Fertiliser stewardship

EFMA product stewardship

Yara uses the principles of product stewardship to guide all its activities. Yara has been committed to the principles of stewardship established by the European Fertiliser Manufacturers Association (EFMA) in 2003, with compliance verified by independent auditors.

Product Stewardship ensures that proper care is taken along the whole fertiliser chain from product development and purchase of raw materials, through production, storage and distribution, to sales, delivery and use on the farm.

Codes of good agricultural practice (GAP)

As part of product stewardship, Yara supports the adoption of good agricultural practice as published by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). 

The Code of Good Agricultural Practice for Reducing Ammonia Emissions gives recommendations to help reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture. One of the main recommendations with regard to emissions from fertiliser use is to switch from urea fertilisers to nitrate-based fertilisers. 

The Code of Good Agricultural Practice for Protecting Soil, Air and Water gives recommendations to protect and enhance the quality of water, soil and air including new advice on how to manage manure, fertiliser and soil to prevent runoff, erosion and leaching

Customer satisfaction

As part of our HESQ (Health, Environment, Safety & Quality) activity and commitment to continuous improvement, Yara surveys customers every two years and acts on the findings. Written questionnaires are sent out and the responses are independently analysed and the findings are discussed and acted on by the Management Team. This helps us understand our customers even better.

Certifications ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001

Yara is committed to achieving ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification at all its global plants/operations. 

ISO 9001 is part of the ISO 9000 family of standards for quality management systems maintained by ISO, the International Organisation for Standardization, administered by accreditation and certification bodies who verify activities through audits. 

ISO 14001 was first published as a standard in 1996 and specifies the requirements for an organization’s environmental management system. It applies to those environmental aspects over which an organization has control and where it can be expected to have an influence. 

OHSAS 18001 is the internationally recognized assessment specification for occupational health and safety management systems. It was developed by a selection of leading trade bodies, international standards and certification bodies to address a gap where no third-party certifiable international standard exists. 

The European regulation REACH

Yara is committed to meeting The European Regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals), which came into force on the 1st of June 2007, with the objective to improve the protection of human health and the environment. Besides the increased testing of chemicals, there will also be an increased demand in the European market for the exchange of information between suppliers, customers, producers, importers and Competent Authorities. 

Notification of ammonium nitrate storage (NAMOS)

The Dangerous Substances (Notification and Marking of Sites) Regulations 1990 (NAMOS) aims to ensure that firefighters arriving at an incident are warned of the presence of dangerous substances.

 The AIC has prepared a booklet on the storage, handling and transportation of AN based fertilisers.  This can be downloaded from the AIC website.