Social challenge and reasons for project’s initiation

Immediacy of the social problem

General:

• The infrastructure for waste sorting is underdeveloped. Every year, Russia produces about 35-40 million tons of municipal solid waste. On average, each person produces 300 kg of waste a year. Yet only 4-5 percent of solid waste gets recycled.
• Environmental awareness is low; many people don’t know about waste sorting and recycling. To see a report on a round table discussion on this issue, please go to: http://www.sustainabilityrussia.ru/net_shore/news/2465/.
• Environmental organizations have limited funds to educate people about environmental issues.
• There is not enough partnership between NGOs, businesses, local authorities, utility operators and waste management companies.

Particular:

Heineken has been working to reduce its carbon footprint throughout its production cycle, including packaging. The company works with its suppliers to reduce the weight of packaged goods and increase the share of recyclable and reusable waste. In 2017, major progress was made in this matter, with 99 percent of industrial waste being recycled. Thus, Heineken Russia has reduced the amount of non-recycled waste by 70 percent as compared to 2008. Greenhouse emissions by breweries have been reduced by 32 percent from 2008.

External reasons for project’s initiation

Since 2000, the shores of Lake Baikal have been heavily polluted due to a large number of tourists coming during the summer. Unique scenery was disappearing, rare animal species were going extinct, the natural habitat was being destroyed, and shores were being littered. This is the state Baikal was in – a lake that local tribes once considered sacred. There was an urgent need to address issues related to human impact of the shores of Lake Baikal. Primarily, this means raising environmental awareness among lake visitors, preserving the cultural heritage of the Baikal region and providing necessary infrastructure for waste collection and recycling.

Internal reasons for project’s initiation

Heineken’s social responsibility standards and principles emphasize environment protection. The company seeks to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (UN SDG 12), encourage waste sorting and promote these processes among local communities, businesses, government organizations until responsible treatment of the environment and use of resources becomes a norm to everybody.

Project description

In 2007, Heineken Russia initiated Clean Shores of Lake Baikal, a large-scale environmental project. Its mission, preserving the unique ecosystem of the world’s deepest freshwater lake, quickly attracted a large number of activists and NGOs throughout Russia. Having started out as a local project, Clean Shores soon grew into a nationwide movement after Khabarovsk joined it in 2015, followed by Saint Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod in 2016. Today, the project’s mission is to unite the efforts of tourists and volunteer environmentalists to educate local residents and tourists about treating the environment responsibly, preserve and maintain the ecosystem in the areas where the company operates.

The key components of the project are environmental education, creating infrastructur for waste management and raising awareness regarding sustainability.

Since the beginning of the project, an immense amount of work has been done in the region. Infrastructure for managing solid waste has been created. A volunteer movement has been set up, which regularly cleans up the area. Regular campaigns educate and inform people about the importance of nature conservation. There is also scientific research taking place.

Team and partners 

Team

• Corporate relations department at Heineken Russia
• CEO of Heineken Baikal

Partners

• PRO Otkhody Coalition
• Podari Planete Zhizn Foundation
• Zapovednoye Pribaikalye
• Resource Conservation Center
• National Environment Protection Society, Khabarovsk
• Waste Sorting Movement
• Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Local authorities

Resources

Financial resources

A total of over 30 million rubles has been invested in the project since 2007.

Human resources

• Sustainability Manager at Heineken Russia
• Partners

Social resources

Partnership

Temporal resources

Heineken Russia Sustainability Manager: 14 hours a week

Achieved results

The following are the significant results achieved in the Baikal region from 2007-2015:

•               Over 40 km of the coastline on Olkhon Island cleaned up.

•               Over 30 waste container platforms built in tourist areas for waste collection. Special signs provide navigation to containers.

•               Over 60,000 cubic meters of waste cleaned up. Biggest landfills eliminated.

•               Special vehicles purchased for removing waste from Olkhon Island, making it possible to evacuate solid waste from remote parts of the island.

•               Over 25 litter-picking events organized. Over 3,000 volunteers joined the events after special training, including over 150 employees of Heineken Baikal.

•               About 40 information stands installed on Olkhon Island, offering recommendations for visitors, curious facts about the park’s unique nature, as well as rules for visitors.

•               A guide book on the island published, containing recommendations and rules in addition to information.

•               Educational work organized among tourists on Olkhon Island: green patrol tells visitors about the project and rules of conduct on the coast and provides them with trash bags.

•               Three expeditions organized into the Baikal National Park to study human impact on the flora and fauna of Olkhon Island and adjacent areas.

•               Two photography contests organized for the best picture reflecting nature’s beauty, uniqueness and fragility. In 2012, 740 photographs were submitted for the contest, with over 2,000 people voting. In 2013, 450 works were submitted.

In 2016, in partnership with PRO Otkhody Coalition, the Green Project Fair was launched as part of the Clean Shores project. Out of 36 environmental projects submitted for the contest, 10 most efficient and sustainable projects were selected and implemented between June and November 2016.

From August to October 2016, a number of events took place in Irkutsk Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Khabarovsk Krai. Their common goal was to inspire the residents of coastal areas and persuade them to play an active role themselves in creating a clean and comfortable environment. The events brought together local residents (including business people), who engaged in cleaning up the area, creating infrastructure for waste sorting and engaging in environmental education, including a radio show (“Clean Shores of the Amur River”) and a newspaper (Vestnik Olkhona). A total of 1, 289 volunteers joined the green projects.

Nizhny Novgorod hosted a Clean Shores festival with lectures, screenings and waste collection events. Containers for recyclable waste were installed in parts of the city. All this work was performed by the activists of Novy Akropol Association. Volunteers of the National Environment Protection Society organized two clean-up events along the banks of the Volga River near the town of Bor and created infrastructure for waste sorting in the recreational area.

Irkutsk Oblast had the largest number of projects – namely, five. Most of them had to do with Olkhon Island, where a park area is being created, a new forest has been planted in the areas affected by wildfires, and the shore behind the village of Kharantsi has been reinforced (with over 25,000 trees planted). A large-scale education program for local residents and tourists on the matters of waste sorting has been organized, and infrastructure for waste sorting has been created in Khuzhir, the island’s central village. In the village of Listvyanka, the most popular and accessible location for tourists on Lake Baikal, 36 environment-friendly containers have been installed.

In Saint Petersburg, green activists and RazDelny Sbor experts focused in 2016 on cleaning up the Gulf of Finland shoreline and creating waste sorting infrastructure at Lisy Nos and Lake Dolgoe.

In Khabarovsk, local Environment Protection Society activists continued with the Clean Shores of the Amur project, creating infrastructure for waste collection, management and recycling on Nevelsky Embankment and in adjacent areas.

In 2017, 25 containers were installed in the village of Khuzhir with separate units for glass, plastic and unsorted waste. An information stand was installed next to each container. The waste is removed daily to a temporary storage site. A tricycle for moving waste was purchased out of the grant money. About 30 tones of waste was collected over the summer.

In the summer of 2017, Green Patrol operated in Khuzhur. Volunteers inspected the area around the village and at the ferry crossing, picking up litter and talking to visitors, explaining the rules and the advantages of waste sorting to them.

Also, as part of the Clean Shores project, PRO Otkhody Coalition and the Resource Conservation Center launched a new website, ecoportus.ru, on waste sorting and recycling.

The website is intended for environmentalists, activists, volunteers and teachers, i.e., all those interested in environmentalism, waste management and environmental education.

The website offers an extensive collection of materials on environment protection. These include articles and studies, recommendations on how to promote waste sorting and educate locals and tourists about the environment (for example, how to deal with unsanctioned dumps or how to clean up territory), guidelines on classes for children, best practices on waste sorting and environmental education. Also, the site has videos, as well as posters and leaflets one can print out and circulate in their building, neighborhood, office and other places.

Key stages of the project in the Northwestern Federal District in 2017:

Stage I (March-April): Reviewing grant bids from NGOs and picking a media partner for environmental education. RazDelny Sbor won the Heineken environmental project contest and started implementing an environmental education program in Saint Petersburg.

Stage II (May-June): Building partnership: the administration of the St. Petersburg 300th Anniversary Park and Primorsky Borough managing companies agree to cooperate with the project. Cooperation agreements are signed.     

Stage III (June-July): Polling, circulating initial information.

• A poll is conducted in the 65th Municipal District to see how much people know about waste sorting.
• Information about the project and the poll is posted on the district and borough’s social media pages, getting over 10,000 views and 132 comments.                                                                                                                            
• Interviews conducted in the park, collecting 91 responses.
• Poll data is reviewed (analysis and conclusions).     
• Info materials are designed (a leaflet, a poster, a banner, and project merchandise: T-shirts, pins and tote bags).

Stage IV (June): Creating infrastructure for waste sorting

• Six waste sorting stations with separate bins for  glass, aluminum and plastic bottles installed at the Saint Petersburg 300th Anniversary Park
• 12 containers placed in residential neighborhoods

Stage V (June-October): Organizing educational events.

1. Family Day at the 300th Anniversary Park

RazDelny Sbor activists explained to the park visitors why waste sorting is important, how one can start sorting waste at home, how to dispose of recyclable waste, how it gets recycled and what can be made of it. Volunteers conducted master classes for children, painting eco-friendly bags, cellulose letters and medals.

2. Cleaning up the shore at the 300th Anniversary Park

Residents of the Primorsky Borough, RazDelny Sbor volunteers and Company employees (28 people) went to the park for a cleanup day, picking up 67 bags of litter, including 27 bags of plastic bottles and 14 bags of glass and metal for recycling.

3. Motivational meeting for brewery employees

Project partners organized a motivational session for Heineken employees, explaining the causes and effects of environmental problems and what the Company does as part of its Brewing A Better World program.

4. Environmental classes at schools

RazDelny Sbor volunteers conducted environmental classes for Grade 5 and 7 students at three schools in Primorsky Borough, Saint Petersburg, explaining how waste affects the environment and people’s health and presenting 3R principles for resource conservation.

5. Activities in residential neighborhoods

Informing local residents about new waste sorting containers, flashmob.

In 2018, the Clean Shores project included three subprojects:

• EcoPatrol and Baikal Compass Expedition, Podari Planete Zhizn Foundation, Olkhon Island and the mainland:
• 12 raids
• 4,041 people polled on environmental matters
• over 5,400 people informed about park rules
• 424 unauthorized tents found
• 9 unauthorized dumps located (Yator, Varnachka, etc.)
• 6 tons of sorted waste sent to recycling
•  

The 2018 poll shows the following improvements over 2017:

– 26% more people are aware of waste sorting bins (from 44% to 70%),

– 85% of the respondents have agreed to use them,

– 24% more people are aware of the problem with single-use plastic bottles (from 21% to 45%),

– 76% of the tourists stayed at campsites (versus 23% in 2017).

Campsites are interested in waste sorting, as it reduces their waste management costs. In 2018, four campsites started sorting waste. These campsites are serviced by Semyon Mayor’s project. This year, we did not expand this practice to other campsites as they lack space for storing recyclable waste.

Thus, environmental awareness is improving among tourists while the island is getting waste sorting infrastructure. People have a way to practice what they have learned about smart waste management.

•  Clean Shores of Olkhon, Karina Mayor, Olkhon Island, Khuzhir
• Recyclable waste collected: 4,500 kg of glass, 1,150 kg of plastic, 2,300 k of other waste

This waste sorting system has been developing since 2016. Gradually, bins were made and placed (25 bins during the tourist season and 3 bins between tourist seasons). Local residents are employed to move recyclable waste, which creates jobs.

• Clean Shores of Amur, Environmental Protection Society, Khabarovsk

Litter-picking events on the banks of the Amur River, Daldizer Beach; MSW sorting system presented at Yerofei Arena; master class on waste sorting for the residents of the Stroitel neighborhood with three managing companies and media; blogger tour of waste sorting sites and a recycling plant.

• Over 400 cu.m of recyclable waste collected
• Over 2,500 participants
• Over 5,000 people attended events and activities
• Over six major unauthorized dumps eliminated
• Over 60 km of the shoreline on the Amur River, smaller rivers, lakes and the sea coast cleaned up
• Waste sorting bins placed in over 42 residential complexes

Also, Heineken organized Eco Picnics in 2018. Seven cities joined the project: Khabarovsk, Irkutsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Sterlitamak, Yekaterinburg and Saint Petersburg. Over 300 Heineken employees with their families and friends collected 1.2 tons of recyclable waste and planted over 50 trees.

2019

Since 2017, the Company has been supporting green activist Semyon Mayor and his Olkhon Eco Island initiative, introducing waste sorting on the island. In 2017 and 2018, 25 waste sorting bins were placed in Khuzhir area, with info boards on the importance of waste sorting installed at bin sites. A utility vehicle was purchased to service bin sites. An MSW management system was designed and agreed with the town administration.

The project pursues the following goals:

1. Create infrastructure for waste sorting

2. Develop a sustainable service operation

3. Raise environmental awareness among local residents and tourists

In 2019, the Company supported an initiative to design a pilot project for waste management at campsites. Igor Ogorodnikov, researcher at Thermophysics Institute, director of the Ecodom program, president of the Environment-Friendly Housebuilding Association, is the leading expert and inspirator of the initiative. The Bencharov Estate at Khuzhir has been picked for the pilot project.

Circular waste management. Ecolab.

Currently, two environmental initiatives have been combined in Khuzhir to produce a circular waste management system. Sorted waste is delivered to the ecolab, where it is recycled.

The following table shows the main categories of waste and recycling opportunities:

#	Type	Action
1	Metal	Sorting Compacting, accumulating and transporting Shredding aluminum cans
2	Textile	Sorting, conversion to home insulation
3	Plastic	Sorting by type Shredding Conversion to crafts and construction materials
4	Organic waste	Conversion to humus for greenhouses Conversion to soil for landscaping
5	Rubber tires	Use as a construction material for utility facilities
6	Glass	Crushing to be used in garden paths, concrete works, etc.
7	Wood	Reuse Use as mulch in landscaping

Currently, the ecolab focuses on recycling and reusing glass, plastic and organic waste. The main objective is to create a circular waste management system for most of the waste on the island, recovering the soil and the forest.

Current equipment has the capacity to process waste from several campsites housing up to 300 people.

Also, the Company partnered up with the Podari Planete Zhizn Foundation to organize Baikal Compass and Eco Patrol events in the Baikal Region in 2019, as well as the Minute for the Future marathon festival. (See practical results below).

Baikal Compass

– Distance covered: 191.5 km, including 127.3 km distance between stops and 64.2 km radial search

– 9 bays explored

– 176 people informed about the preserve rules

– 44 unauthorized cars detected

– 120 bags of litter and 250 kg of fishing nets collected

– 4 trees cleared of ribbons 

Eco Patrol

– 3,435 people polled on environmental matters

– 66% of the respondents came from Irkutsk Oblast, 29% from other parts of Russia, and 5% from other countries

– We observe steady growth of people familiar with the National Park rules (64% in 2017, 70% in 2018, 80% in 2019)

– More people agree with the need for monitoring tourist movements in the National Park (77% in 2018, 83% in 2019)

– Some indicators stayed at the same level or worsened. We think this is due to new tourists who have never been to Olkhon Island before. (See the charts for complete data on 2018 and 2019).

Say No to Litter

Activists collected over 16 tons of recyclable waste (paper, plastic, metal, etc.), reusable clothes for the poor and food for animals in shelters in 22 towns in Irkutsk Oblast as part of the Say No to Litter campaign from August 20 to September 7, 2019. The cities with the largest amount of recyclable waste collected were Irkutsk (2.8 tons), Kachug (2.4 tons) and Ust-Kut (2.3 tons). Paper was the most popular type of waste (13.2 tons), followed by glass (1.1 tons) and plastic (556 kg).

In 2019, Say No to Litter was part of the Minute for the Future marathon festival. A mobile movie theater screened short films about environmental protection, including works from the 2nd International Minute for the Future Environmental Video Contest. Podari Planete Zhizn volunteers gave lectures on environment-friendly behavior and held ecothlon contests. A total of about 4,000 people participated in the Say No to Litter campaign.

The Khabarovsk branch of the National Environment Protection Society has been working together with Heineken in Khabarovsk Krai since 2016 to improve the environmental condition of the coastal areas, develop the environmental culture of the local residents and promote waste sorting and recycling. In 2019, the project achieved a breakthrough in engaging the people of Khabarovsk in waste sorting. Together with RazDelny Sbor, events were organized at two Eco Garages. As of November 20, 2019, 20 waste sorting events have been organized, involving about 10,000 people. The waste sorting movement is picking up steam across Russia, with events organized in 16 cities. In the course of 11 months, volunteers have collected 10 tons of paper, 3,600 kg of four types of plastic, 1,400 kg of aluminum and tin cans, and 11 tons of glass. In addition, collection of old home appliances and fluorescent lamps was organized.

Installation of waste sorting bins continues in Khabarovsk. Over 60 bins for polymers and paper have been placed. The experience gained with three pilot sites created in the Stroitel neighborhood in 2017 with financial support from Heineken helped design efficient organizational, financial and logistical models which are currently being used in various parts of the city and beyond.

In order to engage local residents in waste sorting, Eco Dvor festivals are organized, where adults and children learn to use waste sorting equipment, clean up their neighborhoods and simply get to know their neighbors.

As part of the environmental education campaign, leaflets have been prepared and circulated, explaining practical aspects of the waste management reform. Active participants have received practical environment-friendly tote bags to avoid using plastic bags, which are not being recycled in the region.

Internal evaluation

• The fact that local authorities and NGOs are interested in continuing long-term cooperation indicates that the problem is relevant and that the suggested activities really work.
• Increasing amounts of sorted waste 

External evaluation

• The fact that local authorities and NGOs are interested in continuing long-term cooperation indicates that the problem is relevant and that the suggested activities really work.

Feedback from beneficiaries:

Challenges and Solutions

It is wonderful that more and more tourists from other countries and other parts of Russia travel around. Yet tourists bring along new problems, including increased waste and litter in recreational areas, places where most people go. There are two ways we can look at this. We can see this purely as a problem and try to cope with it. Or we can view this multitude of people coming from all over the world as an opportunity. An opportunity to be a role model, to show people how they should care about nature, how to keep your area clean and in order, and that actually it is not that difficult to do all that. When people travel, they should see how locals and other tourists, who have been there before, care about nature. They should learn from them, and when they go back home, they should be inspired to start doing the same thing in their places as well. After all, there are precious islands of virgin nature everywhere – in every province, in every city, and even in every tiny settlement.

Plans for the Future

We will continue supporting various environmental events and initiatives by local communities – residents, environmentalists, NGOs, because we want local communities to be actively involved in creating and maintaining a clean and comfortable environment. The most valuable aspect of every social project is to change the way people feel about the issue and, as a result, change their habits and behavior. Clean Shores is one of the few projects that can do it. This is the biggest achievement of our partnership.

Recommendations

• Long-term approach
• Partnership
• Regular confirmation of the problem’s relevance in direct contact with local authorities and expert groups
• Forecasting