Annual report 2019

  • Annual Report 2019
  • Operation and strategy
  • Sustainable development and social responsibility
02

Sustainable development and social responsibility

Tools

Sustainable development is a philosophy of growing a business in a way which combines achievement of a satisfactory economic profit with a deep concern for the society and the natural environment.

New Czechnica heat and power plant

On 17 December 2018, the Investment Committee of the PGE Group, the majority shareholder of KOGENERACJA S.A., issued a positive recommendation for the continuation of the project of building the New Czechnica CHP. The construction of a modern generation unit is consistent with the District Heat Strategy of the PGE Group which stresses the need for ensuring energy security and improving the quality of air in Polish cities.

A modern power and heat plant fired with network gas which is a low-emission fuel will replace the existing coal-fired unit which supplies heat to south-east Wrocław and, via local networks, to end-users in Siechnice and Święta Katarzyna. The total capacity of the new gas and steam unit, including the pumped and storage boiler plant, will increase from the current 247 MWt to approximately 320 MWt and the electrical power from 100 MWe to nearly 170 MWe. According to the preliminary timetable of the construction of the new gas and steam plant, the investment project should be completed in 2023.

Thanks to the new investment, the inhabitants of the Wrocław agglomeration will be able to breathe cleaner air.

Forests full of energy

On March 30, 2019, employees of KOGENERACJA S.A. supported by seniors and children from the Association of Critical Education, they planted 1 200 young beech trees in the Oborniki Śląskie Forest District as part of the 19th edition of the Forests Full of Energy action, implemented as part of the PGE Group. Thanks to the Forests Full of Energy action, we implement activities in the field of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. Thus, we reduce the impact on the environment, raise the ecological awareness of the participants and support eco-friendly attitudes and activate engagement aimed at protection of the natural environment.

Activities for environmental education and promotion of district heating

In partnership with a number of external institutions, KOGENERACJA S.A. executed the following projects in the area of environmental education:

  • Connecting Wrocław’s historical buildings to the heating network under the KAWKA+ program operated by the Municipality of Wrocław which seeks to eliminate low-stack emission sources and improve the quality of air in Wrocław. The program is financed from Municipality’s own funds. KOGENERACJA S.A. supports the program of low-stack emissions elimination by co-funding the construction of internal district heating and hot water systems and financing the designing of the installations inside buildings owned by housing associations which have decided to connect their buildings to the heating network.
  • Promotion of network heat as the best alternative to coal-fired furnaces and dissemination of knowledge about the negative effects of low-stack emissions through training for building managers, meetings with housing associations and participation in events organized in the Nadodrze residential district where the EC Wrocław is located and where there are many buildings that use solid fuel furnaces.
  • Cooperation with the Lower Silesian Ecological Club, including such initiatives as lessons on environmental protection in Wrocław primary and secondary schools, ecological workshops for school students presenting environment-related aspects of network heat and being a co-organizer of the Ecological Competition for students.

Cooperation with housing cooperatives after obtaining white certificates

KOGENERACJA S.A. continued its efforts to improve the energy efficiency of both its own assets and those of heat end users.

In 2019 KOGENERACJA S.A. continued is efforts aimed at improvement of the energy efficiency for end users.

The projects were carried out in such areas as modernization of internal installations through replacement of old control valves and thermostat valves and conversion of local low-efficiency heat sources into modern district heat substations.

Additionally, a system for continuous monitoring of district heat substations was launched in the service area of one of the largest housing cooperatives in Wrocław in order to enable online control of the heat reception system. Thanks to this solution, the entire district heating system in the area can be aligned in real time with the current weather conditions and the network heat can be effectively utilized by the end users.

Social environment

  • Partnership
    • we study social moods (Employee Opinion Survey 2019)
    • we cooperate with four representative Trade Unions
    • we finance the Employee Retirement Plan
    • we co-finance the activities of the Senior Energy Senior Association, to which retired employees of KOGENERACJA S.A. belong.
    • we involve employees and retired employees in the organisation of the Open Day
    • we are implementing the Energy Career project
    • we counter exclusion, through the following initiatives:
      • the program "We share heat" *
      • Energy patronage over the Youth Sociotherapy Centre No 2 in Wrocław
      • support for the homeless and those coming out of homelessness in cooperation with the Knights of Malta Foundation and MisertArt
      • support for impoverished talented students under the activities of the PGE Foundation for the Development of Science named after Józef Pupka
      • cooperation with the KARAN Association as part of a programme to help people who have problems with the abuse of psychoactive substance
      • support for the disabled under the project "Give the child a smile - Santa Clauses are among us"
      • support for homeless and injured animals under the care of the Ecopatrol
    • we activate employees to cooperate:
      • Club of Honorary Blood Donors "Kropelka" at KOGENERACJA S.A., (three actions, approx. 38 litres of donated blood), receiving the Certificate of the Company promoting honorary blood donation from the Ministry of Health
      • charity actions with the participation of employees for the benefit of a single mother's home, women undergoing oncological treatment under the care of the Association of Colourful Lady and the Wrocław Ecopatrol

    * The "We Share Heat" program is a nationwide project of PGE Energia Ciepła, which is addressed to the most needy customers using grid heat in cities where PGE Energia Ciepła CHP plants are located.

  • Development
    • we carry out an annual assessment of the quality of work, which is the basis for the Annual Training Plan,
    • we activate local communities:
      • Tree planting project "Forests Full of Energy" of the PGE Capital Group
      • promotion of family singing of patriotic songs - together with the NFM, distribution of singers for the youngest citizens of Wrocław on the occasion of the Independence Day
      • titular sponsor of the "Run in Siechnice" project”
      • one of the hosts of the Lower Silesian Science Festival
  • Responsibility
    • We maintain the highest Health & Safety Standards by means of:
      • Awareness-raising programs for employees, subcontractors and guests
      • On-site management visit
      • Daily Safety News
      • Nominating the “Safe Employee of the Quarter/Year” in the Company
      • Promoting the OSHA Campaign,
    • We promote healthy lifestyle among employees, including:
      • Offering a package of additional medical services (as part of the tripartite cooperation between the insurer, medical center and KOGENERACJA S.A.),
      • Sports and Travel Association
      • other pro-health activities
    • We plan for and ensure the security of electricity and heat supplies.
    • We take steps to improve the air quality in Wrocław by participating in the KAWKA and KAWKA+ program (replacement of old furnaces with network heat).
    • We educate local communities by running wide-scale communication campaigns about our environment-friendly generation processes through the following activities:
      • Open Door Days when our production plants are visited by members of the public who also take part in special environmental education events; the 21st edition of the Open Door event took place on 5 October 2018 at EC Wrocław.

The Ethics Council composed of representatives of the Company’s employees has been in operation since 2004. It is a social body that operates outside the Company’s formal structures. The task of the Ethics Council is to promote ethical attitudes and behavior among employees.

In January 2018, the Management Board of KOGENERACJA S.A. adopted the PGE Group’s Code of Ethics.

In February 2018, the Anti-Corruption Policy of the PGE Group was implemented and the terms of cooperation with third parties are set out in the Code of Conduct for Business Partners.

In May 2018, the Company adopted a General procedure of reporting and dealing with non-conformances and of the protection of whistle blowers.

Since 2012, KOGENERACJA S.A. has been continuously classified in the composition of the responsible companies index among companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange Respect Index. From 3 September 2019 The Warsaw Stock Exchange started to publish a new WIG-ESG index, thus expiring the Respect Index on 31 December 2019. WIG-ESG includes companies from WIG20 and mWIG40 indices. KOGENERACJA S.A. as listed in the sWIG index is not included in the ESG index.

As a member of the UN Global Compact since 2014, KOGENERACJA S.A. has undertaken to promote, adopt and apply in all areas of its activity, all applicable standards and principles in the area of human rights, labor rights, environment and anti-corruption.

In 2019, as part of its statutory activities, the Executive Board of the Józef Pupka Foundation evaluated 45 applications and awarded scholarships to 38 Polish students who satisfied the formal criteria applied by the Foundation.

In 2019, the Company provided financial support to the following social and charity organizations:

  • Support Program for Socially Vulnerable Customers:
    • Wrocław Centre for Care and Education - Socially Sensitive Recipients
    • Siechnice Borough - Institutional Socially Sensitive Recipients
    • MiserArt – St. Brother Albert's Aid Society
  • Protection and promotion of health and healthy, active lifestyle:
    • Lower Silesian Foundation for Health Care Development
    • University Clinical Hospital in Wrocław
    • 4th Military Hospital with Polyclinic in Wrocław
    • The Silesian Chess Union
    • Foundation for Assistance to Addicted People KARAN
    • Association of Seniors "Energetyk"
    • Sports and Tourism Association at KOGENERACJA S.A.
  • Supporting the education of young people in difficult financial situation:
    • The Józef Pupka Foundation
    • Youth Social Therapy Centre no. 2 in Wrocław
    • School Complex No. 18
  • Activism-waking in the environment of people with disabilities:
    • Siepomaga Foundation
    • Ostoja Association for People with Disabilities
  • Others:
    • EKOSTRAŻ Animal Rights Association
    • Polish Foundation of the Knights of Malta.
  • The Company wants to attract new customers for its district heating network. Under our proposal addressed to both new and existing residential buildings, as well as small businesses and large enterprises, we offer supply of heat through the district heating system in Wrocław and the Municipality of Siechnice as an alternative to heat sources such as coal, oil or gas.
  • Our priority is to connect to our district heating network buildings heated with high-emission coal-fired furnaces. Conversion to district heating contributes to reducing low-stack emissions in city centers by eliminating emissions of exhaust fumes and dust from local sources.
  • W 2019 r. The Company continued the tasks increasing the energy efficiency of its own generation equipment by reducing energy consumption for production purposes
  • The Company also takes measures to reduce losses on the transmission of heat, electricity and increase the reliability of supplies.

In 2019, KOGENERACJA S.A., Fortum and the Wrocław authorities were working together on the local heat market under the executed Sustainable Development Partnership Agreement. The cooperation between the entities focused mainly on combating low-stack emission. The parties made joint efforts to increase the availability of district heating to residents. The Municipality of Wrocław continued the process of removal of old furnaces from residential buildings within the framework of the KAWKA+ Subsidy Program while Fortum and KOGENERACJA S.A. supported housing associations in the process of building new district heating and hot water installations in the buildings.
In Siechnice, thanks to the expansion of the district heating network by KOGENERACJA S.A., connecting new buildings to the heat distribution system and completing new investments, the number of end-users of network heat went up to more than 70% of demand for heat in the city. Such a change has a significant impact on the reduction of low-stack emissions and, consequently, improvement of the residents’ life quality.

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