“We see the collaboration with such a significant organisation helping protect nature very positively and look forward to working together. Our support will help 30 eagles and peregrines permanently kept in the rescue stations. We will also help 30 other raptors that come to the stations during the year and have a chance to get cured and be returned to nature. Thus, these rare raptors can get specialised care, a base with long-term treatment and support when returning to nature,” says Katarzyna Woś, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation.

The Czech Union for Nature Conservation also administers the National Network of Rescue Stations, which was established in 1998. Since then, the network of 34 stations has provided continuous aid and care to handicapped feral animals. Employees of rescue stations care for injured wild animals. If their condition allows it, the animals are returned to nature after being cured. More than 300,000 animals in need have already gone through the hands of rescue stations’ employees.

“We are delighted that the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation has launched cooperation with the Czech Union for Nature Conservation. We have many diverse activities, most of which take place in the field. Our Union cares for attractive natural locations and carries out surveys and mapping related to natural science. Through diverse projects, it seeks to preserve the wealth of animal and plant species, not only in the Czech territory. Working with children and youth is an integral part of our activities, and we also offer educational projects for the adult public,” explains Petr Stýblo, director of the Czech Union for Nature Conservation.

Last year, the ORLEN Unipetrol Group supported CSR projects with a record-high sum of CZK 26 million. It continued supporting projects focused on the environment, education, volunteering of employees in their local communities, and charity and non-profit organisations. The ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation administers the Group’s CSR activities since the beginning of 2024. The Foundation has long been engaged in supporting education and popularising science. Now, it will expand its activities to include environmental protection and support of local communities. These projects include support of peregrine falcon nesting at ORLEN Unipetrol Group sites. Peregrine falcons regularly nest on the chimneys in Litvínov and Kralupy refineries and in Spolana Neratovice. Peregrine parents have raised as many as 49 chicks on the Group’s chimneys since 2011.

The ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation started its activities in 2017. The main mission of the foundation is to support education and popularisation of science, especially natural sciences and engineering, but also the area of social responsibility with an emphasis on supporting local communities and the environment. It has long supported schools, educators and students through grant programs. Through the project Plastik and his magic case, it offers first-grade pupils an excursion into the world of chemistry through fun experiments. As part of the Foundation's support for education and related activities, a number of educational materials and outputs have been produced in the form of educational videos. These are available at www.nouonline.cz. Since 2024, the Foundation has also been dedicated to social responsibility in the areas of the environment, supporting local communities and volunteering. Some of our activities in this area include supporting volunteer and community projects or charity collections, or restocking rivers, supporting the nesting of the endangered peregrine falcon, and also rearing honeybees. The Foundation has long been working with many non-profit organisations. However, it often also responds to current events in society and emergencies. Information about the mission of the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation and all other activities can be found on the website www.nadaceorlenunipetrol.cz.

Lucie Pražáková, director of the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation

E-mail: nadace@orlenunipetrol.cz 

Telephone: +420 736 506 939