Norilsk Nickel recently released its first ever interactive Corporate Social Responsibility report making its strategy more user friendly to all stakeholders. The priorities of the company are laid out in an appealing way that allows the reader to browse sections of their interest more easily.
The side bar allows one to find diverse topics including Strategy and Sustainability, Collaboration with Stakeholders, Economic Performance, Environmental Responsibility, and Sustainable Development.
Paramount to company policy is the ability to give back locally, given that in many of the places they work they are one of the sole employers. Through Norilsk Nickel taxes last year alone the municipality of Norilsk received 3.7 billion roubles. They are also focused on youth leadership and preventing youth unemployment which resulted in over 27,000 young people getting involved in their Occupation Navigation Club which organized excursions for students in conjunction with local educational partners. Furthering their focus on youth the company also funded two new kindergartens in their main regions of employment last year costing over 1.2 billion roubles.
I bring up this report because of the importance of understanding the companies we invest in. So often we invest with little understanding and in this day and age there is little excuse for not having done your research as information is literally right at your fingertips. I find reports like this one by Norilsk Nickel to be telling of the direction and the mission of the companies in which I invest. Of particular importance for me is the way in which companies give back.
In the country I live in, the news has painted Russia as a poor investment and an unstable economy as of late (admittedly this is mostly of my government’s doing through sanctions and isolationist techniques), but I am a committed worldwide investor who focuses on the potential of companies to breakdown international borders. In my opinion, Norilsk Nickel is one of those companies.
To read more about the CSR report visit their website: http://csr2013.nornik.ru/en/company/ceo/