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Delo Group held a round table "Sustainable Logistics: Global Trends and Development of Russian Market"

On October 5, 2021, Delo Group held a round table “Sustainable Logistics: Global Trends and Development of the Russian Market”. Top executives of several leading companies operating in the markets of logistics services, metallurgy, food, and non-food production goods, discussed the tasks, issues and problems of the transition to a permanent practice of sustainable activity.

Igor Yakovenko, Chief Executive Officer of Management Company Delo, the parent company of Delo Group, noted that over 28 years the Group has invested USD 874 million in development of logistics infrastructure . Previously, sustainable development issues were not a cornerstone of its businesses. However, current global trends are contributing to a change in approaches to the implementation of sustainability principles at the Group's enterprises. The largest business partners of the Group, Cargill, and Maersk, with significant experience in moving along this path, set the pace for the Group's assets to comply with new international standards. It is already understood today that the investments in sustainable development can be an additional competitive advantage for the Group when attracting new customers.

And the assets are making real steps towards the sustainability- since January 1, 2022, the KSK and NUTEP terminals in Novorossiysk will switch to wind power supplied by the divisions of another major business partner of the Group, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom. Several other "green" projects are under development, some of which are planned to be implemented jointly with Cargill and Maersk.

Alexander Isurin, the President and Chairman of the Management Board of TransContainer, a part of Delo Group, emphasized that the main goal of the company's activities within the ESG strategy is to create an integrated transport corridor where customers could receive the entire range of high-quality logistics services with a proven lowest carbon footprint. He noted that the rail transportation today has a minimal impact on the environment in comparison with the rest of the transport, this was appreciated by both cargo owners and end consumers, having given preference to this type of logistics since last year.

But to further conquer the market and create an integrated transport corridor, serious investments are required in infrastructure - in terminals and border crossings.

Irina Bakhtina, Director for Sustainable Development of RUSAL, raised the issues of monetizing the results of the ESG strategy implementation. She stressed that aluminum production is one of the most challenging industries to reduce its carbon footprint. Therefore, RUSAL, initially following the strategy of a secure future adopted back in 2007, and then several climate targets updated every 7-10 years as they are achieved, is pursuing a decarbonization course that requires significant investments in the technological re-equipment of enterprises. As part of the En + Group, RUSAL has committed to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. According to Irina Bakhtina, 99.9% of the energy for the needs of RUSAL's main enterprises comes today from low- and carbon-free sources, primarily from hydropower. All this allows to produce "green" aluminum under its own brand ALLOW, the carbon footprint from the production of which (including the consumed electricity) is more than 5 times lower than the world average.

Today, consumers from many sectors are interested in such a metal obtained using environmental technologies, for which this factor is very important, and they are ready to pay extra for it.

Vyacheslav Solomin, COO of En + Group, pointed out several problems that RUSAL and other similar industries will need to solve to move along the path of sustainable development.

The main one is the increase in the rate of gasification of the Russian regions, in some of which it remains low. The solution to this problem will make it possible to transfer the metallurgical enterprises located here from coal and even fuel oil to ecological natural gas. And the next step, stressed Vyacheslav Solomin, is hydrogen. The tasks of its production and transportation are already being solved now. The idea of creating a new through railway line in the MTC West-Vostok, the so-called. Transsib-2 is now being discussed.

Mats Friberg, Chief Executive Officer of 3M in Russia and the CIS, shared that the company has been following the principles of sustainable development since the 70s of the last century, having developed a program to prevent environmental pollution. He stressed that both business and the state are responsible for the life of future generations and the transition to environmentally friendly production is not just a fashion trend, but an imperative task for all responsible manufacturers.

Mats Friberg said that 3M is actively developing a scientific approach to solving these problems and willingly shares the results. The company is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030, by 80% by 2040, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Mr. Friberg spoke highly of the efforts and results achieved in Russia in the direction of sustainable development, stressing that he sees an interest in this not only of the leadership, but also of ordinary citizens of the country.

Alexander Kostikov, Director of Corporate Communications at PepsiCo Russia and the CIS, spoke about the recently announced PepsiCo Positive approach. According to him, PepsiCo has long been operating in accordance with the principles of sustainable development and today is focused on their implementation within the entire production cycle: sustainable agriculture - a sustainable supply chain (growing raw materials-production-delivery) - a sustainable choice of the end consumer. Alexander Kostikov identified the last component, which is not only marketing and drawing consumer attention to rational consumption, but also promoting a healthy lifestyle, reducing sugar and fat consumption as a particularly important factor in this cycle. He noted that the company plans to switch to completely neutral sources of electricity in Russia, and all production facilities under construction in our country today are designed to work according to the principles of sustainable development.

Summing up the results of the discussion, the event moderator, Director of the Institute for Emerging Markets Research at the Moscow School of Management "Skolkovo" Aleksey Kalinin, concluded, supported by all participants, that a universal transition to sustainable development is possible not only with the necessary tools, but also by combining the efforts of all stakeholders from government and business to the end consumer and the non-profit sector, as well as subject to maximum synchronization of standards and approaches with international standards.

 

Delo Group is the largest transport and logistics holding in Russia, managing sea container terminals in the Azov-Black Sea, Baltic and Far Eastern basins, a network of railway container terminals, a fleet of containers and fitting platforms. 

The Group's stevedoring business includes DeloPorts holding and Global Ports, a leading container terminal operator. The transport and logistics business of the Group is made up of the multimodal transport operator Ruscon and the intermodal container operator TransContainer that owns and operates the largest fleet of containers and flatcars over the entire 1520 standard railway network.

En + Group is the largest vertically integrated low carbon aluminum producer in the world. The group has been involved in the issuance of I-REC certificates since December 2020 and is currently providing turnkey services in this area. The certificates correspond to the volumes of electrical energy produced by the power plants belonging to the group - JSC EuroSibEnergo and LLC Abakanskaya SES.

RUSAL is the leader in the global aluminum industry. The company was founded in 2000 by Oleg Deripaska. In 2020, the company accounted for about 5.8% of global aluminum production and 6.5% of alumina. RUSAL is present in 20 countries of the world on 5 continents. RUSAL's common shares are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (trade code 486). RUSAL's common shares are traded on the Moscow Stock Exchange (trade code RUAL).

PepsiCo is the largest food and beverage manufacturer in Russia. More than 20,000 employees work in the central and regional offices of the company and in its numerous production sites. Today PepsiCo is one of the leading manufacturers in the segments of carbonated, still and energy drinks, in the segment of juices and nectars, in the market of dairy products and baby food, as well as in the segment of bottled water. PepsiCo is the largest industrial potato processor in Russia and one of the largest raw milk processors. The company invests heavily in the implementation of programs aimed at increasing the efficiency of potato and milk suppliers, improving the quality and ensuring the growth of raw materials supplies.

3M uses science to improve everyday life. With sales of $ 32 billion, the company has 96,000 employees serving customers around the world.

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