Palladium giant Norilsk Nickel says it is aiming to improve its environmental record as the company continues to review some of its more outdated policies.

Comments from the Russian pgm producer's deputy general director Zhak Rozenberg outlined plans for overhauling the company's approach to emissions and ecology, although the firm has stressed it will need time.

Mr Rozenberg says the aim is to plough up to $3.5 billion into "green" initiatives by 2015.

"We were set up at a time when ... there was no ecological ideology, when the Soviet Union had an entirely different agenda," he told Reuters.

"As a global company we certainly have to accept global standards. That's why we are introducing international technology at our facilities. But one can't force us to drop everything else and achieve that overnight."

"We are doing all we can for the company to achieve high international standards for ecology by 2015 and turn into a competitive company in all respects," he added.

The move echoes other progressive strategies by the firm including the efforts to declassify pgm production data and also its continuing efforts to make it more "Western-friendly" to attract investors.

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