About us
The International consulting company – “Estonian, Latvian & Lithuanian Environment”, SIA was founded in 1998 by a group of experienced environmental professionals from the three Baltic states.
The company
Since the establishment of the company the volume of services and the geographical coverage of operations have significantly increased. Currently, the logo and name unite three companies in the three Baltic States, which in total have about 40 permanent employees.
Mission and vision
The international consulting company ELLE offers a wide range of consulting, analytical and other services. The goal of the company is to provide its clients with high–quality consultations and services that are in line with international requirements.
The requirements for the quality of services are set high and thorough work is being done to meet these requirements.
By constantly collecting and analysing customer feedback, recommendations of employees and other useful information about the operations of the company, decisions are made on the improvement, expansion and further development of the quality management system. The requirements for the quality of services are set high and thorough work is being done to meet these requirements.
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ELLE Group companies
Estonian, Latvian & Lithuanian Environment, SIA – was founded in Latvia in 1998. The company's office is located in Riga. ELLE has permanent partners in the rest of the European Union and an extensive network of cooperation in the eastern partnership countries of the European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI). Dozens of project consultants and subcontractors are regularly involved in the implementation of larger projects. ELLE employees and project consultants have not only versatile education, but also significant long-term experience in both Eastern and Western European academic and business environments. Projects of various scales have been successfully completed and are being implemented not only in Latvia, but also in Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Albania, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and a number of other countries.
Consulting company in Estonia – Estonian, Latvian & Lithuanian Environment OÜ was founded in 2000 in Tallinn. Main areas of activity of ELLE OÜ are related to the environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental impact assessments, environmental audits, monitoring of EU LIFE programme projects, preparation of applications for integrated pollution permits.
Estonian, Latvian & Lithuanian Environment, UAB is an environmental consulting company in Lithuania, which joined ELLE Group in 2005. Its office is located in Vilnius. Currently, UAB ELLE provides support in implementation of long-term projects of ELLE group in Lithuania and abroad, executes and manages environmental projects, as well as carries out research and modelling of environmental processes.
ELLE Group
ELLE Group unites three companies in the three Baltic States, which in total permanently employ about 40 highly educated, experienced and creative specialists.
The experience of the ELLE Group is acknowledged by successfully completed projects not only in the Baltic States, but also in other countries of the European Union, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Employees
Management
We support projects related to environmental and nature protection or research
Support policy
ELLE is willing to support projects that meet the following criteria:
- The project focuses on environmental or nature protection and research,
- The project is expected to have a long-term impact,
- Project partners and applicants show willingness to give their contribution and input.
ELLE makes the decision to grant support to a project on the basis of the project application. Support for one project may not exceed 3000 EUR per calendar year. Applications from organisations with a Public Benefit Organisation status are prioritized.
Evaluation of project applications
Project applications for evaluation must be sent in writing – via mail or electronic communications – by December 1st. All submitted projects will be evaluated and the applicants will be given a written response no later than on December 15th of the year of application.
Supported projects
- Field guide to the indicator species of lichens
- Wild birds’ rehabilitation station in Madona
- Research of University of Latvia students in Trang province, Thailand
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Support to schools in Latvia
Since 2006 ELLE has been implementing a support programme aimed at improvement of the quality of teaching of natural sciences in Latvian schools.
Over a longer period of time ELLE has awarded financial support to a number of selected schools to endorse accomplishments of their teachers and best pupils – winners of school Olympiads – in biology, chemistry, geography, physics as well as in environmental projects. Awards are given to the applicants, which submit the most appealing and successful narratives (projects) offering a well-founded vision how to make the teaching-learning process of natural sciences more attractive by improved means of teaching aids, research appliances or thematic field trips.
Schools, which have been supported by ELLE:
• Sala Primary School, Vecpiebalga Secondary School, 2006
• Zante Primary School, Vīpe Primary School, Varkava Secondary School, 2007
• Valka High School, Salacgrīva Secondary School, Grobiņa Secondary School, Jaunstružāni Primary School, 2008
• Friendly Appeal Cēsis State Grammar School, 2009
• Viļķene Primary School named after Baumaņu Kārlis, 2010
• Briežuciems Primary School, Vecumnieki Secondary School, Rudzāti Secondary School, 2011
• Jaunsilava Primary School, Daugavpils Primary School of Concord, 1st Cēsis Primary School, Ogre State High School, 2012
• Aknīste Secondary School, Druviena Primary School, Vaiņode Secondary School, 2013
• Salacgrīva Secondary School, Zemgale Secondary School, Dobele State Gymnasium, 2014
• Ineši Primary School, Skrunda Secondary School, Jelgava Spīdola Gymnasium, 2015
• Ogres Secondary School No 1, Drusti Primary School, Rīga Secondary School No 49, 2016
• Ogres State Gymnasium, 2017
• Mazsalaca Secondary School, Rūjiena Secondary School, Rīga Secondary School No 69, 2018
• Ērgļi Secondary School, Pumpuri Secondary School, 2019
The winners have been equally happy about any of the prizes they received, regardless of its size or value – be it a field guide for beetle identification, an orbit tellurium for geography teaching, globes, a game on waste recycling, instruments for dissecting exercise, skeletons or bones, or a birding digital camera.
Some insight into the use of financing during the previous years:
Rūjiena Secondary School
Akniste Secondary School
Druviena Elementary School
Jaunsilava Elementary School
Ineši Elementary School
Drusti Elementary School
Students from abroad
The company also has its own support policy for students from abroad. We provide an opportunity to be within our company and to work with us. If the student is interested in entering a work environment and atmosphere that is different from the one in France or Germany, we offer an internship opportunity for several months.
Successful and long-term cooperation has been established with the Ecole des Mines de Nantes (France). We have also had students from the Universiteit Twente (Netherlands), the University of Münster and the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft / HTW Berlin (Germany).
Field guide to the indicator species of lichens
For the first time in Latvia, an illustrated lichen identifier has been published by Rolands Moisejevs, a researcher at the Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies of Daugavpils University. The “Handbook of the Indicator Species of Lichens for Nature Researchers” covers indicator species of natural forest habitats and specialist species – usually rare lichen species adapted to specific growing conditions and used to assess the quality of forest habitats. The main audience of the handbook is habitat experts, but it will be useful for anyone interested in exploring the biodiversity of Latvia's forests.
The handbook provides an overview of the use of lichens in the indication of various biotic and abiotic factors, as well as on which of the indicator species and specialist species are most common in the various protected habitats of the European Union. The explanation of terms used in the guide is supplemented by illustrations, and each species description is accompanied by high-resolution photographs. The layout of the material is designed to be easy to bind and use in outdoor conditions.
Handbook of Lichen Indicator Species for Nature Researchers is available for download here:
High resolution file for duplex printing
High resolution file for one-sided printing
Lower resolution file for duplex printing
Lower resolution file for one-sided printing
The Handbook of Lichen Indicator Species is also available in digital (.epub) format for use on tablets and smartphones offline. To use it, you need to download the ePUB file and open it in one of the applications that support this format.
For users of Apple Inc. iOS and OS X, we recommend using the iBOOKS application included with operating systems.
Android users are advised to use the Google Play Books application (others may not display the file correctly), it requires activating the ability to download the PDF, and then you can open the handbook ePUB file (it will be found in the list of downloaded files).
In both applications, you can use the interactive content and use “search” function found in the main menu.
The ePUB file can also be used on Windows devices by installing one of the ePUB file readers.
Support for research of University of Latvia students in Trang province, Thailand
In order to increase the competence of the students of the University of Latvia at the international level, an interdisciplinary scientific research was carried out. The ideas of the research were implemented in collaboration with the University of Gdansk (GU, Poland) and the University of Rajamangala (RU, Thailand). It should be mentioned that since 2008 the University of Latvia, Faculty of Biology (LU BF) has established a successful cooperation with RU in Thailand.
The existing cooperation platform provided an opportunity to develop a project in the South Coast region of Thailand, which is widely known as one of the most species-rich mangrove stands. Mangroves are trees that grow in saltwater in regularly flooded tropical coastal areas where other higher plants cannot survive. The aim of the study was to find out the role of the Sikao mangrove ecosystem in the maintenance of local economically significant fish species populations by involving students of the University of Latvia in an international study.
The study covered two research areas – biology and anthropology. LU and RU students collected fish samples in mangrove habitats to find out the composition of fish species in the mangrove channel system. The students from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Gdańsk (GU), however, interviewed coastal fishermen in order to find out the composition of the catches in the village of Ao Pakmeng. A total of 10524 fish (19.24 kg) of 132 different fish species were caught. Using the http://www.fishbase.org database, the specimens were divided into 53 non-commercial and 79 commercial species of different importance. The trends in the results indicate the importance of the Sikao mangrove coastal habitat for the local village fishermen. These mangrove stands provide suitable habitats for commercial fish species in the early stages of their development. The information obtained during the interviews shows that local people also tend to fish for other ocean and coastal resources, such as crabs and shrimp. These organisms were also detected during fish sampling, but their significance in the catches of local fishermen was not analysed in this study.
In general, this project can be seen as a successful example of interdisciplinary research, combining aspects of biological and anthropological science. During the project, students gained experience in the preparation and implementation of international research. It can be seen that the research carried out within the project will, in the long run, serve as a first step towards more and broader researches in the future, which will provide an opportunity to develop more sustainable approaches to fisheries management in the southern regions of Thailand.
ELLE provided financial support to LU BF for the implementation of the project.
Interviewing fishermen
Data processing and identification of species
Fish sampling
Wild birds’ rehabilitation station in Madona
On September 19, 2014, the first wild bird rehabilitation station in Latvia was opened in Barkava Parish, Madona Municipality, in the farmstead of Uģis Bergmanis, the senior environmental expert of “Latvian State Forests”. The project was implemented by the association “Environmental Management Association MEDŅURIESTS”, the founders of which are Uģis and Jānis Bergmanis. The rehabilitation station was built with the donated funds. Among the donors are JSC “Latvijas finieris”, “Estonian, Latvian & Lithuanian Environment”, SIA, as well as other Latvian and foreign private donors. At the opening event, the Riga Zoo donated a long-time captive white-tailed eagle, which will be used for research purposes.
The purpose of the station is to rehabilitate and return birds of specially protected species to the wild. The station accepts Falconiformes (falcons) and Strigiformes (owls), as well as black storks and capercaillies, which have not been diagnosed with incurable bodily injuries or limb fractures.
Only a day after the opening of the station, information about a non-flying white-tailed eagle was received from Jurijs Jesko, the senior forestry planner of Northern Latgale, at the “Latvian State Forests”. The eagle was delivered to the station and is recovering. Please report any injured birds found by calling +371 29485851.
Quality management system
ELLE group has implemented a management system based on requirements of ISO 9001:2015 standard. The system is binding to all employees and is operating to ensure project management in the scope of quality management system’s activities, as well to provide high quality consultancy and services in the field of environment and occupational health and safety in accordance with client’s determined requirements and deadlines.
The group is bound by all of the ISO 9001:2015 requirements, except for requirements in section 8.3. (design and development of products and services), as these requirements of the standard are not adaptable and necessary, taking into consideration the specifics of the activities of the group.
Scope of Quality Management System Certification: Consulting and project management in the field of environmental and labour protection.
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Quality policy
Our objective is to provide high quality consultations and services in field of environmental protection and labour protection that would correspond to the international level requirements.
Constantly collecting and analyzing evaluation made by clients, recommendations of employees, wishes of interested parties and other information connected with our work, we decide on improvements in our services and quality management system. We are setting high standards for quality of our services and we are working purposefully to comply with them.