We send our anniversary congratulations to PhosAgro, UNESCO’s long-term partner in major environmental projects, including in the development and introduction of materials and technologies that reduce environmental impact.
The global issue of soil degradation is becoming a major problem, and the UN declared this decade the “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration”. The humanity faces the need to transition to sustainable and eco-friendly agriculture, and this cannot be done without the use of highly efficient fertilizers that ensure food security without damaging the environment.
Russia’s PhosAgro, one of the world’s top phosphate-based fertilizer producers, has been leading this segment for 20 years. During the past two decades, farmers on all inhabitable continents have appreciated PhosAgro’s mineral fertilizers not only for their quality and efficiency, but also for the lack of dangerous concentrations of toxic elements such as cadmium.
Key to this is the high-grade ore found in the Kola Peninsula that is used in the production of phosphate rock that forms the basis of the company’s phosphorus fertilizers.
PhosAgro’s portfolio currently counts over 50 fertilizer brands, each designed for a specific type of soil, climate, and crop. Company’s experts offer farmers ready-made solutions, select fertilizer brands and methods of their application taking into account specific needs of each client.
Over the 20 years, the company increased its total output threefold, from 3.4 million tonnes in 2001 to 10.1 million tonnes in 2020. The company focuses on the Russian market, and its domestic deliveries surged 5 times since 2001. The company contributes to the global food security, providing “growth vitamins” to clients from 102 countries.
PhosAgro prioritises the environmental friendliness of the production process which is a cornerstone in the company’s development strategy devised by scientists at the Saint Petersburg Mining University. Expansion of the existing production capacities and creation of new facilities is conducted in accordance with environmental legislation and using the best available technologies. PhosAgro is implementing a range of environmental initiatives while manufacturing products with unique characteristics.
PhosAgro, together with colleagues from Innopraktika and the Russian Academy of Sciences, is working on biologization of agriculture and on innovative solutions. The company also draws on the RAS expertise in establishment of carbon farm in Vologda Oblast and in development of greenhouse gases monitoring system. Carefully selected species of trees and grass will absorb 0.7 million tonnes of CO2 by 2028, while the emissions monitoring system will help the company achieve carbon neutrality.
PhosAgro also actively cooperates with international organisations in the area of sustainability. Thus, the company is a long-term partner with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). PhosAgro and FAO have joined their efforts to develop sustainable agriculture. A global network of soil laboratories is being established under the auspices of FAO to assess the quality and safety of fertilizers and monitor the state of soils. Moreover, experts provide assistance to farmers from developing countries in implementing modern technologies.
Another UN initiative involving PhosAgro is the Global Compact, a platform for socially responsible companies. Thanks to its strong commitment to sustainable development,
PhosAgro ranks among 37 global leaders in this global initiative.
PhosAgro and UNESCO have jointly supported the Green Chemistry for Life project for the past seven years. The project is aimed at helping scientists around the world who work in the field of green chemistry and develop new materials and technologies that reduce the environmental impact. Green Chemistry for Life has become UNESCO’s first extrabudgetary programme, fully financed by the Russian businesses. Since 2014, PhosAgro has allocated more than $2.5 million to projects by more than 40 young chemists from
29 countries.
Irina Bokova, current Member of the Board of Directors of PhosAgro and Chairperson of the Sustainable Development Committee, who previously served two terms as
UNESCO Director-General, noted on the occasion of the company’s 20th anniversary that PhosAgro was among the first companies in Russia to embark on systematic efforts in the area of sustainability, consistently improving its ESG practices. Currently PhosAgro is an important contributor to 11 of the 17 SDGs set forth by the UN.
“It is important that sustainable development aspects have been key priority throughout the 20 years of PhosAgro’s history. ESG is part of our company’s DNA. Our goal is to ensure global food security by supplying eco-efficient fertilizers to farmers in Russia and across the world,” said Andrey Guryev, CEO of PhosAgro and member of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, in a conversation with the Vestnik.
We send our anniversary congratulations to PhosAgro, UNESCO’s long-term partner in major environmental projects, including in the development and introduction of materials and technologies that reduce environmental impact.
The global issue of soil degradation is becoming a major problem, and the UN declared this decade the “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration”. The humanity faces the need to transition to sustainable and eco-friendly agriculture, and this cannot be done without the use of highly efficient fertilizers that ensure food security without damaging the environment.
Russia’s PhosAgro, one of the world’s top phosphate-based fertilizer producers, has been leading this segment for 20 years. During the past two decades, farmers on all inhabitable continents have appreciated PhosAgro’s mineral fertilizers not only for their quality and efficiency, but also for the lack of dangerous concentrations of toxic elements such as cadmium.
Key to this is the high-grade ore found in the Kola Peninsula that is used in the production of phosphate rock that forms the basis of the company’s phosphorus fertilizers.
PhosAgro’s portfolio currently counts over 50 fertilizer brands, each designed for a specific type of soil, climate, and crop. Company’s experts offer farmers ready-made solutions, select fertilizer brands and methods of their application taking into account specific needs of each client.
Over the 20 years, the company increased its total output threefold, from 3.4 million tonnes in 2001 to 10.1 million tonnes in 2020. The company focuses on the Russian market, and its domestic deliveries surged 5 times since 2001. The company contributes to the global food security, providing “growth vitamins” to clients from 102 countries.
PhosAgro prioritises the environmental friendliness of the production process which is a cornerstone in the company’s development strategy devised by scientists at the Saint Petersburg Mining University. Expansion of the existing production capacities and creation of new facilities is conducted in accordance with environmental legislation and using the best available technologies. PhosAgro is implementing a range of environmental initiatives while manufacturing products with unique characteristics.
PhosAgro, together with colleagues from Innopraktika and the Russian Academy of Sciences, is working on biologization of agriculture and on innovative solutions. The company also draws on the RAS expertise in establishment of carbon farm in Vologda Oblast and in development of greenhouse gases monitoring system. Carefully selected species of trees and grass will absorb 0.7 million tonnes of CO2 by 2028, while the emissions monitoring system will help the company achieve carbon neutrality.
PhosAgro also actively cooperates with international organisations in the area of sustainability. Thus, the company is a long-term partner with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). PhosAgro and FAO have joined their efforts to develop sustainable agriculture. A global network of soil laboratories is being established under the auspices of FAO to assess the quality and safety of fertilizers and monitor the state of soils. Moreover, experts provide assistance to farmers from developing countries in implementing modern technologies.
Another UN initiative involving PhosAgro is the Global Compact, a platform for socially responsible companies. Thanks to its strong commitment to sustainable development,
PhosAgro ranks among 37 global leaders in this global initiative.
PhosAgro and UNESCO have jointly supported the Green Chemistry for Life project for the past seven years. The project is aimed at helping scientists around the world who work in the field of green chemistry and develop new materials and technologies that reduce the environmental impact. Green Chemistry for Life has become UNESCO’s first extrabudgetary programme, fully financed by the Russian businesses. Since 2014, PhosAgro has allocated more than $2.5 million to projects by more than 40 young chemists from
29 countries.
Irina Bokova, current Member of the Board of Directors of PhosAgro and Chairperson of the Sustainable Development Committee, who previously served two terms as
UNESCO Director-General, noted on the occasion of the company’s 20th anniversary that PhosAgro was among the first companies in Russia to embark on systematic efforts in the area of sustainability, consistently improving its ESG practices. Currently PhosAgro is an important contributor to 11 of the 17 SDGs set forth by the UN.
“It is important that sustainable development aspects have been key priority throughout the 20 years of PhosAgro’s history. ESG is part of our company’s DNA. Our goal is to ensure global food security by supplying eco-efficient fertilizers to farmers in Russia and across the world,” said Andrey Guryev, CEO of PhosAgro and member of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, in a conversation with the Vestnik.
Natalia Semioshina