Approach to sustainability management

Approach to sustainability management

As one of the top steel producers in the world, EVRAZ is committed to integrating the principles and values of sustainable development into our daily operations. The Group recognises that sustainable development is a key factor in ensuring long-term stability, market competitiveness, and the ability to create value for stakeholders.

In order to implement the EVRAZ vision for sustainable development at all levels, we have integrated social and environmental aspects into the Code of Conduct. The code provides an overall direction and vision for the Group’s management for conducting business, based on the following principles:

For more details see the Code of Conduct, which is available on the Group’s official website.

The Group works in four main areas in the sphere of sustainable development.

In order to build an effective system of sustainable development it is essential to facilitate strong partnerships with our stakeholders. We are constantly engaged in having an open dialogue with stakeholders and we actively implement various stakeholder engagement mechanisms to maintain transparent and mutually beneficial relations.

For more information see section Stakeholder engagement.

In order to ensure that a consistent approach is applied and that best practices are adopted across our global operations we adhere to the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in all of our sustainable development activities.

The Group’s commitments are based on the best international standards and practices. We fully endorse the provisions of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and respect the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of individuals.

Key documents

EVRAZ has a set of internal documents that regulate activities in the area of sustainable development. The main documents are the following:

• The Code of Conduct
• The Health, Safety and Environment Policy
• Social Investment Guidelines and Sponsorship and Charity Policy
• Anti-Corruption Policy
• The Hotline Policy
• The Policy on Main Procurement Principles

Organisational structure

The management of sustainable development issues is integrated into all levels of the Group’s corporate governance system.

The Group’s Board of Directors and committees decide on the general sustainable development direction to be taken by EVRAZ, while the CEO and Management supervise and monitor activities related to sustainable development.

Directorates are responsible for setting targets and performing specific tasks and initiatives according to their functionality, and are accountable to a corresponding Vice President. The managers of segments are responsible for implementing sustainable development initiatives according to their business functions.

Our inputs in attaining Sustainable Development Goals

The Group understands the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 to address significant economic, environmental, and social challenges.

We strive to make our own contribution to the attainment of global goals, by implementing fair and transparent business practices, reducing the impacts that our operational activity have on the environment and local communities, and maximising the positive values that we can bring to society.

SDG	Our input
	Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages Ensuring high medical insurance standards for our employees and their families in the framework of our compensation package Supporting projects aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles among our employees, devoting particular attention to young specialists, and in communities of our regions of operation Investing in building sports facilities in regions of operation
	Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all Providing professional education opportunities for all our staff Supporting social projects to facilitate education and to improve conditions in educational institutions in regions
	Ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all Reducing fresh water consumption including water from surface sources Increasing the quality and volume of recycled water
	Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all Decreasing electricity use in each segment of the Group Promoting initiatives related to generating electricity in-house
	Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all Fulfilling our tax liabilities Providing equal social guarantees and creating equal opportunities for high-performance work and professional growth for our employees Providing healthy and safe working conditions Employment creation in regions of operation
	Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation Investing in infrastructure development projects in regions of operation
	Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns Decreasing the volume of waste generated during production activities Increasing the volume of waste recycled
	Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts Reducing CO2 emissions by lowering the consumption of energy resources and by improving efficiency
	Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Rehabilitation of disturbed lands and landscaping activities Restoration of aquatic biodiversity Socio-ecological campaigns being managed jointly by municipal administrations
	Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels Compliance with applicable legislation, including in relation to human rights protection The proactive implementation of anti-corruption and bribery initiatives, discouraging conflicts of interest Working with the state authorities to meet the needs of local communities
	Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable developments Implementing and supporting sustainability initiatives promoted by Russian and international sector associations and institutions