Jotun Paints receives OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 certifications for its Egypt operations

The awarding of the two certifications underlines the leading manufacturer's compliance to the international occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system specification, and to environmental management system (EMS). In addition, this also attests to the company's exemplary standards in delivering high quality eco-friendly paints to major projects in Egypt.

Prior to the prestigious accreditation, Jotun Paints - Egypt established an OH&S management system, with aims to eliminate or minimise risk to employees and other parties who are exposed to OH&S risk within its operations. Amidst its rapid expansion throughout the region, the leading paint manufacturer has been investing in establishing, maintaining and improving its OH&S, as well as its EMS.

"This coveted industry certification is a testament to our commitment to environmental protection and this has motivated us to further strengthen our initiatives towards efficiently meeting our health and safety obligations. We are also continuously undertaking extensive investments in research and development with a clear directive to enhance the environment-friendly features of our products,"

said Per Harald Engesaeth, General Manager, Jotun Paints - Egypt.

"This achievement has been a rewarding pay off for our dedicated efforts in streamlining our operations in Egypt to achieve results that are favorable to all stakeholders - such as our employees, shareholders and customers in addition to the environment where we operate in."

Intended to help organizations control occupational health and safety risks, OHSAS 18001 was developed in response to widespread demand for a recognized standard against which companies can be assessed and certified. Similarly, the ISO 14001 international specification was conceived as a framework of control as a basis for to gauge the effectiveness of an organization's EMS after an assessment of a certified third party.

"In addition to taking significant strides in achieving international accreditation for our occupational health and safety, and environmental management standards, we have also been involved in adopting and implementing effective waste recycling programs involving waste water, waste solvents, pallets', plastic and metal drums in conjunction with our fast growing operations."

"As the leading and most environment-friendly paint manufacturer in the region and our commitment towards the implementation and development of global best practices, we are proud to be steadily contributing to all three dimensions of sustainable development - from economic to environmental to social perspective," concluded Engesaeth.

Jotun Paints offers eco-friendly interior and exterior paints such its 'Fenomastic', 'Lady' and 'Jotashield' brands all over the Middle East. This underlines the manufacturer's strong support for spreading eco-construction or the 'green building' concept across the Middle East, which is helping developers' meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and attaining maximum LEED credits.