KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. CSR programs
Social responsibility and sustainable development are important elements of business operations today. A company that cares for the development of its own organisation must take into account activities aimed at achieving a balance between its profitability and the broadly understood social interest.
CSR is particularly important in the mining industry. Due to the special character of their operations, companies such as KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. carry have a special responsibility for the projects they are implementing.
By planning and pursuing CSR activities the addressees and direct recipients of which are social beneficiaries of its environment, the Company upholds the “license for operation”, which is important for the group and which is manifested in the social acceptance of KGHM’s business activity in the mining sector.
The ECO-Health program was launched in 2014 as part of corporate social responsibility. The priority of the ECO-Health program are in particular promotion of preventive health care and active lifestyle among residents of the Copper Basin. The purpose of the program is to undertake projects/initiatives promoting preventive health care, active lifestyle, physical activity and recreation, in order to improve the physical condition and health of the children, adults and the elderly living in the region.
Sports is my passion, my profession and my life. It is also a recipe for health for everyone – it keeps you fit and helps reduce stress. That is why I am a big proponent of the ECO-Health program, which promotes an active lifestyle among the residents of the Copper Basin
The program’s efforts to advance include regular activities: Nordic Walking for adults, recreational gymnastics for elderly citizens, and swimming lessons for children.
The Nordic Walking project is addressed to people over 35 years of age. It assumes cyclic activities with the participation of qualified and experienced instructors in various cities and towns of the Copper Basin. The participants acquire or improve the basic skills of walking with the poles and take part in lectures on Nordic Walking techniques and principles of healthy nutrition.
The impact of Nordic Walking on the body is similar to that of jogging without putting excessive strain on joints and the spine. It relieves hip and knee joints, the lumbar spine, and releases shoulder, neck, and back muscle tension. Additionally, it does not require specialised equipment and engages up to 90 per cent of muscles safely (with a low risk of injury).
So far, 10 editions of the Nordic walking project have been held in which more than 1,500 people participated.
The swimming teaching program assumes regular basic swimming classes for children aged 5-10. The classes are held in indoor swimming pools in several towns of the Copper Basin: Chojnów, Legnica, Lubin, Polkowice, Głogów, and Rudna, and children develop their basic swimming skills under the supervision of qualified instructors from swimming clubs in the region. Swimming is a sport strongly recommended to children. It helps ensure the correct posture and reverse scoliosis. This discipline makes a child develop healthily, be physically fit, have a good stamina and motor coordination. Water exercises have a highly positive influence on the respiratory and circulatory systems, too.
So far, 10 editions of the swimming learning project have been held in which approx. 3,000 children participated.
Recreational gymnastics with specialised hammocks, a project dedicated to the elderly, is implemented in a few towns in the region: Lubin, Legnica, Polkowice, Głogów, Chojnów, Ścinawa, and Złotoryja. Fitness instructors and physiotherapists participate in the classes.
The specialist classes project offers many benefits, such as:
- it strengthens and stretches muscles;
- restores natural mobility of the joints;
- minimizes back and muscle pain;
- improves circulation of blood;
- stimulates the immune system;
- strengthens internal organs;
- improves memory and concentration;
- addresses sleep issues;
- prevents depression.
Over 250 people aged 55-80 have taken part in three editions of the recreational gymnastics project so far.
In 2020, because of the epidemic conditions, within the ECO-Health program the Company implemented a number of online projects addressed to employees and residents of the region. Instructional materials on Nordic walking, swimming, rollerblading, classes for seniors or general physical activity with well-known sports figures were designed to inspire viewers to spend their free time actively
Volunteerism is gaining strength in KGHM – several dozen support activities were carried out in spite of the pandemic. During the difficult year 2020, the activity of employee volunteers in KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. did not decline. Employees of the copper giant took part in several dozen projects for needy Copper Basin residents.
As they do every year, the Company’s employees became involved in the “Noble Package” nationwide campaign on a spectacular scale. Gifts for families were prepared in KGHM’s divisions but also individually. There were more than 100 of them prepared by employee groups. Aid and contacts with families are continued also after the final of the campaign.
After the end of the “Noble Package” activities, KGHM volunteers joined in the campaign to help victims of a fire in Lubin. A single mother received food supplies and the necessary items such as clothes and hygiene products.
KGHM employees took special care of the elderly in the Lower Silesia region. Volunteers prepared nearly 3 thousand food parcels. They did not end with that, since seniors needed human contact more often than material aid. Karolina, a volunteer, was supposed to walk a dog. “Ultimately, even though I never walked that dog, our numerous phone conversations were incredibly inspiring,” said Karolina who is a KGHM employee.
KGHM’s volunteers also became involved in helping their colleagues from KGHM. One of the beneficiaries was Daniel, an employee at the Polkowice-Sieroszowice Mine. After his colleagues organised a fund-raising campaign, he was able to take part in a rehabilitation camp in one of the best facilities in Poland. Currently volunteers on their own carry out a renovation and adapt his house to the needs of a disabled person.
It is also worth noting that KGHM employees associated in blood donation clubs donated more than one thousand litres of blood this year. This impressive result should be supplemented also by individual donors and donors of plasma, in particular from recovered patients. Volunteers responded without hesitation to appeals from blood collection stations across the region.
The activities of KGHM’s employees were recognised by the County Starost’s Office in Lubin. The company won this year’s award in the CORPORATE VOLUNTEERISM PROGRAM category. The officials honoured the Company for promoting various forms of social engagement and for pro-community attitudes.
The “Copper Heart” employee volunteerism program has been operating in KGHM POLSKA MIEDŹ S.A. since 2014. The support is provided by the employer to employees for their personal development and pursuit of their passions, and joint engagement in socially significant actions enhances integration and job satisfaction. Volunteering activities reinforce the values guiding KGHM employees on a day-to-day basis: responsibility, safety, performance orientation, courage, and collaboration. Employees engaging in organizing and participating in charity actions become ambassadors of the KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. brand and they are the best evidence of the effectiveness and appropriate implementation of the corporate social responsibility policy.
The year 2020 showed that nothing is certain. It taught us how to deal with unexpected situations. It also showed that one can always count on the noble hearts of KGHM employees involved in the “Copper Heart” employee volunteerism project. In 2020, the volunteers, while complying with the sanitary requirements, supported senior citizens, prepared food parcels and collected money for those in need. This required exceptional commitment. Marcin Chludziński, President of the Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. expressed his gratitude to all volunteers and each one individually.
The activities of KGHM’s employees were recognised by the County Starost’s Office in Lubin. KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. won the award in the CORPORATE VOLUNTEERISM PROGRAM 2020 category. The officials honoured the Company for promoting various forms of social engagement and for pro-community attitudes.
On 27 March 2019, KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. inaugurated the “Copper Competition” scholarship program. The second edition of the program was held in 2020. The basis for granting the scholarship by the President of the Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. is exemplary sporting achievements and orientation towards increasingly better results. The program supports the athletes who have already achieved considerable success. In 2020, in cooperation with the Ministry of Sports, scholarships were awarded to 24 athletes, of which 7 originated from the Copper Basin. The support allows them to focus on training and achieving the best possible performance.
Unique on the Polish scale, the “Leaders” KGHM Leadership School Project is an action that consists in training the future leaders of the business and social sphere and preparing them for fulfilling a significant role in the dynamically changing world. Course participants will acquire the knowledge and skills that are necessary for contemporary managers. The lecturers and trainers who educate the future “Leaders” place a special emphasis on the practical aspect of management of organisations, whose environment imposes continual adaptation, innovation and creativity. The “Leaders” KGHM Leadership School Project is addressed to students of the final year of Master’s studies (or equivalent second cycle studies) and to recent graduates (up to 3 years after graduation). Additionally, doctoral students can be candidates for the program until they finish their studies.
The “Leaders” KGHM Leadership School Project entailed: lectures, training sessions and workshops in the field of politics and economy, analysis and formulation of conclusions, rules of free market economy and basic phenomena related to its operation, financial mechanisms of enterprises and institutions, strategic management, project management and work organisation, communication, discussion and public speeches, innovation and creativity, as well as leadership. The classes at the School are delivered by the leading managers of KGHM, professional trainers and advisers, as well as retired generals and admirals of the US Armed Forces, who are currently working for the renowned consulting firm, The Spectrum Group.
In 2020, 30 students and graduates began classes in the second edition of the “Leaders” Leadership School of KGHM. More information about the project can be found at projects website.
