RUSAL, one of the world's largest aluminum producers, and the Roscongress Foundation offset the carbon footprint of the Eastern Economic Forum - 2024, which took place in Vladivostok in September.
The carbon footprint offsetting process includes several steps: measuring the event's carbon footprint within the Forum, calculating the required number of carbon units to offset this footprint, verifying the calculations, deducting the carbon units from the Company's account in the carbon registry, and accounting them toward the compensation of the carbon footprint. The carbon footprint verification for the Eastern Economic Forum - 2024 was conducted by Ecopolis Certification and Service LLC, a strategic partner and official representative of the international verifiers «PES» from Qatar and «Enviance» from India in Russia. The placement of the carbon unit lot and its transfer were carried out using the "Thread of Nature" platform, operated by the Roscongress Foundation. The accounting of carbon units toward the compensation of the carbon footprint of the Eastern Economic Forum 2024 was carried out by RUSAL in the Carbon Registry. The carbon unit retirement certificate was issued by the Carbon Registry.
Russian official institutions actively support carbon offset activities, recognizing the importance of reducing environmental impact. As part of sustainable development policy, conditions are being created for hosting major events with minimal carbon impact, and climate projects, including nature-based and forest climate initiatives, are encouraged.
RUSAL's forest climate project is aimed at aerial protection of over 500,000 hectares of forest in the Krasnoyarsk region from fires. The project was launched in 2019. The company provides forest patrols and fire suppression when necessary as part of the project. The project activities also include the purchase of new equipment and fire-fighting tools, as well as hiring, training, and medical care for fire-fighting paratroopers. In spring 2024, the project’s climate results for the first five-year period were verified, and more than 1.3 million carbon units were credited to the company’s account in the Russian carbon registry.
Ruslan Edelgeriev, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation: I welcome the initiative to offset the carbon footprint of the Eastern Economic Forum - 2024 through carbon units from RUSAL's forest climate project in the Krasnoyarsk region. I have said it before and I repeat that it is highly inconsistent to promote responsible environmental stewardship from the forum’s high platforms while neglecting the inevitable environmental impact of hosting the forum itself. I am glad this international practice is now being implemented in our country, and I hope that in the future, offsetting the impact of major events will become a regular practice—fortunately, the institutional foundations established in recent years make this possible.
Ivan Sovetnikov, Head of the Federal Forestry Agency: The implementation of climate projects in forests offers great prospects for reducing emissions and increasing carbon absorption by forests. It is important for such projects to receive support from the government, business, and the public. RUSAL's initiative to offset CO2 emissions from the EEF is a good example and can benefit society. Such business initiatives need to be further developed to achieve carbon neutrality.
Elena Myakotnikova, RUSAL’s Director of Sustainable Development: The forest aerial protection project in the Krasnoyarsk region has been an important step towards ensuring carbon neutrality for several events. We are pleased that the Eastern Economic Forum 2024 also became carbon neutral thanks to our forest protection efforts.
Igor Pavlov, First Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation, Director of the EEF, Eastern Directorate:Together with our strategic partners, we made a major international event—the Eastern Economic Forum 2024—carbon neutral. This is an important achievement in the context of the climate agenda. We plan to continue working with the «Thread of Nature» platform and other partners to achieve carbon neutrality for our future events.
