Report: The All-Russia RosPromEco Congress - Sustainable Future for Russia’s Industrial Regions

About the Congress

The Fourth Annual All-Russian Congress “Industrial Ecology of the Region (RosPromEco)” convened in March to bring together leaders from governments and various industries to promote an active discussion about the future of sustainable development for Russia’s regions. This very significant event for the future of Russia, was formulated, developed and held in Ekaterinburg, the country’s fourth largest city.
It was very appropriate that this large and significant event on the subject of Sustainability and Ecology as relates to industry should take place in Ekaterinburg – since the complex issues of industrial ecology stretch like a train through this region and its neighbors.

Ekaterinburg and its Place in the Industrial Development of the USSR and Russia

Ekaterinburg, located just east of the Ural Mountains about 1400 km from Moscow, was named for Catherine I, the wife of Peter the Great. Ekaterinburg is a strategic link on the East-West Siberian Route that connects the eleven time zones of Russia.
It has long been said that Russia is the principal world resource for the entire Mendeleev Table (the periodic table of elements named for the Russian chemist who formulated it). And among the regions of Russia, the Urals is a leader: it takes first place in development of ferrous metallurgy, the second place in the mechanical engineering and electric power industries, and third place in the non-ferrous metallurgy and chemical industries. The subsoil of the Urals is rich in various minerals – and they form the basis of many legends and stories.
The Urals mountains form a border between Europe and Asia. The surrounding region is home to a huge complex of industrial and mining activity since the 18th – 19th centuries when large plants were built by the Demidov Family in the Urals. In the first half of the 20th century, during Stalin’s shock five-year plans from 1928, many giant plants were launched. The environmental effects, particularly with the coming of the Great Patriotic War (World War II), the protection of nature was laid aside due to more immediate problems.
The powerful complex of various plants and enterprises generated many serious environmental problems in the Urals. The Ural region is a vivid example of typical industrial areas that are numerous throughout Russia. It is in the Urals that one can see almost all the problems of industrial ecology and “track down” the questions they pose for large metropolitan areas as well as smaller communities.

Sensing the Requirements of the Times

The premise of the Congress was that it now makes no sense to consider ecology in isolation from society, production, economics. Ecology is affected by any human activity, A sustainable path of development of territories without considering an ecological vector is now impossible.
Sustainable socio-economic development of the regions in conditions of significant environmental pressure is a task that is characteristic not only of the Urals, but also the well-being of the population, social stability and the economic power of the country depend upon solutions.
This was the fourth annual the All-Russia RosPromEco Congress, attended by more than 1200 leaders, managers, scientists and even university students. The following are the stated Mission and Objectives of the All-Russia RosPromEco Congress and its Interregional Discussion Platform.

The Mission of the All-Russia “RosPromEco” Congress

• Develop means to a transition to a new resource-efficient, ecosystem-safe economy by promoting green technologies that offering solution that are:
• environmentally friendly,
• aimed at reducing the level of resources consumed,
• increase the efficiency of resource use,
• allow for sustainable socio-economic development of territories with a significant reduction in environmental risks;
• Augment and preserve physical, human and natural capital;
• Development strategic decisions for the phased entry of regions of the Russian Federation into the Green Economy.

Objectives of the All-Russia “RosPromEco” Congress
and its Inter-regional Discussion Platform

• Develop an inter-regional discussion platform (RosPromEco) for communication in a new format with the professional and business communities, civil society, and government authorities and management;
• Search for a balance between the need to develop natural resources and the need to preserve the unique nature of our country based on the consolidation of the intellectual and technical potential of science, economy, civil society, and legislative and executive authorities;
• Develop effective mechanisms for the implementation of territorial environmental strategies and action plans;
• Create conditions for a “direct” dialogue on the themes of industrial ecology of the regions, and interregional and transboundary cooperation for the sustainable development of territories to protect and preserve social stability;
• Organize effective contacts and negotiations by enterprises in the country’s regions to encourage and enable participation in environmental projects with potential partners from Russia and also other countries, with the purpose to introduce the latest technologies to attract investments and the introduction of modern environmental standards;
• Develop strategic and practical solutions for the implementation of the Green Economy, the introduction innovative eco-technologies based on cost minimization, while ensuring high efficiency of projects and an integrated approach to the problems of industrial ecology.

Conference Organizers

Find out more about the Congress at these contacts

Business Program Manager

Julia Korneeva

e-mail: [email protected]
Tel. +7 (996) 182-15-07
Mailing address:
st. Rosa Luxemburg, 59
Yekaterinburg, Russia 620026

Congress Agenda