Environmental Protection

In order to fulfil its objectives in the reporting year, the Company:

• Complied with the requirements of environmental legislation:
  • Performed environmental rationing through an inventory of sources of emissions of harmful (polluting) substances into the atmospheric air for objects of negative impact on the environment
  • Developed draft sanitary protection zones for 23 facilities of the Company (production sites and substations) to establish special territories with a special use regime to ensure the level of public safety during normal operation of the facilities
• As part of its obligations under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, phased out 731 spent condensers containing trichlorodiphenyls and ensured their environmentally sound disposal and replaced them with more environmentally friendly equipment
• Complied with the established standards for permissible environmental impact: industrial environmental monitoring at stationary sources of pollutant emissions and wastewater collection, as well as sanitary monitoring of atmospheric air pollution in the zone of influence of the facilities; the indicators of negative environmental impact, based on measurements taken by accredited laboratories, do not exceed the environmental protection standards
• Improved the environmental management system by enhancing its efficiency and planning its business activities, giving priority to significant environmental aspects:
  • Environmental control managers and specialists of the Company, who were trained in 2022 in the course: Internal Auditor of the Environmental Management System According to ISO 14001:2015 conducted an internal environmental audit
  • To preserve biodiversity and ensure ornithological safety, 2,977 bird diverters were installed, and 728.48 km of overhead lines were built/renovated using self-supporting insulated wires
  • Emergency oil discharge systems and transformer oil receivers at 31 substations were repaired (renovated) to prevent potential environmental contamination
  • Nine tonnes of transformer oil, after treatment (regeneration), were reused to reduce the use of natural resources

Gross emissions of pollutants into the ambient air decreased by 45.8% compared to 2021. Operation of vehicles, machines (cutting, drilling, woodworking, turning and sharpening), the performance of welding and painting works, chemical analysis of transformer oils, transformer oil storage are the main sources of atmospheric air pollution.

Rosseti Kuban accumulates waste at its production sites for a period not exceeding 11 months for the purpose of further transfer to specialised organisations. Waste accumulation sites are equipped as required by environmental and sanitary legislation, selective storage is organised, waste is picked up in a timely manner, and personnel are informed of the rules for handling production and consumption waste. In 2022, 22.6% less waste is transferred to specialised organisations for disposal and treatment compared to 2021. This is due to a reduction in the generation of hazard classes 1 and 2 waste.

Planning and implementation of environmental protection measures complied with the Environmental Policy of Rosseti Kuban and the obligations to apply the most advanced technical solutions that eliminate the impact of harmful substances on the environment, to prevent environmental risks, and to improve the environmental management system.

The Company keeps its voluntary environmental responsibility mechanisms up to date. Rosseti Kuban’s environmental management system has been put in place, assessed and certified as meeting the requirements of ISO 14001 international standard, Environmental Management System, since March 2009. No non-compliance with the requirements of ISO 14001:2015, Environmental Management System, was identified in 2022 based on the results of a surveillance audit conducted by Russian Certification Technologies, LLC. The environmental management system enables the Company to effectively manage environmental risks, prevent and reduce its negative impact on the environment, thus enhancing the Company’s image.