2020 Sustainability Report
Metinvest publishes its 2020 Sustainability Report
Since 2010, Metinvest, as a member of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, has sought to contribute to the achievement of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Goals 8, 9, 11 and 12 were Group's priorities in 2020. In addition, Metinvest prioritised Goal 13: Climate Action. The Group focused on meeting occupational health and safety standards, sustaining and developing local communities, renewing approaches to operational efficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic, upgrading equipment to reduce its environmental impact, and developing a comprehensive action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency.
Corporate governance
Metinvest continued to improve its corporate governance system. During a comprehensive environmental, social policy and corporate governance (ESG) performance assessment, Sustainalytics assessed as strong the Group's approach to risk management in all categories of corporate governance due to its high standards of business ethics, effective anti-bribery and anti-corruption programmes, and product quality control.
Environmental protection
In 2020, the Group invested over US$200 million in environmental projects, a record amount. In particular, Metinvest completed the major work in a large-scale reconstruction of the sinter plant at Ilyich Steel. The project is one of the largest environmental projects in Ukraine's history.
Priorities for Metinvest’s green agenda include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Over the last decade, Metinvest has significantly reduced its carbon footprint and is currently working on a pathway for the decarbonisation of its production process.
Although legal requirements to disclose data on greenhouse gas emissions under the new methodology in Ukraine beginning from 2022, Metinvest has already recalculated historical indicators and disclosed them in this report to ensure transparency and accountability. The data also provides for comparability with peer mining and metals companies.
Health and safety
In 2020, Metinvest achieved a record low workplace injury rate.
Metinvest’s safety roadmap won the IIRSM Risk Excellence Awards 2020 in the Change Programme of the Year category.
The Group’s health and safety budget totalled US$106 million in 2020, a 4% year-on-year increase.
Human Capital Management
In 2020, the Group provided over 69,000 jobs worldwide. Metinvest was recognised as being among the best employers in Ukraine according to several authoritative ratings.
One of last year's significant events was the founding of Metinvest Polytechnic, the first non-state mining and metallurgical university with programmes based on international educational standards. The university will be open to everyone who wants to join the engineering and technical professions in demand in Ukraine today, as well as to Metinvest employees who want to improve their skills.
Social partnership programmes
In 2020, Metinvest allocated over US$15 million for the development of local communities. The Group implemented more than 200 projects aimed at improving infrastructure, developing healthcare and education, supporting culture and sports, and enhancing environmental awareness in the regions where Metinvest operates.
The Master of Public Administration training programme for municipalities, supported by Metinvest, took first place in the 2020 UN Global Compact Partnership for Sustainability Award in the Economic Development category.
Coronavirus actions
Metinvest joined the global fight against coronavirus by taking unprecedented measures to protect the health of employees and local communities in the regions where it operates.
In 2020, the Group allocated almost US$6 million to support local communities in managing the pandemic. In particular, the Group’s assets provided hospitals with medical equipment, medical supplies, oxygen infrastructure and oxygen supplies. Metinvest also assisted the government of Ukraine in delivering humanitarian cargo from China during the initial outbreak of the pandemic.
Metinvest's spending on preventing the spread of COVID-19 among employees amounted to around US$5 million. The funds were used for the purchase of protective masks, respirators and gloves, thermometers and pyrometers for temperature control, and disinfectants for the sanitation of work areas and vehicles.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov
CEO of Metinvest Group"We will remain focused on strengthening our relationships with our stakeholders. This includes improving the efficiency of the corporate governance system, ensuring the safety of our facilities, reducing our environmental impact, providing for the wellbeing of our employees, and developing our local communities. We will continue to take the necessary measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in order to protect our people and communities, as their lives and health are of the greatest value to us."