OREANDA-NEWS. Mechel signs ecological program agreement. The agreement was signed at the session of the interdepartmental task force on implementing ecological measures at the Chelyabinsk Region’s industrial facilities.

The agreement on cooperation between the Federal Supervisory Natural Resources Management Service (Rosprirodnadzor), the Chelyabinsk Region’s government and Mechel PAO on ensuring safe and socially responsible functioning of Mechel Group’s facilities was signed by Mechel PAO’s Chief Executive Officer Oleg Korzhov. The agreement was then forwarded to Governor Boris Dubrovsky for his signature.

The task force’s members also approved Mechel’s technical specifications for the ecological audit to be held at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant and Mechel Coke. The audit will enable the company to determine what primary measures must be taken to reduce the facilities’ impact on the environment. The independent examination’s parameters were developed in compliance with the requirements of federal environmental watchdogs and non-governmental organisations. The technical specifications reflect the company’s intention to bring in professional ecological auditors with extensive experience of conducting such examinations, as well as hyper-focused technical experts.

During the audit, independent experts will conduct extensive on-site inspections of the facilities, including waste emitters, gas and waste water treatment stations, and waste disposal areas.

“This agreement that Mechel signed today confirms the company’s intention to increase ecological safety at our Chelyabinsk facilities. We have already begun working on one of this document’s key points — conducting an ecological audit. Today at the task force’s session we discussed and approved our technical specifications for this audit, which were developed together with Rosprirodnadzor and the Chelyabinsk Region’s environment ministry, and approved by the region’s public chamber and government. The company is interested in an objective inspection of its facilities and development of efficient programs on reducing our impact on the environment, which will follow the ecological safety measures we have already taken,” Mechel PAO’s Chief Executive Officer Oleg Korzhov noted.

“We have carefully analyzed all documents pertaining to the development of these technical specifications, bringing in representatives of the expert community and non-governmental organizations. We found no fault with them. We think that the audit may begin. This is a good example for other companies,” the Russian State Duma’s Deputy Vladimir Burmatov noted.