About the company

Viru Keemia Grupp is a private Estonian large-scale industrial enterprise. We focus on oil shale mining, shale oil, combined heat and power production and production and marketing of fine chemical products.

Viru Keemia Grupp is located in Kohtla-Järve and is the largest producer of shale oil in Estonia, proudly carrying the tradition of adding value to Estonian oil shale which started in 1924. The company is based on private capital since 1997, when state-owned RAS Kiviter was privatised.

Our values are

openness
commitment
development

We are characterised by openness, commitment to our activities, and constant development. We believe that every step and every action we take must create greater value for everyone – our employees, partners, clients, and the local community.

Main points of our vision

Globally competitive

The creation of our future values is based on the principle of continually maintaining the role of a leader of sustainable oil shale industry in Estonia in the changing market situation. We can do this thanks to improved efficiency. Safe and coordinated activities help us solve the problems our industry faces and act as a steppingstone in taking advantage of opportunities.

Innovating the shale oil industry

Constant development is essential to achieving success. In order to make our activities simpler and more standardised, we promote innovation through radical changes and cooperation. By developing our technologies, we work in an increasingly better, smarter and more efficient manner and are able to create permanent values.

Our objective, and a consistent principle is to add maximum value to oil shale and lengthen the value chain of the oil shale industry to the maximum extent possible. Today, VKG’s value chain is the longest in Estonia and one of the longest in the world.

Our strategic objectives

extracting the maximum amount of energy from oil shale,
adding maximum value to end products,
promoting an organisation culture aimed at efficiency,
ensuring the competitiveness of shale oil products,
developing new business verticals that support a climate-proof economy.

The Group’s strategic objective in the field of occupational safety is to provide an accident-free and safe working environment for its own employees, partners, and the residents of the city.

Sustainable development as a key to business management

Over the past decade, we have purposefully and consistently worked on integrating a model of sustainable development and corporate responsibility into the Group’s management system. By today, those principles are an integral part of our business model. We are oriented on consistent long-term relationships with partners and clients as well as on the production of fuel and energy as efficiently as possible, considering its impact on the environment. In aspiring towards our strategic objectives, we wish to create values for stakeholders in all the stages of activity.

Social responsibility developments

Production safety

Strategic priority of achieving an accident-free working environment
Improving the working environment and occupational safety policy and adhering to it, developing the safety culture
Systemic approach to the management of production risks

Environmental protection

Accounting, control and reduction of greenhouse gases
Plan for reducing the burden on ambient air
System of environmentally sustainable management
Monitoring of environmental indicators

Employee development

Offering development and career opportunities to employees
Training, development and career-building plans
Partnership with trade unions

Supporting the socioeconomic and cultural development of the region

Preservation and creation of jobs
Competitive pay for the Group’s employees
Partnership with regional NGOs and authorities
Supporting initiatives and projects aimed at promoting and diversifying the educational, sports and cultural life in the region

Importance of environmental and social factors

The safety of people and processes, the impact of industry on the surrounding environment, and other social aspects are of increasingly broader resonance and interest in society and the demands, standards and needs of society in these matters are ever increasing.

The ecological and social aspects of activities acquire an increasingly prominent place in the activity plans of industrial enterprises which are looking for innovations for the development of low carbon emission technologies and the reduction of the environmental impact of their industry. Financial institutions are also taking an interest in these matters, with banks and funds already now restricting investments into enterprises engaged in traditional energy production and taking into account the carbon footprint in managing financing portfolios.

Bases of sustainable economic activities

Environmental and production safety

2,335 dangerous situations were recorded in 2022, of which 98% were resolved. In 2023, the number of dangerous situations grew by 28%, to 2,993, of which 95% were brought to the ‘resolved’ status.
The percentage of total registered incidents or the TRIR indicator for the reporting period is 1.43 (−28%) and 1.90 (+33%), respectively.

Development of employee potential

The average salary was 1,939 euros in 2022 (+11.2%) and 2,146 euros in 2023 (+10.7%).
Personnel expenses amounted to 51.9 million euros in 2022 (+6%), and grew by 8.5% in 2023, amounting to 56.3 million euros.
During the reporting period, we invested 720,000 euros in the continuing education or our employees.
During the reporting period, more than 50 training programmes were organised for employees.

Social policy

During the reporting period, we supported nearly 70 initiatives and projects with more than 500,000 euros in total.
Voluntary work by the Group’s employees is supported.

General corporate management and risk management

A procedure has been established for preventing conflicts of interest and combating fraud and corruption.
The Group’s Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct have been implemented.
Updating the risk management system.

Technological development and innovation

We continued work on the bioproducts production complex development project.
We started work on the plastic waste recycling development project.
We thoroughly reconstructed the Petroter I shale oil plant, which had a positive impact on the quality of ambient air.
We started preparations for the opening of the Uus-Kiviõli Mine.

Corporate responsibility strategy

For us, a responsible attitude towards business activities means caring for production and environmental safety, minimising the negative impact on the environment and taking into account the interests of a wide circle of stakeholders (including employees, clients, suppliers, subcontractors and local associations). Increasing the efficiency of the management of production processes and the related risks helps us to achieve these objectives.

Safety

Area, objective

Ensuring the maximum possible level of production safety and reducing the environmental burden

Main tasks and problems

Ensuring the reliability of the technical condition of equipment and production processes.

Limiting the effect of the human factor where possible.

Sufficient training and qualification of employees before being allowed to commence work.

Success indicators

Absence of fatalities.

Absence of technical accidents.

Efficiency

Area, objective

Increasing the efficiency of all the areas of activity, including in adverse field conditions

Main tasks and problems

Using resources as efficiently as possible.

Extending the oil shale value chain.

Success indicators

Higher oil extraction percentage with a decreasing environmental footprint.

Innovation

Area, objective

Development and introduction of innovative solutions.

Main tasks and problems

Finding and introducing a functioning and economically effective solution that fits the production processes.

Training and developing the competences of personnel.

Success indicators

Use of virtual reality solutions in production training and fault diagnostics.

Development

Area, objective

Successful implementation of development projects

Main tasks and problems

The completion and establishment of the designated spatial plan of the bioproducts production complex.

The initiation of the plastic waste recycling project.

Success indicators

The designated spatial plan has been established and the community supports the development of the project.

The technology has been selected and the state supports the implementation of the project.

The position of the local community with regard to the project is at least neutral.