On October 5, 2021, PJSC TransContainer, which is a part of the Delo Group, and En+ Group, a leading producer of low-carbon aluminum and electricity, signed an agreement to supply I-REC (international renewable energy certificates).
The I-REC certificates confirm that the electricity purchased from their vendor is produced using renewable resources. The certificates purchased by TransContainer will fully cover the company's electricity consumption for its own needs and ensure the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the amount of 7,262 thousand tons of CO₂ equivalent.
On the same day, TransContainer and RUSAL (56.88% of shares is owned by En+ Group) signed an agreement of intent, under which they plan to build strategic cooperation in the area of low-carbon development, in particular, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by introducing new technologies in planning and organizing transportation of RUSAL's raw materials and finished products. The document stipulates that, by 2022, TransContainer will have to develop a methodology for assessing the volume of greenhouse gas emissions during transportation conforming to international requirements and have it verified by an independent auditor, and by 2023 (at the latest), they will have to prepare an emissions reduction plan extending to 2030.
"Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a systemic task for the Delo Group. In April, we announced that we were switching two DeloPorts terminals in Novorossiysk (NUTEP and CSC) to use "green" wind energy, and today we are already confirming our commitment by switching our second major Group asset to renewable energy sources (hydroelectric power plants). The Delo Group and our sub-holdings are always highly sensitive both to global challenges facing the logistics industry and to the particular interests and objectives of our clients. In this project, we follow two directions at a time: not only do we reduce the logistics industry carbon footprint, but we also help each of our clients to reduce the total amount of carbon emissions generated during the delivery of raw materials, process equipment, or the finished product," commented Igor Yakovenko, General Director of Management Company Delo.
"TransContainer's acquisition of I-REC certificates is the first such deal on the Russian market of logistics services. Containers and rail transport are one of the most environmentally friendly ways of transporting cargoes, but we feel that purposeful work in this field is needed to minimize the impact on the environment. And we are starting it by cooperating with the En+ Group and RUSAL, who have vast experience in reducing environmental impact, particularly greenhouse gas emissions," stated Alexander Isurin, the President of TransContainer.
"The agreement on the supply of I-REC certificates with PJSC TransContainer is not only a new stage in our cooperation, but also a significant step towards achieving global sustainability goals in the synergy of de-carbonization programs of the group companies and their partners. It is extremely important for us that the business efforts to reduce the carbon footprint can now be confirmed at all stages of the supply chain, from power generation, metal production, to its delivery to the consumer," said Vladimir Kiryukhin, En+ Group CEO.
"RUSAL fully recognizes the global importance of climate change: since 2007, we have been consistently implementing our own goals to reduce the carbon footprint of our products and have already achieved a level of direct specific and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from our ALLOW aluminum production that is 5 times lower than the industry average. Thus, transportation accounts particularly for about 3 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from primary aluminum production, which is an industry average of about 500 kg of CO₂ equivalent per ton of aluminum. The agreement between RUSAL and our long-time partner, TransContainer, is a major step towards achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and further improving the performance of our ALLOW brand. That's why I consider today's event a landmark for the Russian aluminum industry and metallurgy in general," said RUSAL CEO Evgeny Nikitin.