Byznys pro společnost, a platform for responsible and sustainable business, has awarded the title of a TOP Responsible Company of the Year to 25 companies all over the Czech Republic. In the separate Environment category, the first place went to the refining and petrochemical ORLEN Unipetrol Group. It succeeded with its project of chemical waste recycling, which serves for its repeated use based on the circular economy principles. In the Czech Republic, the TOP Responsible Company awards by Byznys pro společnost represent a unique independent ranking of large, medium-sized, and small enterprises. It assesses and appreciates strategies and activities in corporate responsibility and sustainability.
Byznys pro společnost monitors firms that focus on the long-term development of the society, invest in their employees, lower their environmental impact, and come up with innovative solutions. The TOP Responsible Company awards are open to all businesses in various stages of their approach to sustainability; the respective categories reflect their efforts in diverse areas. The most responsible company in the environmental area for 2021 is ORLEN Unipetrol, with its Pyrekol project focused on plastic recycling.
“Environmental protection and a sustainable future are one of the top priorities of our business. Therefore, we have commissioned a test pyrolysis unit to process plastic waste at our chemical plant in Litvínov. In the next three years, we will use it to investigate chemical plastic recycling possibilities and how to implement them in standard production. Therefore, we appreciate the award very much,” says Katarzyna Woś, Vice-Chair of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group’s Board of Directors. The company plans to produce up to 20% of its petrochemical products from recycled material in 2030.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, more than 400,000 tonnes of plastic waste are produced annually in the Czech Republic. About 37% of this amount is used for recycling, and 18% is used as energy for heat and/or electricity generation. The plastic recycling project introduces the circular economy principles into the manufacturing process to expand the traditional fuel and plastic production from fossil sources with new sources that will help decarbonise the Czech Republic and are in line with the European Union policies. Each year, the ORLEN Unipetrol Group invests approximately CZK 8 billion in its development. By 2030, it plans to invest CZK 35 billion in green projects and digitisation. And it wants to be emissions neutral by 2050 at the latest.
Fifty independent jurors from the academia, the media, the non-profit and commercial sectors, as well as significant personalities who actively contribute to the development of business culture in the Czech Republic have chosen projects that are unique in their approach to corporate responsibility and sustainability from more than 60 companies and 145 strategies. Apart from its first position in the Environment category, the ORLEN Unipetrol Group is also one of the top 25 responsible companies in the Czech Republic and can boast the title of a TOP Responsible Company of 2021.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refinery 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. In all these areas, it belongs among the critical players in the Czech and Central European markets. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo, with its Mogul brand in Pardubice, Spolana Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes a network of Benzina ORLEN filling stations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With 421 filling stations, Benzina ORLEN is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. Since its entry in 2019 to Slovakia, Benzina ORLEN has been one of the fastest-growing chains and currently has 20 stations in its network. ORLEN Unipetrol employs more than 4,800 people. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became a member of the ORLEN Group, the largest crude oil processor in Central Europe. In addition to its business development, ORLEN Unipetrol is proud to be a socially responsible corporation. Therefore, it pays an equal amount of attention to initiatives, focusing on the cultivation and support of sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment.