Corporate Responsibility

Tamro Group published the first sustainability policy in April 2008. This policy states the group-level corporate responsibility objectives for the coming years. Commitment to developing more sustainable practices was a key area of focus in the 2008/09 business year, and all Tamro Group business units reviewed their operations and set new environmental or social responsibility objectives. Many new initiatives were launched. Tamro Group is committed to compliance with relevant environmental regulations and requirements through the continual development of our environmental management systems, and we will create and monitor annual environmental objectives and targets to meet this commitment.

To meet the Group sustainability policy’s requirement of developing an environmental management system and monitoring the environment-related targets, development of a corporate responsibility reporting process was initiated in September. In the course of the process development work, the most pertinent corporate responsibility issues for Tamro were determined and the associated key performance indicators and measures set. An important part of the development process was the stakeholder expectations survey conducted in January 2009. The objective is to publish the first corporate responsibility report in spring 2010. This report will cover the financial, social, and environmental responsibility issues.

Corporate Responsibility in Business Units

Many Tamro Group business units formulated their own environmental policies in 2008/09. At Apokjeden, the environment is considered when decisions are made about the assortment, selection of packages, and means of transport. The policy challenges all employees, and also suppliers, to develop their respective environment-related practices as well. Apokjeden’s objective is to become fully compliant with the ISO 14001 environmental standard. Tamro Sweden has fulfilled the requirements of the ISO 14001 environmental standard since 2000.

In Denmark, Nomeco has set an objective of reducing CO₂ emissions by 10% in three years and encourages its employees to reduce their personal carbon footprint.

At Tamro Finland, a company-wide environmental study was carried out, and several areas for development were found. A new, low-emission car policy was adopted in January. A thorough recycling plan was implemented at all sites, and recycling operations were renewed.

Tamro Estonia’s Apteek1 has the objective of being the first green pharmacy chain in Estonia before the end of 2009. That involves the use of recycled materials, reduction of waste, and application of various means of saving energy and water. The employees are encouraged to participate in reducing the company’s carbon footprint. At Tamro Latvia, Gimenes aptieka has replaced its plastic bags with paper bags and the employees have given up use of plastic cups. At Tamro Lithuania, delivery routes and times have been optimised to reduce carbon emissions from the delivery trucks. Also, the heating and ventilation system has been modernised and is now much more energy-efficient.

In Poland, energy-saving light bulbs were introduced in the Warsaw warehouse and disposable dishes replaced with ceramic and/or metal kitchenware.

In all wholesale operations, the goods are packed into washable and durable plastic boxes that are reused for many years. All other packaging waste is sorted and recycled.