OREANDA-NEWS. PhosAgro (“the Company”) (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world's leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, announces that an international scientific jury at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris has reviewed applications for grants as part of a joint UNESCO, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and PhosAgro programme. The international scientific jury consists of representatives of leading research centres in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. The meeting took place under the leadership of the elected bureau of the international council.

In accordance with the approved procedures, the international scientific jury reviewed 110 applications from all around the world, which were accepted for the competition founded by UNESCO, PhosAgro and IUPAC, and it determined which were the best candidates for receiving grants.

At the meeting, it was also decided to hold a symposium on green chemistry in Moscow on 22-23 September 2014 under the auspices of the National Committee for UNESCO Affairs at the Y. V. Samoilov Scientific Research Institute, which is part of PhosAgro. At the symposium in Moscow the winners of grants will receive their official awards.

At the International Symposium on Green Chemistry in Moscow there will be a ceremony to announce the 2014 winners of the PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC international award, which is intended to support talented young chemists, to increase the prestige of chemistry, and will be granted over the next five years.

PhosAgro initiated the idea of creating the competition and grants programme for young chemists in 2011 at the opening ceremony of the International Year of Chemistry at the UNESCO headquarters. The competition was developed jointly by UNESCO, PhosAgro and IUPAC - the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. In March of 2013, PhosAgro and UNESCO signed a partnership agreement establishing a system of grants for young scientists as part of the “Green Chemistry for Life” project.

The project is aimed at addressing sustainable development challenges affecting the entire world. It will provide financial and scientific support to promising young scientists from around the world who are developing new, leading-edge technologies based on “green chemistry” to solve issues in the fields of environmental protection, health, food supply and the use of natural resources. PhosAgro will provide USD 1.4 million over five years to finance grants for the best young chemists.

PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: “The Green Chemistry for Life project is an investment into the future of our planet, into protecting the environment for future generations. The project should help to make chemical sciences more popular and prestigious. It is designed to combine the efforts of science and industry to solve some of the global problems facing humanity, including issues related to food security.”