Our community
We deem it important to be a good neighbour in the community, therefore we support and encourage our employees to actively participate in the community activities.
We understand the impact of our business on the surrounding environment and therefore deem it important that our activities engaged with the interests of different stakeholders. We give our best to do more than required and expected from us in order to cast a positive impact both on the natural environment and on the quality of life of people.
Teamwork
- Also, in addition to their daily work our employees have an important responsibility to live our values through a voluntary participation in various community projects. Also, our employees appear on the photos of the Company’s data carrying media.
- Together with the employees of Coca-Cola Hellenic and the Embas¬sy of the United States of America we cleaned the Pikakari Beach within the cleaning up event “Let´s do it” for the local community to be able to enjoy the scenic beach area. Over 100 volunteers participated to contribute.
Cooperation and attention
- We have supported the disabled people through the nursery “Õunake” and the Estonian Union of Sports for the Disabled and also the children in Ristiku Basic School. We organized a meeting of Ristiku Basic School and nursery “Õunake” with the Pille Lill Music Fund to give the children an opportunity to enjoy classical music. Positive emotions are great sources of inspiration and children feel free and open about new musical experience.
- In February 2015, Urve Tiidus the Minister of Culture recognized the companies that have provided a long-term support to culture. We received a thank-you note and a title of “Friend of Culture 2014”.
- We belong to the Zoo’s Friends Society and proudly sponsor a polar bear girl Nora.
- In cooperation with the city district governments we gave planting soil for free to everybody, who were interested in it to make our city look more fresh and green.
- High quality drinking water was provided at numerous sports and health promotion events. We also provide water for the Flower Festival and ice skating rinks in winter.
- We help to make one of the largest Estonian cultural events happen – Dark Nights Film Festival. In 2014 the festival had approximately 80,000 visitors.
- In 2014, the Responsible Business Forum awarded the Company with the silver mark of sustainable business index. This index helps us to consistently analyse, how to act in a socially responsible manner and design a sustainable business model.
Improved awareness of consumers
- We also keep on working hard to promote the environmental thinking amongst our population. In our messages and activities we encourage them to drink tap water. With our message “Tap water IS drinking water” we draw people’s attention to the very good quality of tap water. We also continued our co-operation with restaurants within our campaign “Ask for tap water” so that the customers would have the courage and awareness to ask for tap water when they dine in restaurants.
- 2014 was the Gulf of Finland Year focusing on the quality of sea water and natural environment as a whole. Treatment of wastewater at Paljassaare significantly contributes to a cleaner Baltic Sea. In order for the residents in Tallinn to be able to contribute to cleaner environment and what is even more important, to be able to prevent problems and inconveniences caused by blockages, we continued to communicate the message “Toilet is not a bin!”. SAPO i.e. Sanitary Police used in our messaging explained to people, what is allowed to be thrown in the toilet and what could cause blockages.
- We continue contributing to environmental awareness of youth who would value environment. Each year our employees organize group conversations in kindergartens and schools discussing water circulation, ways of saving water and avoiding blockages.
- To date we have developed two sets of water and environmental study materials for teachers in nature studies supporting the national study programme. “Blue classroom” is meant for the nature studies from 4th to 6th grade. In 2014, within the Gulf of Finland Year, we issued a new study material “Blue Classroom: LABORATORY”, which is above all suitable for nature studies from 7th to 9th grade. We also organized information days to introduce the study materials to primary school and nature studies’ teachers and the teachers of 13 Tallinn schools participated in the information days.
- Besides our main responsibilities – production of drinking water and treatment of wastewater – our treatment plants also have an important role to play in increasing the population’s awareness. Each year, we introduce the plants’ work to more and more people – in 2014, a total of almost 1,500 visitors took guided tours in the treatment plants.
- To encourage people to protect and value the nature more, we participated in the project “Tours of Wisdom” within the “Back to school” project. In that project classes and schools were called on submitting creative requests to visit the treatment plants. This time 5 schools were interested and of those Põltsamaa Ühisgümnaasium won the contest by writing a song of Lake Ülemiste.
- Each year we have the traditional open doors day at the treatment plants for those interested. In spring, over 100 people came to learn about the wastewater treatment process. In addition to sports enthusiasts, open doors day at Ülemiste Water Treatment Plant in the end of August brought together a record of over 800 people, who were interested in the plant’s work. In addition to the tours at the plant, the visitors were offered delicious water cocktails made on site.
