Glossary of key CSR terms

Community action – Short-term social initiatives carried out on a one-off or regular basis to help a given group or a person. An example of a one-off community action is the Krewniacy initiative, which promotes donation of blood for patients in need of transfusions.

Employee opinion survey (or employee satisfaction survey) – A tool for investigating the level of job satisfaction among the employees of a given company. The results give an insight on the most satisfying aspects of their jobs, and reveal potential problems and areas of conflict that may negatively affect their attitude and commitment. This information can help the company to better adjust its employee policies to the needs and expectations of its workforce.

Declaration on Sustainable Development in the Energy Sector – A declaration initially signed on June 17th 2009 containing statements by its signatories that they understand and are willing to implement the principles of sustainable development in their policies. The declaration was signed by the largest companies in the Polish energy sector: EDF Polska, Enea, GAZ-SYSTEM, GDF SUEZ Energia Polska, Tauron, Vattenfall Poland and PGNiG, the initiator of the project. On June 17th 2010, the declaration was signed by three more companies – Fortum Power and Heat Polska, Grupa Lotos and Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne Operator. Later, the initiative was also joined by Dalkia Polska and PKN Orlen. During a conference on June 14th 2011, the Declaration was then signed by Dolnośląska Spółka Gazownictwa, Górnośląska Spółka Gazownictwa, Karpacka Spółka Gazownictwa, Mazowiecka Spółka Gazownictwa, Pomorska Spółka Gazownictwa, Wielkopolska Spółka Gazownictwa, PKP Energetyka and Energa SA. Most recently, in 2012, Talisman Energy Polska, Aurelian Oil & Gas Poland, and Strzelecki Energia Sp. z o.o. joined the signatories.

Social dialogue – The exchange of information between parties, most frequently related to common problems and social affairs. The parties participating in social dialogue may include both public and private entities, entrepreneurs and non-governmental organisations. The success of such dialogue is chiefly determined by good cooperation and the reliability of the information.

Dialogue with stakeholders in accordance with AccountAbility’s AA1000 standards – The international AccountAbility AA1000 standards are a useful tool in developing and managing stakeholder relations. The standards help companies build their relations with stakeholders on trust and open dialogue, thus contributing to the creation of social capital. They focus on stakeholder relations and provide support in the area of management of these relations. The series comprises the following standards:

Philanthropy – Charitable activities which demonstrate care for the common good, carried out by persons, organisations or companies to benefit people in need. Such activities mainly involve providing financial or material support, and in modern societies are chiefly carried out through foundations and associations.

Responsible Business Forum (the Forum Odpowiedzialnego Biznesu, or FOB) – A non-governmental organisation whose mission is to promote the principles of responsible business as a standard applicable in Poland, with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of companies, enhancing social satisfaction with them, and improving the condition of the natural environment. The FOB includes a number of Polish companies, including PGNiG.

Global Compact – An initiative of the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to introduce a new framework for businesses by supporting, among other things, respect for human rights, the application of labour standards, and business activities conducted in harmony with the environment. The Global Compact is supported by various NGOs and more than 1,000 companies from around the world, including Pomorska Spółka Gazownictwa and PGNiG.

The Grasz o staż initiative – The longest running internship competition in Poland. Launched in 1996 and organised by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Each year, the winners are awarded paid internships and other prizes (such as post-graduate studies or training programmes, books and materials etc) funded by the participating companies and NGOs.

HSE (Health, Safety, Environment) – Rules of conduct for health and safety at work and environmental protection, as defined by international regulations.

Stakeholder – Any entity with an interest in a company’s operations. These may include third parties, such as persons, communities, institutions, organisations or public authorities, and related entities, such as company employees or shareholders.

SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) – An approach to business operations which treats the company’s benefit and society’s well-being on equal terms. Socially responsible investors favour those companies which comply with or promote the principles of sustainable development, environmental protection, human rights protection and consumer protection.

Social campaigns – Activities aimed at changing or preventing a certain attitude or behaviour by a given group of people. Social campaigns are carried out through means of mass communi­cation (traditional media, unconventional methods) and supported by numerous entities. These include companies, civil organisations and public authorities whose assistance for the initiators of the campaign may take different forms, be they financial, material or in the form of services. A company’s involvement in a social campaign strengthens its image by presenting it as an entity with an active interest in its environment, and is an opportunity for it to build stronger relationships, both between its employees and between itself and particular groups.

Company Code of Values/Ethics – The code of values adopted by a company, defining its organisational culture. A common code of values promotes higher awareness of unwritten principles and company rules among employees, allowing them to build a closer relationship with their company and the other employees.

Value chain – Clearly defined activities performed by specific companies which form a common value system. A value chain clearly demonstrates mutual dependence between a number of companies, as well as the process of adding value to a product.

Cause-related marketing – An intermediate form of marketing between commercial and social marketing that involves supporting a social cause while strengthening the image of the company. The implementation of cause-related marketing very often involves three parties: the company, civil organisations and consumers.

Social programme – Planned activities aimed at providing a solution to, or preventing a specific social problem. May be implemented independently or as a joint effort by public institutions, businesses and civil organisations.

CSR report – A company’s comprehensive report on its implementation of sustainable development and Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. It focuses on economic, social and environmental aspects of the company’s operations.

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) – A business strategy based on the assumption that a company should voluntarily take the public interest into consideration in its pursuit of economic objectives. CSR promotes the observance of ethical principles, employee rights, human rights, as well as a respect for the social and natural environment in which a company operates and makes its decisions. It is generally accepted that a company’s policy should provide not only for achievement of economic objectives, but also the implementation of corporate social responsibility principles.

Local community – The people living in a specific area and bound by social relationships, common traditions and culture. A local community can define a locality, commune, housing estate, town or city district.

Sponsorship – A mutual agreement between two parties: a sponsor and a sponsoree, in which the sponsor provides the sponsoree with financial or material resources or services in exchange for promotional activity. Sponsorship involves planned and intended activities designed to impute a positive image to the sponsoring company. 

Organisational structure – The relationship system within a company, also applicable to its subordinate organisations and associations. The purpose of organisational structure is to clearly define the division of duties and hierarchy of powers. A strong organisational structure facilitates efficient management of the company.

Voluntary work – The involvement of company employees in voluntary work for the benefit of civil organisations. Employees volunteer their time and expertise to carry out various types of activities for people in need, often also improving their skills in other areas. Depending on the policy adopted, the company supports voluntary work by its employees by allowing them to do so during working hours, or by providing material, logistic or financial assistance.

Sustainable development – A development strategy wherein political, economic and social activity is conducted in such a way as to avoid or limit its impact on the natural environment. The aim of sustainable development is to ensure the utilisation of natural resources in a way which doesn’t prevent future generations from also utilising them. The concept of sustainable development is included in the Environmental Protection Law – Dz.U. of 2001, No. 62, item 627, Art. 3.50.

Glossary of industry-specific terms

Biogas plant – A plant which ferments substrates such as biofuel feedstock, livestock waste, distillery waste, and methane from landfill sites, into biogas. The resulting fuel is consumed by small cogeneration units (0.5–2 MW).

CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) – A process of capturing carbon dioxide from flue gasses to reduce its emission into the atmosphere, thus mitigating its negative impact on the environment. Because of the limited use for captured carbon dioxide, one important issue related to the process is the compression of CO2 and its storage in underground caverns used to hold hydrocarbon deposits.

CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) – Natural gas compressed at a pressure of 20–25 MPa and used as vehicle fuel for spark ignition and compression ignition engines.

Distribution – Transport of gaseous fuels to customers via distribution networks.

Exploration and Production, E&P – One of PGNiG’s operating segments. The companies operating in this segment are engaged in exploration, geophysical and geological work, as well as production of natural gas and crude oil.

Shale gas – Unconventional gas contained in shale formations. The United States is the largest shale gas producer in the world. In Poland, there has been a surge in interest in shale gas, which – according to estimates – lies here at depths ranging from 500 metres to 4 kilometres, in a diagonal belt stretching from central Pomerania to the Lublin region, and within the foreland of the Sudety Mountains.

Natural gas – A natural mixture of paraffin hydrocarbons, primarily consisting of methane (up to 98% in high-methane gas). Natural gas is often found in the form of deposits in the Earth’s crust.

Direct gas pipeline – A gas pipeline used for the transmission of gaseous fuel directly to customer installations, bypassing the main gas distribution network.

PGNiG Group – the Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo Group.

LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) – Natural gas in a liquid state, with a temperature of -163°C. During the liquefaction process the gas is cooled to -163°C, which also reduces its volume 630 times.

LLDP – Local Land Development Plan.

OGP GAZ-SYSTEM – The abbreviated name of Operator Gazociągów Przesyłowych GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. The company was established on April 16th 2004 under the name PGNiG Przesył Sp. z o.o. as a wholly-owned subsidiary of PGNiG. On April 28th 2005, 100% of its stock interests were acquired by the State Treasury. Currently, OG PGAZ-SYSTEM operates as a gas transmission system operator under a licence issued by the Polish Energy Regulatory Office.

Transmission System Operator (TSO) – An energy company involved in the transmission of gaseous fuels, responsible for network traffic in the gas transmission system, the ongoing and long-term security of the system’s operation, as well as the operation, maintenance, repair and necessary extension of the transmission network, including the interconnectors with other gas systems.

Underground Gas Storage Facility – the PGNiG Group is the exclusive owner of the underground gas storage facilities in Poland. These are six high-methane gas storage facilities, five of which are located in worked-out natural gas caverns, with the sixth located in the salt caverns under Mogilno.

Transmission – Transport of gaseous fuels through transmission networks to distribution networks or end customers connected to the transmission network.

Transmission network – A gas network of low, medium and high pressure, other than a mine pipeline or a direct pipeline. The responsibility for network traffic rests with the Transmission System Operator.

Distribution network – A gas network of low, medium and high pressure, other than a mine pipeline or a direct pipeline. The responsibility for network traffic rests with the gas distribution companies.

SGT – The abbreviated name of EuRoPol GAZ System Gazociągów Tranzytowych EuRoPol GAZ SA. The company is responsible for natural gas transmission along the Polish section of the Yamal transit pipeline, which connects the Russian Federation with Western Europe.

Gas distribution company – An energy company involved in the distribution of gaseous fuels, responsible for network traffic in the gas distribution system, the ongoing and long-term security of the system’s operation, as well as the operation, maintenance, repair and necessary extension of the distribution network, including the interconnectors with other gas systems in the relevant geographical area.

Environmental Management Systems – The systems defined in the ISO 14001 standard, based on the principles of comprehensive quality management. The main assumption of environmental management is to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the natural environment. This can be achieved by application of uniform management principles governing access to environmental resources, elimination of the negative environmental impact of business activities and rational consumption of natural resources.

URE (Urząd Regulacji Energetyki) – the Polish Energy Regulatory Office. Under the relevant regulations, the President of URE is responsible for approving the tariffs submitted by licence-holders, which authorise them to conduct business involving trade and storage of gaseous fuels.