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MARINKO UKROPINA, SGS GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR SERBIA, CROATIA, SLOVENIA, BOSNIA&HERZEGOVINA AND MONTENEGRO
SGS ALSO OFFERS GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION
The SGS Group operates within the scope of a network of more than 2,700 representative offices and laboratories and has 93,000 employees worldwide. Company SGS Belgrade was founded in August 2001 as a full member of the Group and has since positioned itself as a market leader in our country
With its fight to combat the grey economy within the framework of the marking and monitoring of petroleum derivatives, SGS Belgrade has contributed to fuel quality adhering to the level of EU standards. It is thanks to this work that inflows of funds to the budget of the Republic of Serbia from the collecting of excise duties on petroleum derivatives increased by around 1,300 million euros.
■ You deal with quality control, verification, testing and certification, but that’s not everything we need to know about SGS Group and SGS Belgrade. Could you tell us more? - SGS Belgrade is a leader in quality control, testing, certification and verification, but
also in monitoring the turnover of goods and investments in agriculture, industry, mining, the petroleum and chemicals industry, turnovers of consumer goods, laboratory testing etc.
The majority of services are implemented in accordance with methodologies that are harmonised at the global level, while we adapt certain services to suit our region, first and foremost in the fields of education
and advancing business operations. We’ve developed a large number of courses within the scope of the SGS Academy in Serbia, with the aim of satisfying our clients’ specific requirements.
SGS Belgrade has developed devices and software applications that will – through the complete automation and digitalisation of processes – not only improve the national programme, but also operate globally in all SGS projects worldwide.
■ Are we, in Serbia, aware of the
importance of the substantive applying of business standards, as opposed to their mere formal application?
- The number of certification bodies in Slovenia and Croatia is roughly the same as in most EU member states, while the number is incomparably higher in our country. It is a given that laws, regulations and appropriate technical standards must be applied when doing business in regulated markets, which is why the corporate culture and differences on the market – compared to the competition, your customers and other interested parties – are actually proven by the holding of certain certificates for management systems. We still have lots of work to do to raise the level of understanding of the importance of substantively applying business standards. When you have the substantive implementation of standards, you are able – amongst other advantages – to very effectively pass customer checks, which is a trend in EU countries. It is very easier for customers to recognise if you
only implement standards formally, which places your company at a very low level of trust within their supply chain. climate change and its consequences, SGS Belgrade implemented circular economy principles through a palette of new services: compiling GHG inventory reports, calculating products’ carbon footprint and conducting life cycle assessments. Following LCA verification, the client has the basis upon which to create an environmental product declaration (EPD).
The new addition to the SGS offer is green building certification according to the EDGE global standard, as well as consulting services for LEED standard certification
■ What are the current global trends
in your area of business; and how quickly do new services and processing methods developed at the global level of SGS arrive in our region?
- By monitoring the need to deal with EDGE global standard, as well as consulting services for LEED standard certification. Alongside expert supervision, we also offer sustainability supervision in accordance with green building standards through the checking of design project documentation and the execution of construction works, which is becoming a standard and will soon be obligatory for all new construction projects.
