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Russia Inc. Gets Environment Wake-Up Call From Church of England

The environment has found a champion in a country where the president mocks green initiatives and global warming is barely mentioned.

Smoke rises from chimneys at the Cherepovets Steel Mill, operated by Severstal PJSC, in Cherepovets.

Smoke rises from chimneys at the Cherepovets Steel Mill, operated by Severstal PJSC, in Cherepovets.

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
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Finding a letter from the Church of England in his e-mail inbox was surprising enough for Vladimir Zaluzhsky, who’s in charge of investor relations at Russia’s second most valuable steelmaker. Even stranger was the demand to know what risks Severstal PJSC's operations pose to the environment.

The church’s pension board wanted details on how Severstal disposes of waste at its plants in Russia, one of the few countries that hasn’t ratified the Paris climate deal and where commodity production prevails over protecting the environment.