The Rosneft pavilion at VDNH hosted events to mark World Environment Day as part of the International Russia Expo. As part of the event, guests learnt about the Company's Arctic environmental projects and research expeditions.

World Environment Day has been held annually on 5 June since 1973. The aim is to raise awareness of the responsible use of natural resources. The main topic of this year's environmental day was land reclamation and halting desertification. It is supported, in particular, by forest planting and water purification activities.

Preservation of the environment for future generations is an integral part of the corporate culture and one of the key business principles of Rosneft. The Company is a member of the UN Global Compact, annually reaffirming its commitment to 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Rosneft aims to remain a reliable producer while minimising its impact on the climate and the environment.

The Company's green investments amounted to about 64 billion roubles in 2023 and exceeded the previous year's level by more than 12%. The funds were allocated to major environmental projects, including emission reduction, water resources improvement, land reclamation, and measures to improve the reliability of pipelines, among others.

Rosneft devotes considerable attention to reforestation activities, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of ecosystems, preserving biodiversity, and combating climate change. Over the last 3 years, the Company's enterprises have planted over 26 million seedlings and trees in the regions of operation.

Starting from 2022, Rosneft is implementing environmental forestation in the Krasnoyarsk region with a cumulative potential to absorb 10 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050. The project aims not only to make a significant contribution to combating climate change, but also to provide a methodological and regulatory framework for the development of climate projects in Russia.

As part of the events, an open working session on environmental forestation was held on Wednesday at Rosneft's pavilion at VDNKh, attended by representatives of Rosneft, Siberian Federal University (SFU), Saint Petersburg State Forest Technical University (SPbSFTU) and the Federal Forestry Agency. The participants discussed the regulatory framework in this sphere and ways of assessing project efficiency, as well as detailed information about the Company's environmental forestation.

Rosneft's activities involve the use of water resources, so it pays considerable attention to water management. The Company is continuously reducing the total volume of water withdrawal by 8% due to measures to reduce water consumption and the volume of water taken from natural sources. In 2023, the share of recycled and reused water exceeded 93% of the total volume of water that was used for production purposes.

Rosneft enterprises regularly carry out activities foraquatic biological resources replenishment. In 2023, the subsidiaries released more than 50 million fry into Russia's river systems.

The Ufa Refining Complex's biological waste treatment facilities processed 134 million m3 of industrial wastewater for the last five years. Biological waste treatment complex serves not only Bashneft's refineries, but also treat wastewater from 66 enterprises in Ufa's northern industrial zone and storm water runoff. Biological waste treatment complex ensures the highest level of treatment of industrial, storm and domestic wastewater, which increases the volume of reused water in technological processes by 2.5 times. The membrane reactor technology removes all impurities and microorganisms from the wastewater. As a result, the water quality meets the standards for fishery water bodies.

Rosneft devotes special attention to activities on biodiversity conservation, in particular projects to study bio-indicators of ecosystems and unique fauna under threat of extinction. The Company is implementing the largest programme since Soviet times for comprehensive study and environmental monitoring of the Arctic region. The Company has organised and led more than fifty expeditions as part of its extensive scientific research in the Arctic. For more than 12 years, a unique set of data on the region, its climate, nature and wildlife has been collected, allowing scientists to draw sound conclusions about the state of northern ecosystems and develop measures to conserve them. Specialists from leading Russian scientific organisations take part in the researches organised by the Company. The work is carried out with modern high-tech equipment: laboratory aircraft, ice-class ships, thermal imaging cameras, geo-transmitters, artificial intelligence software and others.

In 2023, Rosneft expanded its programme to study and conserve bioindicator species in the Arctic region. In 2024 - 2027 the research will take place in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. During the expeditions, biologists will conduct the first-ever aerial survey of polar bears in the Kara Sea, monitor wild reindeer and fish populations at the mouth of the Yenisey River, and check nesting sites for rare bird species. Scientists will map the ecological sensitivity of the shores of Yenisey Bay and the adjacent waters of the Kara Sea.

Rosneft Information Division
Rosneft Oil Company
June 5, 2024

Keywords: Environmental news 2024