmental safety measures cover the following areas:
- development of plans and instructions on the conduct of activities in compliance with soil conservation rules, including individual technical regulations on fertilizer utilisation;
- control over compliance with soil conservation regulations and regular monitoring of soil conditions at facility boundaries to assess the potential spread of pollution;
- in cases of pollution, development of disturbed land recultivation programmes, setting forth time frames and necessary resources to deliver a programme.
Prevention of soil pollution and disturbance
Rusagro uses organic manure-based fertilizer to improve soil quality, but there may be an adverse environmental impact in case of process upsets. To drive out soil pollution risks, there are process-related regulations, which set out the necessary environmental safety measures. Wash-out of manure is prevented by preparatory and preventive activities, and ammonia emissions into the atmosphere are minimised through a closed manure application method.
Long-standing soil pollutions by fuel oil and sulphur at the sugar plants occurred before the Company acquired the said assets. Depollution of soils includes a thorough survey of the areas and subsequent remediation of the contaminated sites.
Planting
Planting and site cleanup are aimed to maintain soil health and prevent littering up.
In the reporting period, for example, areas adjacent to the pig farms of the Meat Business were subject to planting. Bedding more than 22 ths trees and shrubs is scheduled for 2022 to plant the filtration fields of the Chernyansky sugar plant around the perimeter, which will have a general sanitary and protective effect and lead to an annual absorption of greenhouse gases of at least 8.3 tonnes.
Climate change and impacts on the atmosphere
GRI 305-7The bulk of Rusagro's air emissions are generated by its boiler houses, which supply heat and power stations and heat production buildings and in the process emit greenhouse gases, nitrogen and sulphur oxides into the air.
A significant volume of emissions in Agriculture, Sugar and Oil and Fats Segments comes from particulate matter emissions generated during grain harvesting and sugar beet and sunflower seeds processing, whereas in the Meat Business, emissions are mainly represented by volatile organic compounds such as methane, carbon dioxide and ammonia.
The Sugar Business records the greatest amount of air emissions, accounting for almost half of the total volume (48%), while the Agriculture Segment enjoys the least figure in this area (9%).
An approach to managing climate impacts and air emissions
GRI 103-2Emissions and climate impact management encompasses a number of important process-related and organisational aspects, such as energy resources and energy efficiency management system, emissions and effluents treatment methods, which are all related to impacts on air quality and the climate. Work is also underway to align the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions calculation methodology with global best practices.
Below are the key initiatives towards the reduction of atmospheric emissions:
- optimising processes and upgrading production equipment;
- improving the efficiency of gas-cleaning and dust-trapping equipment;
- conducting regular industrial environmental monitoring.
The molasses desugarisation process involves the emission of pollutants, such as ammonia. In 2021, the Chernyansky sugar plant launched an emission treatment system. As confirmed by the measurements taken by an independent laboratory, the achieved design efficiency of ammonia removal was at least 90%.
The problem of reducing emissions of air pollutants at meat processing plants is approached in a holistic way, for example, manure removal processes employs compounds that reduce the content of ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and methylmercaptan in emissions. Pig farms upgrade their microclimate and climate control systems, and the construction of new facilities involves energy-saving technologies.
2021 highlights
GRI 305-1 GRI 305-2 GRI 305-4SASB FB-AG-110A.1
In 2021, the total greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) amounted to 2,419 ths tonnes
The total volume of air emissions in the reporting year went up by 43% due to the expansion and increase in production capacity in the Meat Business, as well as the year-on-year extension of the agricultural season. The latter has a direct impact on air emissions in the Sugar and Agriculture Business Segments.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
GRI 103-1As Rusagro’s assets are mainly represented by industrial facilities, they consume significant amounts of energy resources, with the Sugar Business being the largest consumer, and the Agriculture Business – the smallest.
Natural gas is the main type of energy resources used by the Company, accounting for 71% of total energy consumption.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
GRI 103-2Rusagro’s business segments have standards in place to ensure the activities are carried out in line with the energy management system requirements and regularly develop and review energy strategies to set energy management goals.
Measures to reduce energy usage and improve energy efficiency fall under the following focus areas:
- control and monitoring of energy consumption and technological processes, including through automation means;
- replacement of energy-intensive equipment with energy-saving equipment and transition to in-house power generation;
- repair and regular maintenance of equipment to improve energy efficiency.
Rusagro’s oil extraction plants has recycling boilers in place to burn husks, which is a
2021 HIGHLIGHTS
GRI 302-1The total energy consumption increased by 4% in 2021, while the energy intensity indicators went down. For example, energy intensity per product made and per product sold to a third party dropped by 3% and 4% respectively in the reporting year, while energy intensity per consolidated revenue fell by 27%.
IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES
GRI 103-1Surface and ground water bodies are mainly exposed during water withdrawals and effluents discharge.
Most of the water is withdrawn from natural sources: surface water bodies (rivers) account for about 56% of the total water withdrawals, while groundwater – about 38%.
AN APPROACH TO MANAGING IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES
Rusagro works towards smaller exposure of water bodies and make each and every efforts to reduce withdrawals from water bodies and improve the quality of effluents discharged.
Measures to improve resource usage efficiency cover the following focus areas:
- introduction of water recycling systems and reuse of water, including treated effluents;
- automation of water consumption processes to control the withdrawals, consume water exactly as required and identify and repair leaks in a timely manner;
- audit and monitoring of water consumption, detection of water misuse.
Effluents treated at sugar plants’ filtration fields posted an average reduction in biological and chemical oxygen demand in 2021 as the process drains of exhausted molasses were no longer discharged to the filtration fields, and the total volume of exhausted molasses was collected and sold to external customers as fuel for biogas plants. Another resultant environmental benefit was the significant
Effluents discharge into surface water bodies takes place at the facilities of the Oil and–Sugar Business. The Sugar Business stopped using two discharge points as a result of the reduced water consumption. Effluents of the Meat and Agriculture Segments are only discharged to public utility services.
Measures to improve effluents quality cover the following focus areas:
- introduction of a system for recording and analysing incoming information on effluent quality;
- quality inspection of artesian groundwater;
- construction of new and update of existing local effluents treatment facilities at production sites.
The Oil and Fats Business put in practice pre-project inspections of industrial and domestic wastewater collection and treatment systems with the purpose to evaluate the actual condition and operating characteristics of the effluents treatment facilities and assess their real performance. The results gained are used to tailor optimal technical solutions for the elimination of the discovered shortcomings.
2021 HIGHLIGHTS
GRI 303-3 SASB FB-AG-140A.1.1 In the reporting year, Rusagro recorded the reduction in its total water withdrawals – to 21,513 ths cubic metres, down 16%
Despite an overall decrease in water consumption, there was a slight increase in discharge in 2021, amounting to 9,736 ths cubic metres, up 6%
GRI 303-3 GRI 303-5
The Sugar Business is the most water consuming segment of the Company (47% of the total volume) as it requires a significant amount of water to cool the equipment used in heat/mass transfer processes and to cover the needs of the beet processing and sugar production activities.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
GRI 103-1 Waste management is an important environmental factor for Rusagro. The key issue here is not the type of waste (the bulk of which falls within
Hazardous wastes mainly include mercury lamps, lead batteries and waste oil products and are given to specialised contractors for further disposal.
APPROACH TO WASTE MANAGEMENT
GRI 103-2The aims of the Company’s waste management efforts are to minimise waste generation, align the production activities with waste management regulations, and to be in constant search for alternative uses of waste and reuse of materials and raw materials generated during such activities.
The waste management efforts cover the following focus areas:
- reuse of waste and circular economy principles implementation;
- records of waste generation and movement and enforcement of waste management regulations.
To promote rational use of recyclable materials and waste management, the Oil and Fats Business piloted a project to introduce a unified waste management system at the production sites, with one contractor covering collection, transportation and neutralisation of hazardous waste, and another – dealing with the entire cycle of collection, preparation and disposal of recyclable waste.
The Meat Business screened the recyclables market and identified the most demanded types of waste, as well as purchased new containers for waste separate collection. The Agriculture Business started collecting plastic packaging and waste paper at all its sites and appointed employees responsible for this process.
Rusagro has a widespread practice of recycling
Rusagro perfects waste management practices by applying the best available technologies. For example, new pig farms in the Tambov Region rolled out a technology of manure separation into solid and liquid fractions, which accelerated the organic fertiliser maturation process and allowed to register it as a certified
2021 HIGHLIGHTS
GRI 306-3Due to the certification of manure waste products (hazard class III) and lime defecate (hazard class V) as organic fertilisers and their delistment from the total waste balance, the 2021 year is characterised with a downfall in the total amount of waste generated – from 3,988 ths tonnes to 118 ths tonnes.
WASTE GENERATION BY WASTE HAZARD CLASS
tonnes
| Waste hazard class | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| II | 45 | 44 | 21 | 41 | 30 |
| III | 3,247,242 | 3,438,709 | 3,737,641 | 3,677,367 | 129 |
| IV | 1,908 | 2,194 | 19,792 | 13,822 | 22,570 |
| V | 8,647 | 10,835 | 378,625 | 296,830 | 95,151 |
GRI 306-4 GRI 306-5
As the considerable amount of waste was eliminated from the total volume due to recertification of manure drains and lime defecate, the specific waste generation indicators also decreased accordingly.
WASTE MANAGEMENT BY WASTE HANDLING METHODS
tonnes
| Waste handling methods | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waste diverted from disposa, including: | 106,435 | 37,729 | 70,295 |
| | 29,014 | 28,463 | 30,094 |
| | 77,421 | 9,266 | 40,201 |
| Waste destruction, including: | 25,033 | 22,163 | 32,591 |
| | 0 | 0 | 6,717 |
| | 7,049 | 0 | 2,564 |
| | 14,390 | 16,216 | 17,084 |
| | 3,594 | 5,947 | 6,227 |