Last year, the Unipetrol Group’s costs for environmental protection reached a historically highest level of CZK 2.26 billion. The only crude oil refining company in the Czech Republic increased this sum by 20 percent compared to 2018. Investments went mainly to the construction of the new facilities and renovation of the existing ones. Unipetrol has long been engaged in environmental protection efforts. The company is continuously updating its manufacturing facilities, reducing emissions and waste substances, and optimising energy efficiency. In five years, the capital and operating expenditures on environmental issues amounted to CZK 7.8 billion.
“In 2019, the environmental protection spending in the Unipetrol Group totaled CZK 2.26 billion. The money was invested primarily in the projects aiming at improving environmental efficiency, as well as in the operation of our environmental protection facilities, fees, the formation of reserves, and remediation work,” says Tomasz Wiatrak, Unipetrol Group’s CEO and Board Chairman.
Environment-related operating expenses went up by 12 per cent on the year to CZK 862 million. The most important projects included the operation of an air protection facility, wastewater treatment, waste management, and monitoring of discharged substances. “The amount of these expenditures has more or less stabilized in the past decade. However, we are expecting their growth because of the full capacity utilization of the new equipment in which we have invested in the past two years,” comments Adam Jarosz, Member of the Board of Directors of the Unipetrol Group responsible for the investments projects, health management and process safety.
During last year, Unipetrol invested CZK 770 million mainly in the construction of a new boiler house of the steam cracker and intensified desulphurization of the T700 boiler house in Litvínov. Other projects included the renovation of sewerage and slop systems in the refineries in Litvínov and Kralupy, completion of the revitalization of the fuel terminal in Pardubice, and construction of a new boiler house in Spolana Neratovice.
Pollutant emissions into the environment stabilized over the past five years at the levels determined by substantial green investments made in the previous decade. However, within air protection, there was a significant year-on-year decrease in the values of sulfur dioxide, namely by 23%.
Unipetrol is also actively engaged in environmental care through its peregrine falcon project. It has been working together with the ALKA Wildlife Association since 2011, and they have managed to hatch 30 peregrine chicks on the chimneys in Litvínov, Kralupy, and Neratovice. Unipetrol is also planting fish in the rivers Bílina and Elbe. During 11 years of the project, they have released eight tons of fish for more than CZK 700,000. They also breed bees in Spolana Neratovice where the bees thrive on the site of the former chocolate and saccharine factory at the River Elbe.
The Unipetrol Group is the largest refinery and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude-oil processing and on the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilizers. In all these areas, it belongs among the important players on the Czech and Central European market. The Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo with its Mogul brand in Pardubice and Kolín, Spolana Neratovice, and two research centers in Litvínov and Brno. Unipetrol also includes a network of Benzina filling stations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With 418 filling stations, Benzina is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in terms of turnover in the Czech Republic. It earned over CZK 129 billion last year and employs more than 4,800 persons. In addition to its business development, Unipetrol is proud to be a socially responsible corporation. Therefore, it pays an equal amount of attention to initiatives which focus on the cultivation and support of sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment. In 2005, Unipetrol became a member of the PKN Orlen Group, the largest crude-oil processor in Central Europe.
For more information, please visit the “Responsible Company” section at www.unipetrol.cz.
Contact information: Pavel Kaidl, spokesman, telephone: +420 225 001 407, +420 736 502 520, e-mail:
pavel.kaidl@unipetrol.cz