MITOL - Good practice Slovenia, Coastal-Karst Region

Good practice title: MITOL – eco-innovation as basic component of overall company strategy
Contact person: Marjan Mateta
Organization: Contact information
Name: MITOL d.d. Sežana
Address: Partizanska cesta 78
Telephone: +386 (0)5 7312300
Email
Productive sector: Adhesives

Presentation
Mitol is a medium sized company and its main activity is production of adhesives. The company is specialised in binders for the production of adhesives and dispersion paints, adhesives for industrial use, craftsmen products, adhesives for home, school, office, hobby.

The basic mission of Mitol is determined in three points:
-    Active communication with customers regarding their needs and fast development of innovative solutions, which will be economically and ecologically efficient for both partners.
-    To supply high quality products on time and to ensure support to their use.
-    To act socially responsible, so that it ensures the competitiveness of the company in the broadest sense.

Environmental standards
Environmental protection is extremely important to the company. Therefore it first focused on the ISO 14001 standard, through which the company covers all the elements of ecology, in the production process, as well as in relation to particular products. As the company is aware of the importance of environmental protection, it is oriented towards the increase of share of waterborne adhesives, while reducing other adhesives on the basis of solvents, which are more damaging to the environment. In relation to the environmental conservation the integral part of the company’s strategy is also the increase of utilization of renewable sources.

The company received the Responsible Care certificate for responsible treatment in the field of protection of health, responsible treatment of environment and responsible work with natural resources. It was among the first 14 companies in Slovenia that received the certificate in order to constantly improve the quality of products and reduce negative impacts on the environment. The programme of responsible treatment was integrated in the comprehensive development strategy of the company. As a tool in the field of environmental protection they selected the ISO 14001 standard. The company also obtained the OHSAS 18001 standard Occupational health and safety management system.
In 2008 the company received from the Ministry of the environment and spatial planning the environmental licence in accordance with the IPPC Directive.  

Environmentally friendly products
On the basis of verification of client’s demands they develop a product that meets best the needs of the client on one hand and fulfils environmental requirements on the other.
They are developing products, they are replacing hazardous substances with less hazardous ones, they are implementing technological procedures to reduce the content of volatile organic substances (VOS) in products, and they are introducing the technology, which produces minimum emissions.

Adopting environmental standards
The reason for adopting environmental standards was the adaptation to the IPPC Directive and the need to ensure the continuity of the company in a long term. The introductions of standards affected the behaviour of the company, but it did not affect the organizational scheme. It strengthened the introduction of eco-innovative approaches in modification of technological process and in the selection of products.

Budget for research and development
The company does not have separate resources for environmental interventions, as they are an integral part of investments in technology. In last five years the annual investment in technology (mainly in fixed assets) varied from 2,85 % to 10,3 % of annual revenues. The only sources for funding are the sources of the company. In the past years it also gained some funds on public calls for tender in Slovenia and it applied for national funding programmes co-financed from EU funds (Motor challenge, 2007; RIP, 2008). print