Daria Grigoreva
Polyus, Director, Sustainable Development

Daria Grigoreva is Director of Sustainable Development at Polyus, the largest gold producer in Russia and a top five global gold major. Daria is responsible for driving sustainability progress at the company through setting progressive goals, launching sustainability projects and managing ESG sustainability reporting and disclosure. Her work covers sustainability risks, environment, climate change, health and safety, community development, human rights and stakeholder relations, as well as incorporating international standards and improving management processes at the business.

Daria has 17 years of experience in sustainability roles in Russia, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso and Guinea, and has worked in the mining industry for the last 8 years. Prior to joining Polyus in 2016, Daria worked at Nordgold, where she was in charge of internal communications, community relations and social investments. Before this, she worked at Holcim and the All-Russian Energy Company, supervising social investment programmes and sustainability reporting. She also has experience working at non-profit organisations, such as NGOs tackling gender issues and problems in urban areas. She graduated from Moscow State University and has an MSc in Cultural Management from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Daria also holds a PhD in Philosophy from the Russian Academy of Science. In 2020, she completed the Sustainable Business Strategy course at Harvard Business School.

Polyus

PJSC Polyus is the largest gold producer in Russia and a top four gold producer globally, with one of the lowest cost profiles.

The Company also holds the world’s largest gold reserve base representing with 104 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves.

Our principal operations are located in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk Region, Magadan Region and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

We also operate the world’s largest gold greenfield deposit, Sukhoi Log. According to 2020 estimates, Sukhoi Log’s gold reserves stand at 40 moz of gold (ore grade 2.3 g/t), while its resources are estimated at 67 moz of gold (ore grade 1.9 g/t). The deposit, which is expected to start production within the next decade, underpins Polyus’ long-term growth expectations.

Sustainability

Sustainability is an integral part of Polyus’ operations, activities, and corporate culture. We firmly believe that adopting a responsible approach to mining will create and foster economic, environmental, and social prosperity and help us generate and deliver maximum value for our stakeholders.

For over a decade, Polyus has been following a strategy that advocates going beyond compliance with legislation. Sustainability is now fully integrated into all areas of our business and has become the foundation of all of Polyus' activity.

We strive to create a company that consistently delivers business excellence and extracts gold by maximizing efficiency and applying the best management, technological, and environmental solutions while at the same time ensuring safe working conditions. As an industry leader, we embed the principles of sustainability into our values, strategy and operations. Guided by these principles in our daily operations, we advocate for responsible mining that takes account of stakeholders’ needs and expectations.

Our approach to sustainability also goes beyond our own business interests and the interests of our direct stakeholders. As a proud member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), we have the opportunity to help set the industry agenda and lead the shift to sustainability, including deeper measures to support the observance of human rights and combat climate change. We establish new approaches, pilot new practices, and share these across the industry.

We believe that, when it comes to sustainability, we need to understand that achieving change is a complex and continuous process.

Climate Action

Polyus respects and cherishes the natural environment. We work hard to prevent, mitigate and compensate for any environmental impacts caused by our activities. This means not only setting ourselves the highest environmental standards, but also driving change and best practice in the mining industry, and fostering a culture of environmental stewardship.

We are committed to contributing towards the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and year on year we strive to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, enhance our energy efficiency and do all we can to support the fight against climate change. We see increasing demand from industry stakeholders to see Polyus and our peers proactively address the issue of climate change.

In 2020, Polyus published its Climate Position Statement, setting out our key strategic objectives regarding climate change. These include improving the efficiency of GHG accounting, cutting scope 1 and 2 emissions and improving the frequency of climate disclosure.

In 2021, Polyus became the first major gold mining company globally to switch 100% of our energy consumption over to renewable energy sources.

We are in the process of developing a comprehensive Climate Strategy and carrying out a more profound assessment of our climate risks that will help take our business to the next level. We believe in setting tangible sustainability targets on near-term horizons that demand accountability and accelerated progress today rather than tomorrow.

Our goal is for Polyus to always be recognised as a responsible company, a thought leader in sustainability, and a reliable partner and strategic investor that makes a significant contribution to the development of the global gold mining industry for the benefit of people, regions and the environment

https://polyus.com/en/