Each year, we spend more than CZK 1 billion on environmental protection, health and occupational safety. We continuously modernise our operations, optimise energy efficiency, reduce the volume of emissions and waste substances, and dispose of the old environmental burden in cooperation with the Czech Ministry of Finance. Over the past ten years, the emissions discharged into wastewater dropped 83%. The volume of emissions released into the air was down by 70%.
The environmental protection and responsible approach are among our priorities. In 1999, we claimed allegiance to fulfilling the global programme, Responsible Care. We repeatedly defended our commitments arising from the programme’s performance. The Czech Association of Chemical Industry (SCHP ČR) granted us authorisation to use the programme's logo. The reports on fulfilling the Responsible Care programme are annually discussed with the trade union representatives and local and regional governments.
Compliance with rules, checks and the rightness of their application in practice is supported by many other certifications. They contribute to a correct approach to environmental protection:
- Environmental Management System (EMS) under ISO 14001
- Quality Management System (QMS) under ISO 9001
- Health and Safety Management System (HSMS) under ISO 45001
- Energy Management System (EnMS) under ISO 50001
Details about the status and development of the impact of the Group's activities on the environment are annually published in the Joint Report on Occupational Health and Safety Protection and Environmental Protection in the ORLEN Unipetrol Group (the 'Joint Environmental Report' since 2006). A list of all reports is provided in the right part of this website.
ORLEN Unipetrol Group representatives also inform the public about the impact of individual operations on the neighbouring environment at local council meetings in the neighbouring municipalities. In addition, we also organise Open Days and meetings with mayors of the municipalities in the region, where we also inform about our environment-related activities.
Our environmental protection and public awareness activities in the regions around our refineries are also pursued in cooperation with the Environmental Centre in Most and Kralupy nad Vltavou. The centres launched their activities, backed by our Group, back in 2000. Both centres seek to actively and objectively provide information about the environment and deal with the locals' complaints. They also offer environmental education.