Pangonis, CEO of Grigeo: such a scandal would not do any honor to any company or entrepreneur

“A scandal of this type would not do an honor to any company or businessman,” he said in an interview.

G. Pangonis responded to Delfi’s questions in writing. “To avoid legal inaccuracies,” he explained.

– As far as I know, only Iki still does not buy Grigeo products from the main retail chains. How do you rate this? Did you try to negotiate to get back on the “For” shelves? What do you think of the other networks (Rimi and Norfa) that started buying products again shortly after the scandal?

– When merchants refused to sell Grite products, we contacted them and discussed the situation. Some traders realized that the company that made Grite’s products was not involved in the accusations made by Grigeo Klaipeda. To this day, shoppers can once again find Grite products on the shelves of almost every major retailer.

As for the Iki retail chain, they continue to be talked about. But it is your decision whether or not to market the Grite products. Since the beginning of the Grigeo Klaipėda scandal, we have been actively providing relevant information to our partners in order to facilitate their objective assessment of the situation. We are still willing to resume cooperation with the Iki retail chain or agree on the conditions to resume cooperation.

– According to Nasdaq, Grigeo’s share price has almost returned to the December 2019 level. What convinced investors that its shares were worth buying?

– The Grigeo group of companies is made up of 8 companies and Grigeo Klaipeda is just one of them. Information about Grigeo Klaipėda has naturally reached potential and existing investors. Therefore, it was important for us to speak openly, provide information about the event so that they could have a clearer picture, assess the situation, and make the appropriate decisions accordingly.

After the scandal inspections, we received not only Grigeo in Klaipėda, but also Grigeo’s factory in Grigiškės. However, there were no significant irregularities here and activities continued smoothly.

– What are your plans for the Klaipeda factory? What plans do you have for the Grigiškės plant? Why is it constantly being emphasized that these are different companies? After all, the brand is the same.

– Although all the companies belong to the same Grigeo group, they all operate as independent economic entities with their own boards and executives. Therefore, in the context of the history of pollution, it is important to distinguish that these are independent companies producing different products and that other companies are not related to the allegations made against Grigeo Klaipėda.

In terms of plans, 2020 was a year of testing and change for Grigeo Klaipėda. The company presented a renovation plan to the public, the implementation of which will continue this year as well. The main objective is to become a more sustainable company. To this end, a new position in the Sustainability Guide has been specifically developed and a Sustainability Strategy is currently being developed. Also in Klaipeda last year, specialists from AFRY with extensive experience in the paper industry organized an environmental, safety and occupational health audit. They have made a number of suggestions for areas for improvement. The company has already done many things in accordance with its recommendations, the rest are scheduled to be implemented this year. The execution of a new sewerage network construction project in Dumpiai has also begun. This project would allow the factory not only to carry out uninterrupted activities, but also to solve the odor problem relevant to the community.

The Grigiškės factory is currently operating normally. A new sustainability guide has also been contracted and sustainability standards are being revised to make the company more efficient from an environmental point of view. Since most of Grite’s products are exported and new opportunities continue to be sought in foreign markets, the aim is to strengthen its current position.

– The residents of Klaipėda and Grigiškės used to complain about unpleasant odors. Is anybody doing anything about it?

– Klaipeda and Grigiškės companies produce different products, different processes take place in factories. At Grigiškės, to my knowledge, we have not received any complaints about odors that could be related to our factory activities. It is true that after the events in Klaipeda, we had received a commission from the National Health Center, who checked the smells in Grigiškės and claimed that there was no smell.

In this case, the Grigeo plant in Grigiškės has the initial treatment of the production wastewater and transfers it to the Vilniaus Vandenai wastewater systems for final treatment. Grigeo Klaipeda must now make the same wastewater treatment decision. The sewage treatment plants located in Dumpiai have been confiscated there so far, and Klaipedos Vanduo is in charge of the management of the sewage. As its capacity is insufficient, the factory has had to repeatedly suspend its work.

In response, Grigeo Klaipėda had started looking for solutions to reduce wastewater pollution, which in the summer led to the activation of an unpleasant odor at the Klaipėda factory. As a result, a program has been launched to identify the causes of odors, as well as odor monitoring systems. And the new sewer networks now under construction will help reduce those odors.

– When do you plan to complete the internal investigation? When do you expect the pre-trial investigation to end?

– The internal investigation was completed in February of last year. The commission formed by Grigeo Klaipėda has established that there is no direct pipeline to the Curonian Lagoon from the territory of Grigeo Klaipėda. All wastewater from the plant was collected and pumped to the company’s wastewater treatment plants outside the city in Dumpiai, from where the partially treated wastewater traveled to the Klaipėda water collector.

The findings also indicate that a part of the untreated wastewater entered Klaip dueda Water’s wastewater networks due to the decisions and actions of the former managers.

If we talk about the preliminary investigation initiated, according to the Klaipėda Regional Prosecutor’s Office, it is already at the finish line. For his part, Grigeo Klaipėda has assumed and will assume responsibility for its activities from the beginning. On its own initiative, the company commissioned a study by independent foreign experts from TIG Environmental to determine the fact and extent of the environmental damage. The goal is to objectively complete the pre-trial investigation as soon as possible, determine the impact on nature, and restore the original state of the environment.

– The nature of the whole world, not just Lithuania, suffers from human activities. Climate change is contributing to the extinction of animal species. The Baltic Sea is already one of the most polluted in the world, and it still happens that sewage from Grigeo Klaipėda is being dumped into it. Do you feel sorry for the animals that fly in it?

– This behavior is really inappropriate, so the company has assumed full legal responsibility for its activities.

Grigeo Klaipėda is interested in restoring the original state of nature by implementing the plan of environmental restoration measures. Steps have also been taken to ensure that similar incidents are not repeated in the future and to ensure maximum protection for the environment, including animals.

In this case, it is possible to feel a bit calmer, because the work of independent foreign experts from TIG Environmnetal showed that the area of ​​the Curonian lagoon affected by the Grigeo Klaipėda sewage had to be limited and the impact on fish and zooplankton were not affected.

– Did you make a mistake a year ago when the scandal broke out? If so, which ones?

– In general, the whole story of Grigeo Klaipėda has become a great lesson for me as a businessman and as a person. I trusted the company executives, who turned out not to be worth it.

This did not ensure maximum maintenance, leaving gaps that allowed history of contamination to occur. However, I am aware that business requires trust, without which it is difficult to achieve positive results. Therefore, I feel more reassured that now the steering wheel of Grigeo Klaipėda has been handed over to the management, which looks at the activities of the company in a responsible way, without forgetting environmental and community issues.

– Are you ashamed of the scandal? Perhaps over time, other emotions are involved? For example, anger?

– A scandal of this type would not do any honor to any company or businessman. I understand the public’s reaction to the situation, it is perfectly justified. When the scandal started, many different emotions assailed me, but there was never a moment to give in to them, I had to keep working and acting. To this day, I feel obliged to ensure that the damages caused to nature are compensated and that such incidents never occur again.

– Why did you want to answer these questions in writing instead of a live interview?

– As the pre-trial investigation of the Klaipėda Regional Prosecutor’s Office is ongoing, a written interview form has been proposed to avoid legal inaccuracies. In this way, it is possible to delve into the questions and prepare more detailed answers, in which the information provided would not negatively affect the circumstances of the case.