5.1. Environmental Protection Strategy
The Gazprom Group is committed to preserving our environment for the present and future generations, reducing the negative environmental impact of its operations, and strictly complying with environmental standards and requirements. We foster cooperation in this domain with various stakeholders — local communities, employees, government agencies and non-profit organizations.
The Gazprom Group has set long-term strategic goals in environmental protection, including:
- reducing environmental footprint;
- resource saving and climate protection;
- biodiversity preservation;
- making production processes more energy efficient and cutting GHG emissions;
- protecting the interests and rights of indigenous minorities to preserve traditional lifestyles and original living environments;
- improving environmental competencies of staff, increasing employee engagement in reducing relevant risks, consistently enhancing the environmental management system (EMS) and performance indicators;
- making environmental data available to every stakeholder.
Material topic 6
The Gazprom Group’s legal compliance
Material topic 13
Emissions management at the Gazprom Group
Key documents
- Environmental Policy of PJSC Gazprom
- Comprehensive Environmental Program of PJSC Gazprom for 2020–2024
The Comprehensive Environmental Program of PJSC GazpromApproved by resolution of the Management Committee of OJSC Gazprom No. 21 dated May 21, 2015. is the underlying document formalizing the Group’s environmental commitments and implementation mechanisms.
These commitments include guaranteeing environmental safety, in particular, during the development of hydrocarbon fields in the continental shelf and the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation, and minimizing the risks of adverse environmental impacts on highly vulnerable natural environments and the environments that need to be protected and preserved as a matter of crucial importance.
The policy’s key tool is the EMS covering all governance levels.
Another core environmental document is the Comprehensive Environmental Program of PJSC Gazprom for 2020–2024 regulating the transition to consumption limits and adoption of best available technologies.
We fulfil all our commitments and require that our partners, contractors and counterparties do the same.
The Company’s EMS comprises structural units of PJSC Gazprom’s Administration, 37 wholly owned subsidiaries engaged in the Group’s core activities, Gazprom VNIIGAZ Corporate Research and Development Center for Environmental Protection and Energy Performance, and the Environmental Inspectorate of PJSC Gazprom.
Every year, PJSC Gazprom defines material environmental aspects for the EMS to update its environmental targets, develop environmental protection programs and put them into action.
Environmental targets are set for three years.
In 2022, PJSC Gazprom approved its 2023–2025 Corporate Environmental Targets using the 2018 performance as the baseline.
| Corporate Environmental Target | Organizations within the EMS scope | Baseline (2018) | Actual performance (2021) | Target achievement status | Actual performance (2022) | Target achievement status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reduce GHG emissions during transportation of natural gas, t of СО2 equivalent / bcm • km | All subsidiaries involved in natural gas transportation | 55.30 | 52.25 | 5.52% | 44.80 | 18.99% | The reduction in GHG emissions was due to energy saving efforts, innovations, greater reliance on resource-saving solutions, and decreases in natural gas consumption for fuel purposes and in product transportation volume as a result of lower gas supplies. |
| Reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in the atmosphere during transportation of natural gas, t/mcm | All subsidiaries involved in natural gas transportation | 4.23 | 4.07 | 3.78% | 4.03 | 4.73% | The reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions was due to a decrease in production and energy saving efforts. |
| Reduce excessive discharges of pollutants into surface water bodies, % | All subsidiaries | 5.29 | 0.12 | 5.17 p. p. | 0.01 | 5.28 p. p. | The reduction was due to initiatives boosting the efficiency of water use for production and utility purposes and improving the wastewater treatment quality. |
| Reduce the share of waste sent for burial in the total waste managed, % | All subsidiaries | 38.28 | 14.26 | 24.02 p. p. | 13.44 | 24.84 p. p. | Less waste was generated across all business segments due to fewer wells drilled and the completion of programs to repair fixed assets, including gas trunklines. The share of waste sent for burial went down thanks to adopted best available technologies and more efficient management of production and consumption waste as a result. |
| Reduce the share of subsidiaries whose fees for excessive negative environmental impact are above 5%, % | All subsidiaries | 35 | 13.51 | 21.49 p. p. | 5.41 | 29.59 p. p. | The share of fees for excessive environmental impact went down due to the timely issuance of permits and keeping the impact within the limits. |
The Management Committee of PJSC Gazprom is its supreme governance body for environmental protection management. To improve our corporate system of managing energy efficiency, environmental impact and sustainable development, we set up a Coordinating Committee for Rational Use of Natural Resources.
The directorate in charge of the comprehensive environmental policy and energy efficiency improvement policy oversees the Group’s environmental efforts.
The Company put in place an Energy Efficiency Improvement Task Force to ensure comprehensive environmental management and its coordination.
In 2022, the Company passed a surveillance audit to confirm the EMS compliance with the national GOST R ISO 14001-2016 standardCompliance certificate No. 22.1724.026 dated December 2, 2022.
Environmental Safety of Production Facilities
In 2022, we remained focused on mitigating our environmental impact as we implemented best available technologies, improved energy efficiency, reduced our carbon footprint, and contributed significantly to the low-carbon development of Russia and the countries importing Russian gas.
Prevention of Natural Gas Leaks
In 2022, the Company delivered record results in eliminating natural gas leaks. A full range of gas saving technologies helped prevent the release of over 2.3 bcm of gas, or more than 70% of potential release during repairs. In 2022, natural gas release into the air during repairs went down by over 42% compared to 2018.
Mobile compressor stations are one of the best ways to prevent such release. In 2022, these stations prevented over 870.75 mcm of gas from bleeding, with the figure for 2018–2022 standing at 2.21 bcm.
Environmental Training of Employees
In 2022, more than 8,000 Group employees completed environmental training programs. Efforts to promote environmental education and culture are key to increasing general awareness of sustainable development and building the right competencies.
| Indicator | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Change 2022/2021, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of employees who received environmental training | 7,999 | 7,429 | 8,055 | +8.4 |
| Including employees who received training in the EMS | 1,927 | 1,957 | 1,680 | −14.2 |
For more details on environmental training programs for the Gazprom Group’s employees, see PJSC Gazprom Environmental Report 2022.
Monitoring Compliance with Environmental Laws by Suppliers and Contractors
When selecting suppliers and contractors, the Group checks the availability of documents confirming their compliance with environmental requirements, and the appropriate technical infrastructure if necessary.
PJSC Gazprom is the only Russian company that boasts its own environmental and energy inspection bodies in charge of monitoring the compliance of its subsidiaries and contractors with legislative requirements, corporate standards and regulations on energy saving and environmental protection, and ensuring corporate control over energy consumption efficiency.
Subsidiaries of PJSC Gazprom have a construction control system in place to monitor that the suppliers and contractors working at the Company’s facilities observe obligations stipulated by PJSC Gazprom’s Environmental Policy and fulfil relevant requirements.
As part of investment project development, PJSC Gazprom’s experts perform a comprehensive environmental impact assessment to analyze the baseline state of key elements in ecosystems and identify the most vulnerable flora and fauna species. They also develop a set of measures to maintain balance in nature and minimize the environmental damage.
A special attention is paid to environmental safety in the Arctic Zone. The Company continuously monitors permafrost and takes steps to make structures more stable and resilient.