Environmental protection process management

The management of the environmental protection area is defined by PGE Group’s Environmental Policy, which takes a systematic approach to preventing and mitigating environmental and climate impacts, monitors regulatory changes and meets legal requirements in this aspect. It defines the powers and responsibilities, as well as the processes and activities relevant to environmental protection.

Environmental impact management issues are included in PGE Group’s Code of Ethics, which obliges all employees to use natural resources rationally, and in the PGE SA Management Board’s declaration on environmental policy.

In this declaration, the Management Board, committed to the continuous improvement of activities for the protection and improvement of the environment and to the prevention of pollution through the implementation of high and economically justified technological standards.

The Management Board Declaration is available on PGE Group’s website.

PGE SA since 2019 has had a team responsible for implementing, maintaining and improving an environmental management system based on the PN-EN ISO 14001:2015 standard.

The Environmental Management System in accordance with PN-EN ISO 14001:2015 identifies and monitors PGE Group’s environmental impact, taking into account environmental impacts in the context of risks and opportunities for individual environmental aspects, internal and external factors and stakeholders.

Compliance with, among other things, legal requirements for environmental protection and the volume of emissions into the environment is monitored on an on-going basis. The results of cyclical audits confirm that both the developed regulations and the activities carried out as part of the certified management system are compliant with the requirements of the standards and increase the effectiveness of management. Where necessary, improvement measures are implemented.

In 2022, a range of activities were oriented towards managing the crisis situation resulting from the interruption of supply chains of fuels of a certain quality and production raw materials as a result of the armed conflict in Ukraine, which translated into the risk of failing to meet environmental protection standards and delays in the implementation of adaptation and modernisation investments.

Securing the possibility of biomass combustion in PGE Group installations was also an important issue due to the need to carry out audits to confirm compliance with sustainability criteria.

The EcoManagement and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is an EU environmental certification scheme and an instrument to support the implementation of a sustainable culture within an organisation with regard to effective management of available resources and energy. EMAS operates on the basis of the EU Regulation on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme.

EMAS is currently in place at two branches of PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna – Elektrownia Opole and Zespół Elektrowni Dolna Odra – as well as at a branch of PGE Energia Ciepła – Elektrociepłownia Wybrzeże. Together with the environmental declaration, it is subject to annual verification by an independent accredited verifier.

EMAS registration means compliance with the highest standards in environmental management and audit. The Opole and Dolna Odra branches of PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna SA are among the organisations that have been registered in the national eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) for the longest time, with the Opole Power Plant being the national leader in this respect.

In many PGE Group locations, offices have undergone the Green Office certification process, carried out by the Foundation for Environmental Education. The certificate is a form of ecological office management. Its implementation generates savings through rational management of resources and to raising the environmental awareness of employees.

Alongside the implementation of the Green Office environmental standard, PGE Group trained its employees in the principles of ecology at home and in the office. The training allows for the introduction of green management issues among employees, as well as the development of good habits that are also applied in everyday life. Good practices in the daily functioning of the company include the conscious use of water resources, electricity and heat or paper for office purposes.

Obtaining the Green Office certificate is a complementary way for PGE Group to reduce the company’s impact on the environment, but it also brings notable financial benefits in the form of reduced operating costs for companies through the introduction of modern and environmentally friendly solutions. The Green Office certificate confirms that PGE Group companies undertake new, pro-ecological initiatives resulting in the reduction of the company’s impact on the natural environment, also in the administrative aspect.

Green Office is a certificate confirming that PGE Group also cares about the environment in the office space. The company applies pro-environmental solutions such as the reuse of binders, the introduction of central printing points and the use of follow-on printing and the default setting of printers for double-sided and black-and-white printing, the implementation of electronic document workflow in SAP, which reduces the use of paper and toner, the use of the intranet for internal communication, the segregation of waste, the introduction of special containers for bottle caps as well as electro-waste, the hanging up of information concerning the extinguishing of lights, and following the principles of the implemented Code of Ethics.