On November 21, the State Labor Inspectorate launched the informative campaign “Be sure that work is safe!”, with the help of which employers and employees are invited to pay attention to the importance of compliance with labor protection requirements, especially in sectors where the risk of accidents at work is increased.

At the opening conference of the campaign with informative and educational presentations for labor protection specialists “There is power in the team!” representatives of Vital Terminal Latvia, SCHWENK Latvija, Schneider Electric and Riga International Airport participated. They presented good practice examples of how teamwork helps companies reduce accidents at work. Linda Šedlere, a Member of the Management Board, Director of Human Capital and Administration, shared the best practice and experience of SCHWENK Latvija.

Photos by Evija Trifanova / LETA

We received the 2023 labor protection good practice award “Golden Helmet” for comprehensive measures to reduce the risks of climate change in working environment. On behalf of the company, the Head of Health and Safety Department Dmitrijs Danilenko received the award.

Linda Šedlere, Member of the Board of SCHWENK Latvija, Director of Human Capital and Administration, says about receiving the award: “We are very pleased with the award and the high evaluation of the jury, considering the company’s activities in caring for the health and safety of our employees at a time when we increasingly feel the direct impact of climate change on the working environment as a result. We have been participating in the Golden Helmet good practice competition for many years, and we are happy that we can still share our experience. Improvements in the working environment in our company do not end, they are measured in several thousands every year, because that is how many reports we receive from our nearly 360 employees every year. We believe that change starts with each of us, therefore, by listening to our people and implementing their suggestions, we will be able to do the most. We are happy for all the responsible employers who implement measures in the field of labor protection and take care of the people of Latvia every day.”

Photos by the State Labour Inspectorate

The social initiative Mission Zero launched by SCHWENK Latvija last year unites already 93 employers, who together employ more than 40 thousand employees.

On October 20, the fourth Mission Zero thematic forum was held, which was dedicated to physical health, health checks and preventive measures to maintain working capacity. More than 80 safety enthusiasts participated in the event. 12 companies signed the Mission Zero charter becoming members of this H&S initiative.

SCHWENK Latvija Sustainability Report was recognized as the best sustainability report in the Baltics in the ESG in Action Baltic sustainability report competition organized by the leading audit and consulting services company Deloitte.

It is particularly noted as an excellent example of the high level of reliability and detail required by the new and extensive reporting standard, while maintaining an easy-to-read and user-friendly format.

Report is published here: SCHWENK_Latvija_sustainability_report_2022.pdf

By becoming a part of this growing business cooperation network, we have gained new opportunities and potential to work together with other like-minded companies to promote and improve the business and investment climate in Latvia.

In this cooperation platform SCHWENK Latvija is represented by the Board Member, Environmental and Legal Director Evita Goša.

In cooperation with the group of energy companies AJ Power, the largest industrial solar energy park in Latvia has been launched in Brocēni, where the produced electricity will be fully used by the SCHWENK Latvija cement plant.

The 5500 MWh of green energy produced annually by 11520 solar panels will provide approximately 5% of the plant’s annual electricity consumption.

Together with another solar power station planned to be built next year, the use of renewable energy will bring us closer to achieving climate neutrality goals.

Continuing to cherish good traditions, at the end of September we invited our customers to a meeting at the Mežaparks stage. Many various local building materials were used in its construction, including our cement and concrete.

Paying tribute to Latvian traditions of song and dance festival, during the event we also united in a common song with our customers, dedicating it to our country Latvia. It is symbolic that relevant to the song and the event, our customers created an outline of Latvia on the stage.

SCHWENK Latvija Sustainability Report, published in the end of July, covers our performance in various sustainability aspects – environment and climate, employees, communities, customers and subcontractors, industry and governance.

Sustainability Report has been developed considering upcoming EU regulations, which will define mandatory reporting for companies starting from 2026.

The report is available: SCHWENK_Latvija_sustainability_report_2022.pdf

On July 14, a safety [enthusiast] festival of the Mission Zero initiative was held at the BOTC Training training ground. At the festival, the representatives of the initiative’s participating companies gathered, whose daily duties are to ensure the development of an appropriate health protection and occupational safety policy in the company and its implementation in all the core business processes of the company, implementing practical solutions. It was an opportunity for the participants of the event to network, discuss daily challenges in the field of safety, search for solutions to them together, share knowledge, experience and practices that companies are proud of, as well as failures so that they are not repeated by others, and be inspired by each other.

Mission Zero was joined by four new members of the initiative – the Charter of Mission Nulle was signed by Rīgas Dzemdību nams SIA, Rīgas ūdens SIA, Sabiedrisko pakalpojumu regulēšanas komisija and SilJa SIA.

For the third year, SCHWENK Latvija supports and participates in the conversation festival LAMPA. During our discussion, we raised an important question in the context of labor shortage – the virtue of work in modern society and whether it is still a value. The participants of the discussion agreed that the virtue of work is an eternal value that we improve throughout our lives in the family, in the education system and with the employer. We are pleased that our discussion attracted a large group of people, because there were no empty seats left at the stage.

We express our sincere gratitude to the moderator of the discussion, Agnese Strazda, Board Member of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Latvia, and the speakers – Dāvis Indriksons, Riga Business School Bachelor of Business Management student and Sales Representative of Asya.ai, Aivita Putniņa, Associate Professor of the University of Latvia and a Leading Researcher, Jānis Lielpēteris, Board Member of Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Director of the Policy Department, and Linda Šedlere, Board Member of SCHWENK Latvija, Human Capital Management and Administration Director.