Sustainability Report 2012 Lek d.d.

Sustainability Report 2012 – Lek d.d. Environment 20 The key direct environmental aspects of our operations inclu- de the use of energy, water, waste, emissions to the air, emis- sions to water, and, to a lesser extent, odor, noise, and the use of soil. Indirect environmental aspects mainly include impacts from the suppliers (Items 2.1.6 and 6.1.2). Lek’s active environmental policy encompasses a number of environmental protection activities frequently exceeding legal requirements. Emphasis is placed on upgrading and impro- ving current measures and implementing new ones. Business decisions are made in consideration of direct and indirect en- vironmental impacts. 2.1.1 Specifics of business operations, and disparities in data collected When identifying Lek's environmental impacts, certain speci- fic features have to be taken into account. They mostly refer to the efficiency of the use of materials, energy resources, water, waste, atmospheric emissions, and wastewaters per tonne of product. Consequently, there are considerable differences in product and API weight. Compared to some self-medication drugs, similar biological drugs, for example, have low weight, yet their manufacture requires larger quantities of water and energy resources, and their financial value is higher as well. These disparities become particularly noticeable in seeking a common basis for the preparation of data for Lek, and they are also apparent at the Ljubljana and Menge‰ sites which have an extensive, versatile product portfolio. Lek’s operations are also characterized by interim adjust- ments of the production program to changes in demand which could again be observed in 2012. The manufacturing structure therefore varies from year to year. As a result of the above, year-on-year comparability of effici- ency data and of individual production sites is compromised. 2.1.2 Major environment protection achievements By implementing our environmental policy, we aim to im- prove the environmental performance of our processes. In 2012, we noted the following achievements in this area: • We continued projects aimed at reducing atmospheric emissions: - At the Menge‰ site, additional reconnections for dis- charge of halogenated solvent emissions into a cryocondensation device were executed, - At the Menge‰ site, a thermal oxidizer for the control of air emissions was replaced by a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO), a device of higher performance and better cost efficiency. An identical device (the second in the last five years) was installed at the Ljubljana site; • With intensified segregation, we reduced the volume of non-hazardous waste for disposal; • Biodegradable mycelium resulting from the manufactu- re of clavulanic acid at the Lendava site was redirected to a bio-gasworks for reprocessing, which was mainly due to the alignment of our waste management prac- tice with the statutory hierarchy, our objective to save energy and to reduce CO 2 emissions, to reduce the volume of ashes for disposal, and last but not least, to raise the level of cost efficiency. • At the Prevalje site, we increased the use of wastewa- ter generated in the process of water preparation for cooling purposes, whereby the use of fresh water for cooling purposes fell by 30%; • A packaging project performed at the level of Lek d.d. brought about decreased use of raw materials, where- as the decrease in the packaging unit size diminished the impact on transport (reduced CO 2 emissions). 2.1.3 Investments in environmental management 22 Environmental investments are part of our everyday busi- ness operations. In 2012, they amounted to EUR 2.4 million. The major investment projects included: • Completion of investment in two new, state-of-the-art thermal oxidizers installed at the Ljubljana and Menge‰ sites to further reduce VOC emissions to the air; 2. Environment 2.1 Implementation of active environmental policy Environment protection investments Treatment of air emissions with devices of higher energy efficiency At the Ljubljana and Menge‰ sites, we completed an extensive project of replacing the device for thermal oxidation of VOC emissions with new regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) with improved operational per- formance and better energy efficiency. Without any na- tural gas added, the new devices operate already at concentrations between 1.2 and 1.5 g of solvents per m 3 of waste air. The RTO operating at the Menge‰ site has also a central condensation system fitted before the inlet of waste process gases. RTO device in Ljubljana. 22 GRI Indicator EN30