It has now been seven years since the ORLEN Unipetrol refinery and petrochemical group started supporting its employees’ physical movement and changing activity kilometres into financial support for non-profit organisations or people who are in a complicated life or health situation. In 2022, employees managed to raise CZK 220,000 for charity purposes through their sports activities. The money was donated through the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation. In total, 253 members of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group’s Sports Club participated in the effort.
“We are glad that our employees are involved in helping people in need through their sports activities. In addition to running, walking and cycling, we added new disciplines to the Sports Club portfolio last year, and thus more employees are able to help,” explains Michał Chmiel, HR director of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group, adding: “Each discipline has a so-called tariff. The Sports Club converted one kilometre of running into CZK 1.50 towards a good cause, one kilometre of walking into CZK 1, and one kilometre ridden on a bicycle, scooter or inline skates into CZK 0.50. We also added various other sports activities at the rate of CZK 25 per 30 minutes.”
Last year, the original sports portfolio was expanded with hiking, cross-country skiing and downhill skiing, as well as indoor activities such as aerobics, yoga, and indoor and ball sports. The rules were the same for all disciplines. Employees recorded their movement activities in any application and at the end of the month sent a summary to the e-mail address of the Sports Club. For sports or movement activities whose performance is not measured in distance, they sent in the amount of time spent on the sports activity. With each kilometre or minute of sports, these employees donated to a good cause.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Sports Club and the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation converted all the kilometres covered and time spent on sports into financial means that were then handed over to people in need by company representatives. The Sports Club’s members decided which charity organisations or specific people would receive financial support. Last year, the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation divided the amount raised among six different projects:
- Cesta za snem – This organisation was founded to support people with handicaps who want to participate in sports despite being at a physical disadvantage. Money from donors serves to purchase gifts for organisations, institutions, nursing homes, children’s homes and hospitals, with the aim of supporting movement, physiotherapy and sports (CZK 40,000).
- Parent Project – This is a patient organisation founded by parents whose children were born with Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy and other rare early-age neuromuscular diseases. The organisation also involves the parents of the handicapped members in their programmes and there is an effort to provide comprehensive care (CZK 40,000).
- Šance pro Tomáše – Tomáš is a brave boy who has been battling a severe disease – spinal muscular atrophy. For the disease to advance as slowly as possible, Tomáš needs continuous physiotherapy, mobility aids and barrier-free adaptations (CZK 40,000).
- Naše Štěpánka – Štěpánka was born with a combined handicap that was partially discovered prenatally. Gradually, additional health problems appeared, such as an eating disorder, epilepsy and joint hypermobility. She needs support in both fine and gross motor skills (CZK 30,000).
- Jakub Vybíral – Jakub is a football fan in a wheelchair who suffers from spastic quadriparesis (the most severe form of cerebral palsy). His health condition continues to deteriorate and therefore he needs new aids to make his daily life easier (CZK 30,000).
- K srdci klíč o.p.s. – A public benefit corporation that provides assistance to young adults who leave institutional facilities such as children’s homes and lack the skills needed to lead an independent life, to seek employment, and to live alone. This donation will help the organisation, which has been underfunded for a long time, keep its head above water and increase the quality of its services (CZK 40,000).
The ORLEN Unipetrol Sports Club and the ORLEN Unipetrol Foundation wishes to again support employees in their movement activities this year. At the beginning of February, ice-hockey fans can take part in the Skybox Cup ice-hockey tournament organised by O2 Arena for its partners. An employee football league and the ORLEN Unipetrol Run event, which will take place at the Benedikt Reservoir in Most, are also being planned. Any employee can join these group or individual challenges. The only conditions are registration in the Sports Club and regular recording of one’s movement activities.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. It belongs among the critical players in the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana Neratovice, Otrokovice-based REMAQ, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. Unipetrol also includes a network of ORLEN Benzina filling stations in the Czech Republic and ORLEN stations in Slovakia and Hungary. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became a member of the ORLEN Group, the largest crude oil processor in Central Europe. ORLEN Unipetrol employs almost 6,000 people and is also active in corporate social responsibility. Therefore, it pays equal attention to initiatives that cultivate and support sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment.