Sustainable Development Goals
Awareness of the challenges facing humanity is growing all over the world. This is why country and community leaders are taking action to make sure that life on our planet is better. And this is why the international community, through the UN, has adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Combating poverty and injustice, improving access to valuable education, combating climate change - everyone has a role to play. Our approach to responsibility is anchored in PGE's business strategy. By conducting activities that are aligned with the SDGs, not only do we demonstrate responsibility for our impact on the natural environment but we also use the business opportunities that arise from such activities. We are changing. We are focusing on energy and thermal security at national and local city level. We are implementing not just the objectives set for the energy industry but, as a responsible partner to the environment, local communities and clients, we are undertaking very concrete commitments in numerous areas.
See how our activities are aligned with selected Sustainable Development Goals:
Goal description: Eradicating poverty in all its forms worldwide.
Our commitment: We are combating energy poverty and are conducting in-house pro-community projects in places where we do business.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 1: No poverty | Community involvement |
Energetic Backpack
PGE Foundation and PGE Dystrybucja, PGE GiEK, PGE EJ1 and PGE Systemy
The Energetic Backpack project builds on a 15-year tradition started by electricians in Łódź. It consists of providing school supplies to first-graders. Families in need are selected in cooperation with local social assistance centres. First-graders from these families receive backpacks with school supplies. This is how they can start their school adventure full of energy. In 2017, the campaign was conducted in 10 voivodships and covered 3,000 first-graders. In total since the beginning of the first campaign, 15,000 kids received school supplies.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 1: No poverty Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy |
Relations with consumers |
Combating energy poverty
PGE Energia Ciepła
For over 10 years, PGE Energia Ciepła's branches and companies have been running programmes to support socially sensitive customers. Their beneficiaries include NGOs, foundations and associations that act for people in hardship as well as families in need referred by social assistance centres. These campaigns are organised in partnership with the authorities of the cities in which PGE Energia Ciepła's CHPs are located: Kraków, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Toruń, Wrocław and Zielona Góra. So far, PGE Energia Ciepła's CHPs provided over PLN 3 million to those in need.
Prepayment meters
PGE Obrót
PGE Obrót's retail clients who are unable to regularly make their payments may apply for repayment in instalments. The rules are regulated by an internal procedure for managing receivables. One of the conditions is the partial repayment of debt and the payment history. If the conditions specified in the procedure are not met, the customer may choose a prepaid system. A prepayment meter makes it possible to purchase a specified amount of energy by the client for an amount that the client intends to spend on it.
Goal description: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Our commitment: We care about occupational health and safety rules. This applies not just to our employees but also to sub-contractors working on our projects.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 3: Good health and well-being | Community involvement |
Honorary blood donors
PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna
GiEK employees are members of Honorary Blood Donor Clubs, actively helping since 1974. The first branches that formed Honorary Blood Donor Clubs were: KWB Bełchatów and ZEDO. Honorary Blood Donor Clubs are also set up at the power plants in Turów, Opole and Bełchatów, with the last club being the largest, with over 200 employees as members.
The activities of Honorary Blood Donor Clubs are not limited to giving blood but are focused on sensitivity towards another human's fate. In 2017, over 450 GiEK employees were members of Honorary Blood Donor Clubs. In 25 blood donation campaigns, nearly 420 litres of the "life-saving medicine" was collected.
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Safe behaviour identification system
PGE Energia Ciepła
The need for education in the area of good safety practices and rules as well as the uneven awareness of workplace safety among the employees of sub-contractors resulted in the establishment of a safe behaviour identification system for the employees of PGE Energia Ciepła's sub-contractors. Employees whose safe behaviour, i.e. stopping dangerous work, reporting near misses, is noticed are rewarded. The identified people receive recognitions - a diploma from the CEO, small gifts and praise at the employee forum. The practices applied by employees are catalogued. Thanks to this practice, safety improvements are recognised as well as an increase in the awareness of the importance of workplace health and safety and highlighting the unit's role in building the organisation's safety culture.
Occupational health and safety manual for sub-contractors
PGE Energia Ciepła
All employees of every contractor and sub-contractor working for PGE Energia Ciepła undergo special introductory training for workplace health and safety. Once training ends, each person receives a workplace health and safety manual. Due to its form - published as a pocketbook - employees may use it at work to check the relevant workplace health and safety rules in place.
Goal description: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Our commitment: We are involved in energy education, especially the safe and efficient use of electricity, and we are promoting fair business principles by participating in information campaigns concerning consumer rights.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 4: Quality education | Relations with consumers |
Participation in TOE's campaign "Sprawdź, kto oferuje Ci prąd i gaz"
PGE Obrót
This nationwide educational and information campaign warns against unfair sellers of electricity and gas.
Using mass media and advertising in public transportation in the largest Polish cities, the Energy Trading Association is raising consumers' awareness of their rights and promoting fair business rules. PGE is one of seven sellers of electricity and gas that actively participate in the campaign. The information campaign is a response to numerous client reports regarding unfair practices.
TOE together with seven energy firms encourages clients to verify sales representatives who they let in their homes as well as to carefully read the offering and the agreements that they are to sign. The campaign also informs about clients' right to withdraw from an agreement signed outside the seller's office within 14 days - without consequences.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 4: Quality education | Community involvement |
Theatre play "How Pstryk and Bzik became enlightened."
PGE Foundation
A large part of the society still has insufficient knowledge about the safe and efficient use of electricity in daily life. This knowledge should be provided from the earliest years. A team of professional actors visits primary schools, day centres and children's wards. Young viewers get the opportunity to learn about how electricity is created, when it can be dangerous, how to act in case of danger and how to save electricity. In several months, the play was shown in over 300 locations throughout the country and was seen by more than 30,000 kids.
|
Sustainable Development Goal |
ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
|
Goal 4: Quality education |
Community involvement |
Educational board game for PGE employees
PGE Obrót
Learning through playing is an ideal way to explore energy industry topics, especially for new employees, e.g. during initial training at the Contact Center. The first game devoted entirely to PGE Group was created at PGE Obrót's Łódź-based Contact Center team, which handles eBok (electronic customer service office). A board version of the game for the youngest was also developed: "Safe with PGE. Reach the peak of security!" Both versions of the game were developed by PGE employees.
Goal description: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Our commitment: The modern society is considerably dependent on stable supplies of attractively priced electricity. Our energy creates opportunities for development, which is why we care about supply reliability, e.g. by successively reducing grid losses. At the same time, we are the leader in producing electricity from renewable sources in Poland, with an approx. 10% in 2017.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy | Relations with consumers |
Combating energy poverty
PGE Energia Ciepła
For over 10 years, PGE Energia Ciepła's branches and companies have been running programmes to support socially sensitive customers. Their beneficiaries include NGOs, foundations and associations that act for people in hardship as well as families in need referred by social assistance centres. These campaigns are organised in partnership with the authorities of the cities in which PGE Energia Ciepła's CHPs are located: Kraków, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Toruń, Wrocław and Zielona Góra. So far, PGE Energia Ciepła's CHPs provided over PLN 3 million to those in need.
Prepayment meters
PGE Obrót
PGE Obrót's retail clients who are unable to regularly make their payments may apply for repayment in instalments. The rules are regulated by an internal procedure for managing receivables. One of the conditions is the partial repayment of debt and the payment history. If the conditions specified in the procedure are not met, the customer may choose a prepaid system. A prepayment meter makes it possible to purchase a specified amount of energy by the client for an amount that the client intends to spend on it.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy | Community involvement |
Water Machine Tournament
PGE Energia Odnawialna
We want to promote knowledge about renewable energy sources. The Water Machine Tournament is addressed to secondary- and post-secondary school students. Their task is to build a machine that converts the potential and kinetic energy of water into mechanical energy. In 2017, more than 50 teams from around the country participated in the tournament. Machines were evaluated in two independent categories: "power" and "efficiency." In both of the cases, the machine's task was to lift a weight of 5kg to 2 metres. In the "power" category, the time it takes the machine to complete the task counts, while in the "efficiency" category - the quantity of water used. The final competition was at a very high level, with last year's record in the "efficiency" category being beaten twice. The city of Piaseczno was a partner for this project.
Goal description: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Our commitment: Our investments constitute a very substantial stimulus for economic growth and their implementation helps to improve the quality of life and work for local communities. We provide stable employment to over 40,000 people across 200 locations in the country and the taxes that we pay to the municipalities in which we operate often account for a significant part of their budget.
|
Sustainable Development Goal |
ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
|
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth |
Fair operating practices |
Safety certification
PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna
PGE GiEK in the second quarter of 2017 successfully passed an audit of its Integrated Management System at the central office and branches, which included the Occupational Health and Safety Management System. The Company received the relevant certificates, including a certificate of compliance with the PN-N 18001 standard: "Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems - Requirements." Compliance of the Company's management systems with standards and their improvements are annually evaluated by a certifying institution. The workplace health and safety management methods applied at the Company bring measurable results in the form of improvements in workplace health and safety for employees.
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Safe behaviour identification system
PGE Energia Ciepła
The need for education in the area of good safety practices and rules as well as the uneven awareness of workplace safety among the employees of sub-contractors resulted in the establishment of a safe behaviour identification system for the employees of PGE Energia Ciepła's sub-contractors. Employees whose safe behaviour, i.e. stopping dangerous work, reporting near misses, is noticed are rewarded. The identified people receive recognitions - a diploma from the CEO, small gifts and praise at the employee forum. The practices applied by employees are catalogued. Thanks to this practice, safety improvements are recognised as well as an increase in the awareness of the importance of workplace health and safety and highlighting the unit's role in building the organisation's safety culture.
Zero Accidents Centre
PGE Energia Ciepła
In order to raise the level of safety at PGE Energia Ciepła companies, "Zero Accident" Training Centres were established in order to increase employee awareness of workplace health and safety. At these centres, employees and sub-contractors may participate in theoretical training and obtain specific practical skills that are important to their work in energy companies, e.g. take first-aid courses, learn the requirements of working at heights, see how confined spaces look, e.g. in a boiler, and many more. Providing knowledge in a practical manner increases the ability to identify workplace health and safety threats and deal with difficult situations. "Zero Accident" Centres are located in Rybnik, Kraków, Wrocław and Zielona Góra.
Safety Messages
PGE Energia Ciepła
"Safety Messages" is an example of building a safety culture by daily reminding that workplace health and safety is a priority. Once a week, the employees of PGE Energia Ciepła companies receive an email with one message for each day, and once a month they receive a special insert in the company bulletin. Drafting animated versions of "Safety Messages" was introduced in 2015. These versions are more attractive and improve the communication of safety rules and further increase awareness in this area. The Safety Messages project is live since 2012.
Occupational health and safety manual for sub-contractors
PGE Energia Ciepła
All employees of every contractor and sub-contractor working for PGE Energia Ciepła undergo special introductory training for workplace health and safety. Once training ends, each person receives a workplace health and safety manual. Due to its form - published as a pocketbook - employees may use it at work to check the relevant workplace health and safety rules in place.
Goal description: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation.
Our commitment: We support our employees' innovative approaches to their tasks. Often times thanks to our people's ideas every-day work becomes more effective and simply easier. In-house projects being implemented at our branches also serve our clients. We support start-ups in the energy industry by investing in undertakings related to PGE Group's value chain.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure | Relations with consumers |
Service Cable Lines
PGE Dystrybucja
Ensuring the continuity and quality of electricity supplies to customers is PGE Dystrybucja's priority. This is why it is so important to reduce to a minimum the planned and unplanned interruptions in electricity supply. Łódź-based electricians from PGE Dystrybucja proposed a proprietary solution to this in the form of a mobile cable service line resistant to mechanical factors, adapted to multiple winding and unwinding of the cable. This innovative technology meaningfully improves investment and service work without the need for supply interruptions.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure | Environmental protection |
Green Office Certification for PGE
The corporate centre (PGE S.A.) and the headquarters of key companies: PGE GiEK, PGE Dystrybucja i PGE Energia Odnawialna.
The idea of green office includes a responsible approach to managing a building's resources in the following areas: waste, water, paper, electricity and thermal energy.
We monitor the use of energy products at our offices and continuously search for ways to minimise our impact on the surroundings.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 10: Reducing inequalities | Community involvement |
PGE's "Pomagamy" employee volunteering programme
PGE Foundation, together with key PGE Group companies
Nearly 330 PGE Group employees were involved in volunteering activities in 2017. Since the first edition of the employee volunteering programme in 2014, PGE employees completed 160 projects in 12 voivodships. Volunteering activities are addressed to different groups: children, youth, disabled people, single mothers and the poorest people. These included building new playgrounds, renovating school classrooms and delivering complete equipment for kids and youth day centres.
Goal description: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Our commitment: We place emphasis on the economic use of combustion by-products. We are involved in energy education focused on the safe and efficient use of electricity. In order to optimise procurement processes, we implemented new purchasing procedures, with particular emphasis on PGE Group's Code of Conduct for Business Partners.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production | Organisational governance |
PGE Group's anti-corruption policy
PGE Group
This policy expands on the rule "We do not tolerate corruption or fraud," as described in our Code of Ethics. The Group adopted an anti-corruption policy in October 2017. It sets out rules for combating corruption and avoiding conflicts of interest. According to the policy, we do not accept or offer business gifts that could have influence or seem to have influence over the decisions we make. The offering, giving or accepting of undue considerations by an employee constitutes a breach of PGE Group's rules and may constitute basis for professional consequences and if the action bears the hallmarks of a crime, it might result in a notification to the prosecutor's office. The management team is required to lead by example, supervise observance of the policy by their subordinates and actively support employee education.
Code of Conduct for PGE Group Companies' Business Partners
PGE Group
Introducing the Code is another step towards fostering our relations with business partners after the introduction of the Code of Ethics and publication of standards for purchasing processes and cooperation with sub-contractors. Our clients are increasingly often deciding to work only with companies for which these rules are equally important and which apply these rules in daily business practices. The Code is based on the UN Global Compact standards and sets out the minimum requirements for PGE Group's business partners as regards respect for human rights, working conditions, environmental protection and fairness in doing business. We want to work with entities that not only are aware of the values and rules but also understand them and apply them in their business.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production | Environmental protection |
Management of combustion by-products
PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna and PGE Energia Ciepła
The idea of re-using combustion by-products has been around in the energy sector for over 20 years. The generation of combustion by-products is an unavoidable consequence of producing energy at conventional plants that use hard coal, lignite or biomass. Combustion by-products are commonly used in various branches of industry, including the construction sector. One such substance is synthetic gypsum, which is the end product of a flue gas desulphurisation process using the wet calcium method. Synthetic gypsum features similar properties to natural gypsum and meets all legal requirements in terms of product, environmental protection and human life and health. The use of synthetic gypsum makes it possible to limit the use of finite natural resources and thus contributes to a reduction in the area of land degraded by the mining of natural resources.
Synthetic gypsum is used in the construction industry on a mass scale. It is used to produce drywall, prefabricated elements, including concrete blocks and special gypsum such as for plasterwork, gypsum glue or concrete floor topping, etc. It is also used in the cement industry as an additive to cement and in farming. Fly ash is mainly used in the construction and road-building industries.
In line with the concept of circular economy, we strive to first prevent the generation of waste and - if they are generated - to re-use or recycle them. We see the combustion by-products that are generated at our conventional plants as valuable material for re-use.
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Goal description: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Our commitment: We invest in eco-friendly projects in order to reduce our footprint. In line with the circular economy concept, we place an emphasis on the economic use of combustion by-products, implementing footprint reduction in practice.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 13: Climate action | Environmental protection |
Management of combustion by-products
PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna and PGE Energia Ciepła
The idea of re-using combustion by-products has been around in the energy sector for over 20 years. The generation of combustion by-products is an unavoidable consequence of producing energy at conventional plants that use hard coal, lignite or biomass. Combustion by-products are commonly used in various branches of industry, including the construction sector. One such substance is synthetic gypsum, which is the end product of a flue gas desulphurisation process using the wet calcium method. Synthetic gypsum features similar properties to natural gypsum and meets all legal requirements in terms of product, environmental protection and human life and health. The use of synthetic gypsum makes it possible to limit the use of finite natural resources and thus contributes to a reduction in the area of land degraded by the mining of natural resources.
Synthetic gypsum is used in the construction industry on a mass scale. It is used to produce drywall, prefabricated elements, including concrete blocks and special gypsum such as for plasterwork, gypsum glue or concrete floor topping, etc. It is also used in the cement industry as an additive to cement and in farming. Fly ash is mainly used in the construction and road-building industries.
In line with the concept of circular economy, we strive to first prevent the generation of waste and - if they are generated - to re-use or recycle them. We see the combustion by-products that are generated at our conventional plants as valuable material for re-use.
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| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 13: Climate action | Environmental protection |
Cinema on bicycles
PGE Energia Odnawialna
An event combining culture with ecology and "green" energy took place on Kids' Day 2017 at the Parade Square in Warsaw. During the "Cinema on bicycles" campaign, the best short films showing humans' relations with nature and the surrounding world were shown. All electricity needed for the movies was produced by the cyclists on stationary bikes. This event was part of the 5th Festival for Kids and Youth Kino w Trampkach, and PGE Energia Odnawialna was a partner of this event.
White stork protection
PGE Dystrybucja
PGE Dystrybucja energy professionals have for many years been participating in activities intended to protect the white stork, mainly by setting up platforms on LV line pillars. The nesting birds are effectively isolated from the power line and protected from electrocution. So far, we have installed over 23,000 platforms within PGE's distribution area to ensure bird safety. We also help in moving stork nests. PGE Dystrybucja cooperates with associations acting to protect white storks and other birds, including the Polish Bird Protection Society and the Association "Szansa dla Bociana".
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 14: Life below water | Environmental protection |
Fish ladder on water steps in hydro-power plants
PGE Energia Odnawialna
We are participating in programmes to develop water management. We are working with the Environment Ministry, National and Regional Water Management Authorities, National Environment Protection Fund and other entities involved in water management, environmental protection and the production of energy from renewable sources. We do not conduct business activities on the sea, rather all of our hydro-power assets are located in inland waters. We are implementing investments that focus on maintaining riverbeds, participating in the costs of restocking, which is a way of compensating for making fish migration more difficult on account of damming facilities being built across rivers. We build fish ladders at our new and existing facilities. In 2018, we plan to launch another fish ladder at the Krzywaniec water step and in 2019 at the hydro-power plant Raduszec Stary.
Goal description: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
Our commitment: The large scale of our operations translates into substantial commitments towards the natural environment. We invest in eco-friendly projects in order to reduce our footprint. Reclamations conducted thus far have given rise to vast forest and water complexes where many animal and plant species are present.
| Sustainable Development Goal | ISO 26000 area |
|---|---|
| Goal 15: Life on land | Environmental protection |
Peregrine falcon reintroduction
PGE Energia Ciepła
We encourage the residents of the Tri-City area and Toruń to develop an interest in the life of wild birds that build nests in our CHP plants' chimneys. The peregrine falcon is a medium-sized bird of prey. In Poland, there are just 50 pairs and they are strictly protected. The peregrine falcons that live in the chimney of our CHP plant in Gdynia may be watched online. The opportunity to watch wild birds helps to promote and build social support for biodiversity. PGE Energia Ciepła's involvement in the re-introduction of peregrine falcon in Poland is contributing to an increase in our employees' and the residents' sensitivity toward the natural environment.
White stork protection
PGE Dystrybucja
PGE Dystrybucja energy professionals have for many years been participating in activities intended to protect the white stork, mainly by setting up platforms on LV line pillars. The nesting birds are effectively isolated from the power line and protected from electrocution. So far, we have installed over 23,000 platforms within PGE's distribution area to ensure bird safety. We also help in moving stork nests. PGE Dystrybucja cooperates with associations acting to protect white storks and other birds, including the Polish Bird Protection Society and the Association "Szansa dla Bociana".
Forests full of energy
PGE Group
“Forests full of energy” is an in-house ecological initiative from PGE Dystrybucja, created 15 years ago and developed by employees from other PGE Group companies. The "Forest full of energy" project is one of PGE Group's CSR initiatives. Local communities wherever we as PGE are present take part in it, along with the employees of PGE Group companies and their families. By planting "forests full of energy," we also celebrate Global Earth Day, which is on April 22. This project is being implemented in cooperation with Regional Directorates of National Forests. Every year, tens of thousands of trees are planted as part of this initiative.
Góra Kamieńsk
PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka i Konwencjonalna
Góra Kamieńsk is an artificial hill in central Poland created from overburden (a layer of earth covering a coal deposit) collected from the lignite mine Bełchatów. This is an example of how post-mining land may be used in an interesting manner. After rehabilitation and afforestation work, the artificial hill today is an attractive place for year-round leisure for the region's residence. In the summer, cycling trails are available with a total distance of approx. 60km, along with a summer sledding track, while skiing and snowboarding is available in the winter.
