On April 14, an agreement was signed in Moscow on our university's accession to the memorandum on the creation of a consortium for scientific and methodological support of the transition to a closed-loop economy. The document was signed by Yuri Kazakov, Rector of KNRTU, and Irina Tarasova, General Director of the leading organization of the consortium, Russian Environmental Operator. The signing took place during the plenary session of the general meeting of the consortium members, which was held at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. In addition to the representatives of the consortium organizations, Denis Butsaev, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, also participated in the session.

Yuri Kazakov commented on the event on his MAX channel:

— I introduced KNRTU to my colleagues as a useful partner for implementing projects in the fields of education, science, and design. It is important for us that, as part of the consortium, KNRTU will keep its finger on the pulse of events — participate in the preparation of materials that will form the basis of the regulatory framework for the processes, and maintain direct contact with colleagues both from the academic community and from the real sector of the economy, — he said.

The Consortium for Scientific and Methodological Support for the Transition to a Circular Economy was established in 2021. Its members are united by the topic of waste recycling. These include leading Russian universities (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, National Research University MIET, and others), industry-specific organizations in the field of waste management (RT-Invest JSC, Charter LLC, Ecoline LLC, and others), and representatives of the industrial sector, including Sibur Holding PJSC, Rusal JSC, Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant PJSC, and Uralkali PJSC.