Compliance and environment

As the largest water company in Estonia, we are responsible for providing consumers with a reliable supply of wholesome drinking water and treating sewage and storm water, using technologies that are environmentally friendly. To us, bearing this fact in mind and acting consistently and systematically in making our management decisions and performing our daily business activities is the key. Therefore, our management practices need to take into account the impact we have on our surrounding environment and the expectations of various stakeholders.

In order to ensure the fulfilment of minimum environmental requirements set for the water companies, we are required to comply with the legislative acts issued by EU and the state, as well as by the local governments. On the EU level, this means above all the compliance with the Water Framework Directive No 2000/60/EC of EU Council. On the national level, the Company is required to comply with the Water Act, Public Water Supply and Sewerage Act, General Part of the Environmental Code Act, Environmental Monitoring Act, Environmental Liability Act, Waste Act, Chemicals Act, Ambient Air Protection Act and any regulations adopted on the basis thereof. On the local level, the Company has to abide by various guidelines and regulations established by the local government in Tallinn and neighbouring municipalities.

We strive to do more than we are expected by the legislative and contractual requirements. To serve that purpose, we focus on dialogue and cooperation, both within our team and with various partners. Changes in applicable legislation are constantly monitored and communicated to the relevant managers, whom those changes concern. On the other hand, we also value preventive cooperation and actively participate in the development and amending of legal acts primarily via the Estonian Waterworks Association. We also cooperate with several quality-conscious and environmentally aware companies to promote doing business in an ethical and responsible way. For example, we have been a member of the Estonian Association for Quality since 2002 and a member of the Estonian Association for Environmental Management since 2003. AS Tallinna Vesi is also one of the founders of the Responsible Business Forum in Estonia.

We are the most regulated water company in Estonia. To ensure the best quality of service for our customers, besides the legislative requirements, we are contractually required to comply with 97 levels of service. This responsibility stems between two parties Services Agreement we concluded with the City of Tallinn and the investor in 2001 (hereinafter the Services Agreement). Our performance and the levels of service are reviewed annually by an independent monitoring unit - the Supervisory Foundation for Water Companies in Tallinn – to whom we submit annual Levels of Service reports.

In 2015, we complied with and in many cases outperformed all of the contractual levels of service. For many levels of service, the best results of all times were achieved.

Besides the 97 levels of service, we are contractually required to comply with the following management systems:

  1. Since 2001, ISO 17025 Quality Management System of Laboratories;
  2. Since 2002, ISO 9001 Quality Management System;
  3. Since 2003, ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.

Doing business in an environmentally safe way and the safety of our employees are fundamental to us, so we have voluntarily implemented the following management systems:

  1. Since 2005, EMAS-compliant European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme;
  2. Since 2007, OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System.

In 2015, our (including our subsidiary OÜ Watercom) activity and our management systems fully complied with all applicable quality, environmental, occupational safety and work environment standards and systems, and legal requirements. Such compliance is regularly monitored via internal audits and confirmed by way of an external audit undertaken by Det Norske Veritas Eesti OÜ on the EMAS-compliant Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, established by the European Union. During the 2015 audit, the auditors made several positive observations, the most important of which was the observation made on the high level delivery of the objectives, especially considering that for several objectives the best result of all times was achieved. Amongst other things, the auditors pointed out a well-organized exchange of information on management level as well as good performance in various areas and effective prevention activity.

We act in accordance with the requirements of the environmental permits issued to us and comply with the precepts issued by authorities. The following environmental permits have been issued to AS Tallinna Vesi:

  • 4 permits for the special use of water and 1 temporary permit for the special use of water;
  • 2 waste permits;
  • 2 ambient air pollution permits.

More detailed information about the environmental permits and environmental performance is provided in our 2015 Environmental Report (EMAS) on our webpage: www.tallinnavesi.ee - About us – Environment – Environmental Reports.

Cooperation with partners

In a globalizing world, the supplying markets are constantly growing and changing. Looking for new suppliers, as well as monitoring and improving the cooperation with current partners are equally important to us. We consistently and systematically assess our cooperation with the suppliers, enabling us to have a two-way interaction with the current partners, to create a reliable base of suppliers and to employ suppliers’ competences in order to create additional value for the organization. Besides assessing the activity of suppliers, we also ask for a feedback on our own activity, in order to develop our relations and cooperation with the suppliers further, aiming to be a better partner.

We strive to be a reliable partner to our customers, investors, employees and representatives of the community, therefore, we regularly disclose information on our activity, financial standing and performance. Regular cooperation with the Trade Union and Work Environment Council, also analysing the results of annual employee satisfaction survey allow us to take into account the expectations of our staff.