The PZU Group’s responsible approach to business means translating it into a more ecological approach, i.e. one that reduces the adverse impact on nature to the maximum degree. Environmental protection has been elevated to a strategic ranking. The pertinent clauses have been inserted into the PZU Group’s corporate social responsibility strategy for 2018–2020 and the updated PZU Group’s strategy for 2017–2020 entitled “The New PZU – More Than Insurance”.
Implementing suitable procedures and governance systems will allow the PZU Group to meet all the ecological legal and formal requirements. In its activities, however, the Group goes beyond the mandatory regulations. The specially appointed Management Board Environmental Protection Plenipotentiary looks after consistency in environmental protection management in the PZU Group.
The PZU Group’s standard “Green PZU” was enacted in November 2018 as a follow-up to the Group’s strategic decisions. Even though there were no formal environmental protection policies in place in the other Group companies at the end of 2018, they did in the course of their activities pay attention to minimizing their adverse impact on nature.
Nearly all of the companies in the health area have implemented in their selected medical centers and been certified under the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system. In addition, Polmedic and Artimed, a PZU Zdrowie branch, have implemented and been certified under the PN-ISO/IEC 27001:2014 management system. Polmedic has also been certified under the 14001:2015 environmental management system and the OHSAS 18001:2007 occupational health and safety management system. PZU and PZU Życie introduced internal regulations related to real estate management.
PZU and PZU Życie were fully compliant both in 2018 and 20191 with the prevailing environmental protection regulations. The same is true in the health area (especially when it comes to managing hazardous medical waste) as in the Pekao Group, Alior Bank Group, international companies and most of the Polish companies.
BEST PRACTICE
Minimizing the adverse environmental impact is one of the areas of the Pekao Group’s binding Code of Conduct and Alior Bank’s Code of Ethics. In these documents the entities declare they will protect natural resources and prevent pollution. Employees will find information in these documents to encourage them to care for the natural environment.
The persons responsible for real estate administration and management in PZU and PZU Życie do their utmost to demarcate the directions for activities to exert the smallest possible adverse impact on nature. In their day-to-day work the employees of the Real Estate Department and of the Administration Department undertake comprehensive activities to curtail the quantum of pollution and reduce the consumption of natural resources in companies. Achieving the stated objectives is possible owing to the support of employees in their daily eco-choices in the place of work.
In pursuit of the objectives of the “Green PZU” standard developed in 2018, the Real Estate Department at PZU and PZU Życie carries on with initiatives aimed at reducing adverse environmental impact, such as:
- curtailing the consumption of utilities;
- conducting rational waste management;
- installing air conditioning with an ecological refrigerants;
- preferring environmental and social aspects when choosing space for rent;
- running educational campaigns among employees in terms of pro-environmental behaviors.
In its day-to-day operations, the Real Estate Department undertakes a number of initiatives intended to ensure conscious management of its environmental impact, aiming to reduce the volume of pollutants released into the environment and lessen the consumption of natural resources. In 2019, activities were continued with a view to curtailing the consumption of utilities, conducting rational waste management, installing air conditioning devices with an ecological refrigerants, preferring environmental and social aspects when choosing space for rent, running educational campaigns among employees in terms of pro-environmental behaviors.
As a result of the Real Estate Department’s pro-environmental activities, the volume of municipal waste collected separately improved by 10% and the consumption of utilities decreased. More than 70 persons were involved in the conduct of educational campaigns.
BEST PRACTICE
Installation of air conditioning devices using a new, environmentally friendly refrigerant R32
In 2018, the Real Estate Department began the purchase and installation of the first split air conditioners with the power input of up to 5 kW with the refrigerant R32 – predominantly in technical rooms such as server rooms where continuous operation of cooling equipment is required. The installation was performed to satisfy the current needs related to replacement of damaged devices with new ones and delivery to newly created rooms. By the end of 2018, 36 split air conditioners were installed. In 2019, 32 air conditioners with the refrigerant R32 were installed. In 2020, old air conditioners are scheduled to be replaced with new ones fitted with the refrigerant R32 in other PZU and PZU Życie facilities. The refrigerant R32 has a lower (675) GWP (greenhouse effect potential) compared to the most commonly used R410A (GWP of 2088). Thanks to the new technology, the volume of the refrigerants in the devices may be reduced significantly (by approx. 30%), thereby curtailing the potential emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
In 2019, PZU saved 20,745 GJ of heat energy2 due to thermal modernization of buildings, replacement of worn-out heating boilers and reduced demand for thermal power. Moreover, 3,557 GJ3 of electricity was saved thanks to the installation of power compensating devices, reduction of contracted power in abandoned buildings, verification of adjustment of temperature settings in server rooms, installation of LED lighting and replacement of external signage lighting with LEDs. In turn, PZU Życie saved 7,886 GJ of heat energy4.
PZU Group’s total consumption of energy from non-renewable sources5
2 Data on the consumption of municipal heat, natural gas and heating oil
3 The base for calculating the quantum of saved energy was consumption in 2018
4 Data on the consumption of municipal heat, natural gas and heating oil
5 The data for the Alior Bank Group are presented solely for Alior Bank on account of the limited accessibility of these data in the other Group companies and at the same time they are of minor significance. For the Pekao Group, the data are for selected companies only due to the availability of data.
6 Heating oil correction factor: 36.636 GJ/m3. Conversion factor [t/m3]: 0.86
Electricity, heating, cooling, and steam purchased for consumption
Total consumption of energy from non-renewable sources separately for PZU and PZU Życie
7 A ratio of 11 was used to calculate 1 kWh of energy generated from 1 m3 of natural gas.
8 Heating oil correction factor: 36.636 GJ/m3. Conversion factor [t/m3]: 0.86
Electricity, heating, cooling, and steam purchased for consumption separately for PZU and PZU Życie
Total consumption of energy from non-renewable sources and purchased energy:
Total consumption of energy from non-renewable sources and purchased energy separately for PZU and PZU Życie
With a view to providing information to the fullest possible extent on our impact on the environment and climate and responding to the growing requirements and expectations of our stakeholders, investors and analysts in this respect, the PZU Group for the first time publishes information on direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, broken down into scopes 1, 2 and 3.
Scope 1 (direct greenhouse gas emissions) means direct emissions caused by the combustion of fuels in stationary or mobile sources owned or supervised by the company, emissions resulting from technological processes and escaping refrigerants.
Scope 2 (electricity indirect GHG emissions) is defined as indirect GHG emissions arising from the consumption of imported (purchased or supplied from outside) electricity, heat, process steam and cooling, which in practice are generated at the place of production of these utilities).
Scope 3 (other indirect GHG emissions) means other indirect emissions arising across the value chain, for instance during the production of raw materials or semi-finished products, waste management, transportation of raw materials and products, business trips or use of products by end users.
Total direct GHG emissions (Scope 1)
Greenhouse gas emissions in scope 1
Total direct scope 1 emissions in the PZU Group reached 30.5 thousand tons of CO2e compared to 31.4 thousand tons of CO2e in 2018. The decrease resulted primarily from lower emissions caused by refrigerants leaks in PZU and PZU Życie. In 2018 and 2019, PZU and PZU Życie began installing air conditioning devices containing new environmentally friendly refrigerant R32 which has a third of the GWP (greenhouse effect potential) compared to standard refrigerants. In 2020, old air conditioners are scheduled to be replaced with new ones fitted with the refrigerant R32 in other PZU and PZU Życie facilities. The consumption of natural gas and heating oil by the PZU Group decreased as a result of a mild winter. The consumption of diesel fuel also decreased, while gasoline consumption increased.
Electricity indirect GHG emissions (Scope 2)
Greenhouse gas emissions in scope 2
Energy indirect scope 2 emissions reached 113.9 thousand tons of CO2e in 2019 compared to 122.1 thousand tons of CO2e in 2018. The decrease was mainly due to lower heat consumption in the PZU Group, partly due to a milder winter. In 2020, a further decrease in the carbon footprint is scheduled, also in scope 2. PZU and PZU Życie intend to purchase electricity generated from renewable energy sources in 2020. They will receive a certificate from the electricity supplier confirming that the purchased electricity has been generated from renewable sources.
The PZU and PZU Życie constitute 37% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the PZU Group in the scope of 1 and 22% in the scope of 2. The difference is mainly due to the different characteristics of the industries in which the PZU Group operates and the various efficiency and value of consumption of individual raw materials (especially natural gas) and energy (in particular electricity).
Share of PZU and PZU Życie in creating PZU Group’s greenhouse gas emissions
Other indirect GHG emissions (Scope 3)
Greenhouse gas emissions in scope 3
Other indirect GHG emissions (scope 3) emissions in categories 1, 3, 5 and 6 (listed in the table above) by the PZU Group reached 23 thousand tons of CO2e compared to 24.9 thousand tons in 2018 (-7.7% y/y). The decrease occurred predominantly in emissions related to energy and fuels in the value chain and was chiefly due to a decrease in electricity consumption. In the future, the scope of reporting is expected to cover more categories provided for in the standard and more PZU Group companies.
GHG emissions per consolidated assets and the number of employees are presented below.
GHG emissions intensity
Due to the fact that scope 3 was calculated mainly for PZU and PZU Życie, they were not presented in the form of emission intensity per consolidated assets and employees of the Group.
All calculations were made in accordance with the international GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. 2018 was selected as the base year against which the PZU Group will compare its annual emissions in subsequent years.
For the calculation of GHG emissions for fuels, electricity (consumed in Poland) and heat (consumed in Poland), emission indicators or data from the National Centre for Emissions Management were used. The emission factors for electricity consumed in foreign companies were obtained from data published by the International Energy Agency, while those for heat energy were obtained from the DEFRA (the UK Government’s Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) database. For scope 2 emissions calculated according to the location-based method, average emission factors for the respective countries were used. The emission factors for energy in the scope of WTT (well to tank) (scope 3) business trips, purchased raw materials and services, waste management and GWP for refrigerants were obtained from the DEFRA database. No biogenic greenhouse gas emissions were identified.
The greenhouse gas described in the emission factors for fuels, electricity and heat in Poland is CO2. The other factors included CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions as well as refrigerants. The GHG emissions released by each company was consolidated at the PZU Group level according to the operational control approach.
“Caring for a green economy is not solely the duty of manufacturers and large-scale industry. Our company’s policy is founded on the assumption that all types of business are conducted at the expense of the natural environment. Reducing the undesirable environmental impact of insurance activity is a matter of the same priority for us as improving our offering to clients. We are elated that our staff members have developmental opportunities in the Group where we involve them in environmental protection activities. Our company employs modern technologies for responsible and economical consumption of all resources and raw materials required in our work. In a company as large as PZU, water, electricity and paper can be consumed reasonably with favorable environmental effects and contribute to eco-choices in the place of work.”