Fines and incidents (EN28)

During 2008, Vattenfall implemented a Group-wide Incident and Crisis Management (ICM) organisation. For additional information, see EU20.

Environmental incidents and the handling of fines are regulated under Vattenfall’s environmental policy, stating that Vattenfall shall comply with existing laws, regulations and permits and take preventive and/or remedial action in order to reduce environmental impact as well as make advance assessments of the environmental impact of new activities. When accidents occur, Vattenfall acts to minimise the damage, restore any damage caused and take precautionary measures to avoid future incidents. On a quarterly basis, all Group functions, business units and shared service centres report on progress in environmental protection as well as on accidents and incidents regarding environmental impact.

In Sweden, two legal actions have been reported pertaining to remediation costs for after-treatment measures to repair damage to the environment on an industrial site. The two claimants state that according to the Swedish Environmental Code, liability for remediation of the polluted site still rests with the Swedish state. The liability claim rests on the Swedish state’s role as previous owner of the property and operator of the now closed-down thermal power plant. The Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications has decided that both cases are to be handled by Vattenfall Nordic. The likely outcome for Vattenfall is hard to predict.