International students have developed programs for environmental and technological modernization of the enterprise and the locality

09:49, November 25, 2019

A visit to the Russian Copper Company took place to study the implementation of sustainable development goals in the Ural region

On November 15, foreign participants of XI International Autumn School «Sustainable Business Development:  Smart Future for All» first visited the copper-smelting plant «Karabashmed», Russian Copper Company (RCC), one of the biggest copperproducers in Russia. The Russian Copper Company follows the principles of sustainable development via corporate values ​​- «Responsibility», «Efficiency», «Team» and «Human». The company implements the best available technologies to ensure the efficiency and environmental safety of production, to provide staff with comfortable working conditions and the possibility of professional implementation.

One of the vivid examples of the implementation of the RCC policy in the field of sustainable development is the experience of social partnership between the Karabash city district and the copper-smelting plant «Karabashmed».​ Due to the company's investments in modernization and production increase, special conditions were created for improving the environmental situation and developing the social sphere in the once depressed territory.

The International Autumn School participants learnt what the investment projects allowed the company to make a breakthrough in the manufacturing sector and how it affected the quality of life of the Karabash city.  They were also able to develop their own programs for environmental and technological modernization of the enterprise and the locality.

Anna Shabarova, Vice President for HR Policy and Social Responsibility at Russian Copper Company, comments:

«For the UrFU Autumn School participants we chose the copper-smelting plant “Karabashmed” and the Karabash city as the most striking example of achieving sustainable development goals in the field of industrialization and job creation, ecology, improving the quality of life, overcoming inequality and etc. But the goals of sustainable development underlie the social policy and business strategy of the entire RCC Group - for each enterprise and each locality of its presence. It was valuable and interesting for us to know the ideas of students from Europe on how to improve the quality of life and increase the efficiency of the enterprise, and it was nice to realize that we are moving in the right direction. We hope that we will have the opportunity to tell youth from different countries about the other enterprises and localities of the RCC presence».

During such practice-oriented visits, foreign participants and «International Economics and Business» students get acquainted with the largest producers of the region and gain new professional competencies for the successful implementation of projects and business ideas.