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Igor Korytko: ESG opens up new development opportunities for innovative companies

TMK sees the increased focus on ESG as an opportunity for business development and entering new market niches, said CEO of TMK Igor Korytko at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

Speaking at the Responsible Consumption: Who Is Responsible? session, TMK’s CEO said that “businesses, especially large ones, often perceive the ESG agenda and responsible consumption as some kind of an additional burden, as extra costs to ensure compliance with new regulations”. According to him, this approach is flawed.

“Responsible consumption and the ESG agenda are about changing the consumption landscape, about new opportunities, new markets and niches. From this angle, this is a great opportunity for any company. It is difficult to work in stagnation when there is no change in the market. At the same time, when old niches close and new ones open up, great opportunities emerge, which can be leveraged by the companies that see this perspective,” said Igor Korytko.

For example, TMK has already prepared for the energy transition and presented a range of solutions for hydrogen energy at EEF. In doing so, the Company contributes to responsible consumption by promoting environmentally friendly products. This means new tubular solutions, which provide maximum tightness of pipe strings for hydrocarbon production and transportation, provide heat insulation, and allow transporting pipes and assembling them into strings without lubricants. To develop and bring innovative products to the market, TMK relies on its own innovation capabilities concentrated at TMK’s R&D facility in the Skolkovo Innovation Center and RUSNITI in Chelyabinsk, the country’s only research institute for the pipe industry.

Igor Korytko emphasized TMK’s adherence to sustainability principles since its foundation 20 years ago. The Company has modernized its production facilities, introduced environmentally efficient electric arc furnaces, recycled the waste accumulated for years, and reclaimed landfills by converting them into parks.

“Among other things, our efforts are aimed at directly improving the environment around us. For example, in Taganrog, we regularly release sturgeon fry into the Don River, from where they end up in the Sea of Azov. At Volzhsky Pipe Plant, we are engaged in raising environmental awareness: the plant’s ECO HOUSE TMK serves as a development center and a platform for environmental discussions between environmentalists and regional- and federal-level specialists,” said TMK’s CEO.

Igor Korytko also said that TMK’s social responsibility efforts go beyond the charity and social projects across its operating regions. According to him, a key element of the Company’s social policy includes employee development and training for high-tech operations. TMK supports future talents from the school bench through tours to the plant, work with educational institutions, and involving them in the educational environment of TMK2U Corporate University.