FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY - Article 19

impact. 293 Generally, there is still much confusion about what constitutes a commercial secret and whatARTICLE 19GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR FREE EXPRESSIONNevertheless, a few companies have concluded that doing business despite local residents’concerns or in a way that gives them a bad environmental record can, in the long term, put theirbusiness revenues at risk. The importance of a positive public image in maintaining stable profits isbeing recognised by a few pioneer companies. This dynamic has to some degree been triggered by thefact that these Ukrainian companies increasingly have to compete in a globalised market with Westerncompanies, many of which have already adopted standards and policies on accountability andcorporate social responsibility. On a few occasions Ukrainian businesses have been more open todiscussing environmental concerns with activists than the authorities whose responsibility it is toconsider the public interest. For example, in 2006 the Ecological League prepared 13 pages ofcomments on the building of a metal factory in Poltava, but these were ignored by the authorities. TheLeague then continued discussions with the Director of the company directly, who then voluntarilyagreed to implement a number of measures retrospectively to reduce the factory’s environmentalshould be made available under the regulations on accessibility of environmental information, whichadds to the problem of lack of business accountability. 2949,4,* >" 6) The paint factory Lakma in Kyiv and the chemical company Stirol in Donetsk provide some examplesof good practice in information management as part of corporate social responsibility policies.Lakma, a company with 260 employees and only one production site in Kyiv, has adopted anumber of measures to reduce its negative impact on the environment, including by establishing adepartment for environmental protection. 295 Since 2001, it has enhanced its capacity for environmentalmanagement, particularly thanks to the assistance of a German company, Unikum, which providedconsultants and training to measure and control environmental impact. It has also participated,together with five other companies, in a programme on environmental management, funded by theEuropean Commission. 296Lakma has a corporate policy on its website which includes a commitment to minimisingenvironmental impact (point 9). 297 The company follows a certification system, consistent with293 Interview with Tetyana Tymochko, see note 49.294 Interview with Victoria Grankina, see note 291.295 Interview with Elena Giorgevna Paraskevas, Head of Lakma, April 2007.296 Ibid.297 See Lakma’s website (in Russian), http://www.lakma.ua/policy.php.For Internal Use Only. Is Post-Chornobyl Ukraine Ready for Access to Environmental Information?ARTICLE 19, London, 2007(,