Altynalmas gold mining company has joined as an accredited observer of Qazaq Green Renewable Energy Association this year. Thus, the company demonstrates its commitment to high standards of sustainable development and the desire to develop "green" energy. In an interview with Qazaq Green, Bakhrom Jalolov, Chief Executive Officer for Sustainable Development of JSC AC Altynalmas said about how the company, being the largest gold producers in Kazakhstan, implements ESG standards (environmental and social responsibility, corporate governance) especially in terms of "green" projects.

- Bahrom Burkhonovich, you are in charge of an important direction in the company, which has become a megatrend in recent years - ESG and the principles of sustainable development. How does Altynalmas implement the agenda of social, environmental responsibility and effective corporate governance?

- Altynalmas Group is currently working on the implementation of the principles of sustainable development at all levels of the corporate governance system. We understand that the integration of aspects of social and environmental responsibility into business processes is a prerequisite for development of the Company in the long term. The key areas of development of our ESG practice are occupational safety and environmental protection, achieving the best indicators in the field of corporate social responsibility, increasing environmental contribution in the regions of presence, improving relationships with stakeholders, improving the corporate governance system, as well as the development of corporate culture and anti-corruption.

More than 10.5 thousand people work in the Altynalmas Group today. The company carries out extensive work on development of personnel management system aimed at ensuring decent working conditions. The company has a representative body of employees to protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees and ensure interaction with the employer in solving problematic situations, a collective agreement has been signed that takes into account the interests of all interested parties. This is the basis for further development, fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Altynalmas is active in several regions of Kazakhstan - Abai, Zhambyl, Karaganda and Akmola regions. Representatives of the Company regularly take part in public hearings and other events to build a dialogue with residents of the regions. Social contributions are being made for education, socio-economic development, and important events are being held aimed at building a mutually beneficial and trusting partnership with the local community. The Group holds a number of charity and sponsorship events. The company also strives to support residents of the region in emergency situations.

In our daily activities, we try to adhere to the high standards and principles of ESG.

- Last year, AK Altynalmas JSC entered the top 10in the rating of sustainable development reporting. Experts of the PWC consulting company rated highly social component of ESG agenda. How do you manage to find a balance of interests - not to harm the environment and to conduct active production activities?

- Indeed, Altynalmas has entered the top 10 best Kazakhstani companies in terms of completeness and quality of disclosed information on compliance with ESG principles, having issued the first report on sustainable development in accordance with GRI standards. The rating was conducted among40 companies in the oil and gas, banking, energy and mining industries. The study assessed the quality and accessibility of ESG information in annual reports and reports on the sustainable development of Kazakhstani companies published in 2021.

More than 10.5 thousand people work in the Altynalmas group today the company carries out extensive work on development of personnel management system aimed at ensuring decent working conditions.

It is worth noting that our company has shown significant growth. Thus, in 2019, Altynalmas was on the 32nd place in the ESG rating, and in 2020 - on the 30th line, while earlier ESG data were evaluated based on the results of the annual report. This time, the experts highlighted the company's contribution for disclosing information on "S" position (employees, local communities, Occupational Health and Safety). I would like to add that the company received the second place for best ESG strategy at the forum "Astana Mining & Metallurgy Congress" (AMM).

As a large gold mining company, we understand that we have a significant impact on the economy, society and the environment, especially in the regions where we operate. Therefore, in our work we strive to find a balance of interests of all stakeholders, including employees of the company and residents of the regions of presence. The basis for long-term sustainable development of the company is the growth of operational and financial indicators with further progress in the social and environmental spheres.

- If we focus on ecology, what projects has the company initiated to take care of responsible attitude to the environment?

It is worth starting with the fact that Altynalmas has joined the UN Global Compact, thereby strengthening its commitment to sustainable development. We have decided on 11 goals for ourselves, among which the main role is played by the environmental agenda.

For example, the UN goal is "Clean water and sanitation".

Ore extraction and processing is classified as water-intensive industries and provision of process water is an essential issue in the implementation of projects. The sources of industrial and household water supply are own artesian wells. A closed cycle of water consumption and sanitation has been introduced at all the company's enterprises. The Pustynnoye, Akbakai and Aksu-2 projects use modular biological wastewater treatment plants which send purified domestic wastewater to production needs.

"The goal of responsible consumption and production".

Our company is interested in the rational use of natural resources. When planning and designing, the environmental impact of each project is assessed with special care, detailed action plans are developed and technologies are introduced to reduce the negative impact.

One of the global goals relevant to the whole world and any industry is the combating climate change.

Altynalmas regularly carries out production environmental monitoring (PEM), within the framework of which special accredited laboratories carry out measurements of the main environmental indicators. To date, chemical analyses of air samples, analysis of state of surface, technological and underground waters, the level of noise and background radiation do not exceed the established norms. The important projects of 2022 include solar-powered lighting of the road between the Pustynnoye and Dolinnoye fields in Karaganda region, which significantly reduced the carbon footprint, as well as the Green Office project, launched jointly with ECO Network organization and allowed 272 kilograms of waste to be sent for processing in just one quarter of the office's work, 180 kilograms of which is waste paper, 27 - glass and more than 65 - plastic, thus we reduced carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by more than 2,000 kilograms, saved 12 trees, saved 24 tons of water and almost 2 000 kilowatts of electricity.

Another important goal of the UN is "Conservation of terrestrial ecosystems".

The divisions of Altynalmas regularly carry out work on landscaping the territories, increasing the area of green spaces. These activities are carried out within the framework of the company's programs for protection of flora and fauna. For example, by the end of 2022, Altynalmas employees planted 5 500 trees in all regions of their presence. I would especially like to mention the project on phytocapture of dust, implemented jointly with Narkhoz University at the Aksu tailings dump in Akmola region, where 1 400 trees were planted using a 3D computer modeling program. There is already a good intermediate result in survival rate, which amounted to 93.2%.

In addition, this year, such environmental projects were implemented in the company as phytocapture of dust using computer technologies at a tailings dump in the Akmola region, the use of chemical reagents for dust suppression, and other important environmental projects that meet high ESG standards.

We believe that Altynalmas Group of Companies can make the greatest contribution in these areas. In the future a program of specific measures for each priority goal will be developed.

I would like to add that our participation in Qazaq Green Renewable Energy Association is due to the desire to implement renewable energy projects, which are an effective decarbonization tool. We believe that the integration of aspects of social and environmental responsibility into business processes is a prerequisite for the sustainable development of our company.