The Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning has granted Pivara Skopje a new A-integrated pollution prevention and control permit valid for the next seven years. This document confirms the additional investments and the maintenance of highest level of control of the company’s potential environmental impact. The new environmental permit covers and assesses all changes to the infrastructure and technological processes that Pivara Skopje has made since receiving the previous environmental permit in August 2012.

“Care for the environment is one of the most important strategic commitments and is one of the pillars of the long-term sustainable development of Pivara Skopje. We are fully aware of the contribution we have and can give to a cleaner environment and therefore as a company we have an integrated approach and we set goals and environmental targets that in certain segments even exceed the requirements of domestic laws in this area. The dedication of all our employees, our intensive investments, as well as the tremendous support and leadership by the Coca-Cola HBC and HEINEKEN groups where our company belongs, are extremely important for accomplishing them,” said the General Manager of Pivara Skopje, Dan Timotin. He thanked all the employees in the company for their commitment to fulfilling all the necessary conditions for obtaining the new environmental permit, as well as the cooperation of the competent institutions. At the same time, he added that Pivara Skopje makes available to the institutions all the knowledge and experience of the company and its employees in this field.

“The new A-integrated environmental permit is a confirmation of all previous efforts and investments of Pivara Skopje in environmental protection and at the same time is a guarantee that the company will fully and continuously apply the highest standards in this field provided by our legislation in its operations, starting from the selection of raw materials, through the control of the process of production, distribution and sale, and all the way to packaging management,” emphasized the Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, Naser Nuredini.

Support for the successful completion of the process and the new environmental permit was expressed by US Ambassador Kate Marie Byrnes, Dutch Ambassador Dirk Jan Kop and Gazi Baba Mayor Boris Georgievski, who sent a special message.

“We are pleased that we have companies such as Pivara Skopje in our municipality that demonstrate their readiness to do whatever is necessary to minimize environmental impact not only on paper but also in practice. This should be an impluse for other companies, as well as all other entities in our community and in the entire society, to follow such successful examples and to make their concrete contribution to creating a cleaner environment that should be a common goal and basic task for us all,” said Gazi Baba Mayor, Boris Georgievski.

On this occasion, the line minister, the mayor of Gazi Baba and the two ambassadors visited and got acquainted with the main technological processes at Pivara Skopje and with the investments that provide greater environmental protection, such as the Plant for bio treatment of water, which represents high-tech innovation in the domestic industry and provides savings and complete purification of all water used in the production process of Pivara Skopje. This Station is the first of its kind in the country and the region, and about 3m euros were invested in its construction.

They had the opportunity to get acquainted with the history of Pivara Skopje, and they also visited the production part.

Guided by the global commitments for environmental protection and sustainable development defined by the Coca-Cola HBC Group for the period until 2025, Pivara Skopje will work on making sure that all packaging is recyclable and most of the plastics used in manufacturing to be made from recycled PET packaging. The company has also set an ambitious objective that goes beyond the legal obligations to continuously increase its contribution to the collection of packaging waste which is done through the system that also includes the first specialized packaging waste management company Pakomak, where Pivara Skopje is one of the founders and provides continuous support for its operation.

For its leading role and the evident results in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development, Pivara Skopje, along with other companies in Coca-Cola HBC Group, for six consecutive years has been ranked first in the european and world beverage industry, by The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) – the leading global standard for business sustainability.