Could European Business Norms Have Led to the Greening of Russia? The Example of Nornickel

In this article I analyse Russia’s Nornickel conglomerate and its relationship with the German BASF firm and the Global Battery Alliance, testing whether potential EU business partnerships can convince even heavily polluting private firms in non-environmentalist authoritarian states to adopt greener policies. I conclude that while Nornickel has engaged in greenwashing, it has also adopted some significant reforms, probably in hopes of new profit, unexpectedly empowering indigenous groups and significantly decreasing sulphur dioxide emissions. This might provide hope for European business relationships in other non-environmentalist states and for Russia’s environmental future in the event that Western sanctions are lifted.