Taking care of the environment, we, VENDEN, have been taking various measures for many years which are aimed at preserving natural resources, protecting the environment, increasing energy efficiency, and promoting a "green" lifestyle.
In this declaration, we have summarized the most important activities we have implemented over the past years, which are united by one goal – to minimize the environmental impact of the manufacturing of our products, both well-known and new, while maintaining their consistently high quality in accordance with the consumers' wishes.
In this declaration you will find out what activities we are carrying out in various areas:
We are convinced that such an integrated approach to all business-related areas is the way to reduce our impact on the environment in the long term.
We, VENDEN, encourage everyone to take care of the environment every day and preserve the resources of our planet – Earth!
Every year, the most nature-friendly Latvian companies are awarded the Baltic Brand Ranking award in the category Greenest Brand in Latvia. From year to year, VENDEN confidently maintains its position among the 20 leading companies of this top, and in 2021 it rose to an honourable 3rd place.
However, nothing ends with receiving an award – we continue working on further development and implementation of various innovations, for example, helping to reduce the use of plastic in manufacturing processes. Improving product ergonomics and ease of use is an equally important area of our activity.
Being kind to nature and continuing to offer customers the most natural and healthy products possible is one of VENDEN’s main goals.
The manufacturing process implies constant quality control and continuous development, improvement of processes and technologies, and the use of new materials and raw materials. This is determined both by internal decisions to increase efficiency and effectiveness, as well as by changes in consumer demands, various market trends and regulatory enactments in Latvia and the European Union. Plastic and cardboard packaging are an inevitable part of the manufacturing cycle of our products, therefore, we regularly take various measures to continually reduce the environmental impact of our manufacturing.
One of the biggest challenges for companies today is reduction of the amount of plastic they use. In the manufacturing of bottles, we switched to lighter blanks and caps comparing to those previously used, which allowed us to reduce plastic consumption in the manufacturing of all products in PET bottles.
Among other things, we were able to reduce plastic consumption in the manufacturing of VENDEN Sport bottles with a capacity of 0.75 and 0.37 litres using new innovative caps with a Click system. They not only reduce the amount of plastic required for manufacturing, but are also very convenient for daily use.
The European Union directive stipulates that from July 3, 2024, the caps of PET bottles must be inseparable from the bottles, thus promoting the recycling of caps and reducing the possibility of them entering the environment. We have already made a gradual transition in time and, taking care of the convenience of our customers, we have chosen caps that are as convenient and easy to open and close as possible, thus maintaining the constantly comfortable consumption of VENDEN products.
Improving the shape of PET bottles with a capacity of 0.5 and 1.5 litres and shortening the length of their necks allowed us to reduce the amount of plastic used in manufacturing by 39 tons per year.
Our priority is natural products created by nature. For example, we offer consumers spring water, as well as still and carbonated natural mineral water. The quality of our products is, inter alia, attested by the national food quality mark Green Spoon.
To prepare various drinks on the basis of natural mineral water, we select the best ingredients – flavours and sugars of natural origin only. The products we manufacture do not contain artificial colours or flavourings, so they are not only safer for nature, but also healthier.
One of the resource saving areas implemented by us is offering consumers energy-efficient water consumption equipment. One of the best examples is the modern and innovative COOL TOUCH™ devices, in which the system of effectively maintaining the water temperature in "sleep" mode ensures longer periods of operation of the equipment with minimal energy consumption. In addition, setting the power saving mode in accordance with the company’s work schedule allows the device to spend up to ⅔ of the total time in standby mode daily.
When creating lists of various related products offered to our customers, we focus on choosing more environmentally friendly product options. For example, we offer wooden stir sticks for various hot drinks and eco-friendly paper cups that are plastic-free and can be recycled into paper.
It is not a secret that the global situation with the amount of waste in the environment is rapidly deteriorating. In recent years, member states of the European Union have been focusing on a circular economy that involves sharing, renting, reusing, repairing, recovering and recycling waste, materials and products for as long as possible. Thus, the product circulation cycle is extended, which in practice means minimizing the amount of waste.
In current conditions, it is impossible to completely eliminate the use of printed documents in the office. That is why we, employees of VENDEN, sort waste in the office in Riga, in branches in Liepaja, Ventspils, Jelgava, Cesis and Daugavpils, and on manufacturing site. The collected waste paper has been regularly delivered to the paper mill in Ligatne, where it is recycled and used to manufacture new paper.
Most VENDEN products are packaged in PET or polycarbonate bottles, so we take great responsibility for the recyclability of various packaging materials. Concerned with the reuse of resources, VENDEN annually recycles approximately 65 tons of various types of plastic.
Since 2022, when the deposit system began to operate in Latvia, all VENDEN products packaged in PET bottles with a capacity of 0.37 to 1.5 litres, as well as glass bottles with a capacity of 0.25 and 0.75 litres, are marked with the Latvian deposit mark and must be returned at any tare machine or deposit point.
The amount of the deposit fee is determined by the Regulations No. 519 by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia "Rules for the operation of the deposit system", which provides for a deposit of 10 cents per unit of packaging. The deposit can be returned if the package being returned has a Latvian deposit sign, a barcode, and the package is empty and has no significant damage. The deposit fee can also be donated to charity.
VENDEN supports the implementation of such a system in Latvia, which ensures the collection and recycling of PET, metal, and glass packaging, thus significantly reducing environmental pollution and promoting the reuse of materials. It is predicted that this year the return of deposit containers could reach 80%.
We can be proud that we live in a very green country, with more than 50% of its territory covered by forests. However, the share of natural meadows is decreasing every year, and various global problems, for example, with freshwater resources, are becoming even more acute.
Taking care of the environment, preserving Latvian flora, fauna and biotopes is a common long-term goal of our society, therefore every year we implement various measures to preserve and restore existing natural resources. Our main products – VENDEN Mežavots spring water and VENDEN natural mineral water – are also created by nature itself.
The extraction sites for both VENDEN Mežavots spring water and VENDEN natural mineral water are located in a protected nature reserve – in the Gauja National Park. We, VENDEN, take care of the area near the Mezuli spring, from which the VENDEN Mežavots spring water is obtained, and the condition of the forest, including by organizing measures to care for it and attracting the necessary specialists.
In addition, we closely monitor the debit, or daily limit, of the Mezuli spring – the amount of water in litres that we can receive without harming nature. This ensures the spring’s ability to self-renew, so that the water resource does not dry out.
Responsibility for the environment is one of VENDEN’s priorities, therefore, in 2020 we started a new tradition – planting trees in various cities of Latvia. In five years, we have replenished the Ebelmuizas Park in Riga, the Esplanade Park in Daugavpils, Cirulisu Street in Cesis near the VENDEN production and the VENDEN Health Trail in the Gauja National Park, as well as the embankment of Lielupe in Jelgava and in 2024 we helped restore the chestnut alley in Ventspils near the bus station. We already know that in 2025 we will green Liepaja and we will continue this tradition in the following years!
It can be considered that the influence of a family, an enterprise or an individual country on various global environmental problems is very insignificant. However, even small, sometimes seemingly insignificant changes in the actions of each person are a small step towards a greener and cleaner world. For these reasons, we at VENDEN also regularly analyse the administrative processes and work of various company departments, including logistics, in search of new ways to preserve natural resources.
Every day we deliver our products throughout Latvia, so the quality of the fleet is crucial. A couple of years ago, our fleet was replenished with new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cargo vans. In recent years, we have chosen them because they are reliable and economical cars with a more environmentally friendly emission class. Reducing fuel consumption also helps to reduce emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Considering that VENDEN products are delivered daily to several hundred addresses throughout Latvia, effective route planning and optimization is of great importance. It makes it possible to reduce fuel consumption as much as possible and, accordingly, the amount of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
Taking care of the preservation of renewable natural resources, including wood, since 2021 we have reduced paper documentation in our daily work by 80%. It was achieved through the transition to an electronic invoicing system and through changes in the organization of office work.
An important part of our corporate social responsibility is to educate the public about the need to preserve and protect natural resources by supporting various green and active lifestyle initiatives daily. An understanding of the impact of our actions on the environment and its protection should be formed in childhood; therefore, we have been implementing activities aimed at educating preschool children for several years. By investing time and money now, we hope for an environmentally friendly and responsible young generation!
In preserving the environment, not only the actions of companies, but also the daily actions of each individual person play an important role, therefore we, VENDEN, regularly implement and support events aimed at promoting respect for nature, an ecological and healthy lifestyle. As part of this initiative, we provide various sports activities for families with children, for example, Stirnu buks, with VENDEN Mežavots spring water and VENDEN natural mineral water.
We also promote a healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyle on social networks, informing subscribers about various topics related to nutrition and physical activity, we suggest using reusable water bottles, and handing over deposit packaging at designated points.
Every year on March 22, the World Water Day is celebrated around the world. The idea for this holiday originated in 1992 at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The purpose of Water Day is to draw attention to the availability and quality of water resources and encourage every person to realize their value.
We, VENDEN, have been implementing various activities for several years to raise public awareness about the water crisis. One of them is a drawing competition for the younger generation of inhabitants of the Earth – pupils of preschool educational institutions. As part of this competition, we invite children to think about the importance of water in their world and reflect this thought in their creative works.
At the end of the year, we create a calendar with the drawings submitted to the competition, which we give to our clients and cooperation partners. We hope this calendar will be a great reminder of how important water is in our daily lives and how lucky we are to be able to quench our thirst with safe drinking water.
VENDEN – a gift of nature from the Gauja National Park
