Handprint of responsible Atria

Atria sharpens its responsible handprint

With the Atria’s Handprint programme, Atria’s responsible operations, which span over a period of more than 100 years, are now developed in a coordinated manner. It is a comprehensive corporate responsibility programme that affects the entire Atria food chain. The Atria’s Handprint programme gathers the principles, practices and results of Atria’s responsible operations and transparently provides extensive information on them.

One part of the Atria’s Handprint programme, namely the Atria’s Code of Conduct (see Appendix), has now been published.

Responsible operating methods and their transparency are key development priorities for the entire food industry. By investing more coherently in developing responsible operating methods, Atria aims to secure its current and future operating conditions.

Atria strives to become a leading company in responsible food production

The Atria’s Handprint programme covers financial, social and environmental points of view in accordance with international practice. Atria’s financial responsibility is based on good profitability, which secures the company’s international growth. The well-being of the environment is essential to Atria and the entire food chain. Atria prevents direct environmental impacts in its operations and identifies indirect environmental impacts at various stages of the operating chain (e.g., primary production). The competence and well-being of personnel form the most central dimension of Atria’s social responsibility. At Atria, social responsibility also refers to obligations and voluntary responsibilities relating to product safety and product responsibility as well as consumer protection.

In the Atria’s Handprint programme, responsibility is developed and measured, during the first stage, through seven dimensions, which are financial administration, environment, well-being of animals, product safety, nutrition, personnel and communication. By developing all of these in a balanced manner, Atria aims to become a leading company in responsible food production in its area of operation.

Development projects connect the dimensions of corporate responsibility

The Atria’s Handprint programme covers all countries where Atria operates and is implemented in various development projects in different countries. Development projects bring together already established practices but also create entirely new operating methods.

In Finland, development of responsible operating methods focuses, during the first stage, on well-being of animals, nutrition and the environmental impacts of the entire chain. For example, Atria has already been investing in the well-being of production animals for decades and continues to do so in a more coordinated manner. Atria’s contract producers are required to follow the code of practice for responsible meat production. The code of practice defines requirements for the processing, feeding, rearing conditions and health care of animals. These requirements are sometimes even stricter than the legislation. The aim of the code is to ensure well-being of animals, quality and safety of products and financially successful production facilities.

In environmental matters, Atria focuses on reducing environmental impacts, for instance, by utilising efficient packaging and logistics solutions as well as by further reducing energy consumption in production. Atria Finland has focused, among other things, on a logistics centre that utilises a new kind of refrigeration technology for the freezers needed by Atria. The new technology is more energy efficient, and transport can be handled by covering shorter distances.

Atria Scandinavia’s projects focus on nutrition, product safety and personnel well-being. In Sweden, one of the targets of long-term development is to reduce the amount of additives used in meat products. Atria has examined the possibility of discontinuing the use of all E-additives in some of its product groups.

At Atria Russia, development projects have primarily focused on developing the competence and well-being of personnel. At Atria Baltic, a development area is the reduction of E-additives, especially in products intended for children. For example, one product series where no E-additives are used has been launched in Estonia.

The symbol of the Atria’s Handprint programme is the Atria’s Handprint label, which gathers Atria’s corporate responsibility functions and outlines the structure of Atria’s responsible operations and all communications related to them (see Appendix).  

For further information, please contact Merja Leino, Group Vice President, tel. +358 40 580 1210

Product safety: In order to ensure product safety and quality, the product safety system has been certified at the main production plants.

Fresh microwave dish: Atria was the first to launch a recyclable microwave dish on the market.