Statutory Requirements and Voluntary Commitments

The fulfillment of regulatory environment and safety requirements is key at Eckes-Granini Finland. The main environmental regulations for Eckes-Granini Finland are the Environmental Protection Act and Decree, the Waste Act and Decree, the Water Act, decree on packaging and packaging waste, the Chemicals Act and Decree, and the Rescue Act. For monitoring and assessing the statutory requirements, we make use of the acts registry service. Through this service, we are informed about new or amended regulations. We take into account these regulatory changes and verify their implementation quarterly.

Eckes-Granini Finland received its first environmental permit in 2004 from the Southwest Finland Regional Environment Centre. In December 2014 an application was made to check the open-ended environmental permit. The Regional Administrative Agency of Southern Finland transferred the application to the Environmental Protection of the City of Turku, which in October 2016 decided that the old environmental permit issued by the Southwest Finland Regional Environment Centre in 2004 will remain in force.

An environmental permit is granted on the condition that the following provisions of the permit are complied with:

• Emissions into sewer systems: Eckes-Granini Finland must be aware of the quality and quantity of waste water from the factory into the sewer system. The load caused by waste water must not compromise the city’s waste water treatment plant operations. A separate access contract has been drawn up with the City of Turku for waste water management.
• Noise: The equivalent noise level caused by factory activities to the closest residential building yard areas or in other locations exposed to noise may be up to 55 dB during the day and up to 50 dB at night.
• Chemicals: Eckes-Granini Finland must be aware of the physical and chemical properties of the hazardous substances used and their effect on health and the environment. Whenever possible, a chemical or method which causes the least risk must be selected from the existing options. Chemicals and hazardous waste resulting from operations must be stored and handled in such a way that they present no danger to health or the environment.
• Waste: Waste must be sorted where it is generated, and it should be submitted to the proper handling, which has been approved in the Waste Act. Recyclable waste must be delivered for recovery. Hazardous waste must be dispensed to a facility which has an environmental permit which allows the reception and processing of said hazardous waste. Hazardous waste must be packed and stored properly.
• Monitoring and reporting:
  – The quality of the process waste water must be monitored on a monthly basis using composite sampling.
  – Eckes-Granini Finland must immediately inform the Environmental Protection of the City of Turku and the Turku Water Utility Company of any exceptionally large emissions and other environmental damage and disruptions to the extent applicable.
  – The factory must draw up an annual summary report for the Environmental Protection of the City of Turku.
• Best available techniques: Eckes-Granini Finland must monitor industry developments in the best available techniques and be prepared for the introduction of appropriate technology.
• Changes in operations: Significant increases, changes and terminations in production must be reported to the Environmental Protection of the City of Turku.

In 2017, Eckes-Granini Finland operated and reported in accordance with the conditions of the permit. Eckes-Granini Finland reports annually to the Environmental Protection of the City of Turku and the Finnish Packaging Recycling RINKI Ltd. In addition, we have an obligation to report to Statistics Finland and the Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation upon request.

By way of voluntary commitments, we are involved in the second period of the energy efficiency system, coordinated by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. A new contract period lasting until 2025 commenced in 2017. Energy efficiency agreements are the nationwide way to promote efficient energy consumption in Finland. An energy review relating to the energy efficiency agreement was conducted at Eckes-Granini Finland and the plan is to implement during the contract period the applicable measures detected in the review. Having entered into the energy efficiency agreement, we report about energy issues to Motiva Oy annually.