INTEGRATED
REPORT
2019

Corporate governance rules

GRI indicators:
Capitals:

In 2019, PKN ORLEN applied all the principles included in the code ‘Best Practice for GPW Listed Companies 2016’ (‘Code of Best Practice’) applicable on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

GRI:
  • 103-1
  • 103-2
  • 103-3

As a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (“WSE”), PKN ORLEN is required to comply with the corporate governance principles set forth in the Code of Best Practice for WSE Listed Companies 2016 (“Code of Best Practice”) adopted by the WSE Supervisory Board (Resolution No. 26/1413/2015 of the WSE Supervisory Board of October 13th 2015) effective as of January 1st 2016. The Code of Best Practice is available on the WSE website and on the PKN ORLEN corporate website www.orlen.pl in the section dedicated to the Company’s shareholders. In line with the WSE guidelines, compliance with the individual recommendations contained in the Code of Best Practice is discussed in the relevant section of the Integrated Report.

GRI:
  • 102-43

Communication with the capital market

Infografika-Orlen-2020-106 Infografika-Orlen-2020-106

PKN ORLEN seeks to ensure easy and equal access to published information using various communication tools, including the following:

  • Closed one-on-one or group meetings, held both in Poland and abroad, also as teleconferences.
  • Press conferences open to the general public, streamed live over the Internet, with simultaneous interpretation into English. The conferences follow all major corporate events such as the release of quarterly results or strategy announcement.
  • Series of meetings with investors, held both in Poland and abroad (roadshows).
  • Meetings of capital market participants with the Company’s key managers in the headquarters and places where PKN ORLEN conducts its operations (site visits).
  • The Investor and Analyst Days organised from time to time – workshops concerning various areas of the Company’s activity, run by representatives of the Management Board, executive directors and selected managers.

PKN ORLEN is ready and willing to provide any clarifications to its shareholders, investors, analysts and other capital market participants during group or one-on-one meetings, teleconferences, roadshows or site visits referred to above. Special presentation materials are prepared for these meetings, giving insight into the large and complex refining and petrochemical industry in which the Company operates.

Moreover, PKN ORLEN makes every effort to provide investors and analysts with financial information on its operations as soon as practicable. PKN ORLEN is among the companies that are the quickest to publish their financial results after the end of the reporting period. In 2019, the Company published its figures as soon as approximately 23 days after the closing of the reporting periods.

PKN ORLEN is also a dividend paying company. In 2019, for the seventh consecutive year it distributed its profits to shareholders by paying out its highest ever dividend of PLN 3.50 per share.

The Company is also developing the ‘ORLEN IN YOUR WALLET’ programme, including the Investment Academy. The programme, launched in 2018, is dedicated to retail investors. In 2019, three brokerage houses joined the programme, so it is already supported by five professional institutions. At the end of the year, there were more than 3,000 investors registered in the programme. Materials containing the educational part of the programme were published, first examinations in the Investment Academy were held, and another educational module, ‘Investing in Practice’, was launched. More than 60,000 people used the educational materials made available on the website.

Company’s response to publicly voiced opinions and information injuring its reputation

PKN ORLEN actively prevents any untrue publications and comments which might have an adverse effect on the Company’s image. The ORLEN Group has in place internal guidelines that streamline the rules of external communication, covering contacts with the media, participation of the Company’s representatives in debates, conferences and discussion panels, as well as activities in the social media. These guidelines require a multi-stage, while also highly intuitive and consistent, verification of any information about the Company and its representatives before it is made public. In the case of communication activities relating to the Company’s image, a strong focus is placed on quick response to potentially negative publications. The rules relating to the response are strictly defined in the guidelines, which guarantees that the Company’s activities in this area are highly effective.

Any such response is coordinated by the Executive Director for Corporate Communication.

Corporate social responsibility activities of PKN ORLEN

PKN ORLEN’s priority in each area of its operations is sustainable development, which we understand as care for future generations. This means that in building the ORLEN Group’s position, social objectives are for us as important as business ones. We respect people and their rights. We use natural resources so as not to disturb environmental balance. We feel responsible for other members of the community in which we operate. Therefore, we engage in dialogue with them and support them in various fields of activity. This broad approach to responsibility requires the implementation of CSR activities across all business areas. CSR activities involve educating stakeholders and inspiring in them a sense of social responsibility, protecting health and safety of employees, commitment to employee development, optimisation of environmental impacts, promoting ethical values, anti-corruption measures, respect for human rights, customer focus and responsiveness to customer needs, and building partnership-based relations with business partners. We focus our initiatives in this area on the city of Płock and the Płock region. The Company is engaged there in a number of social, educational, environmental and other projects, including, in particular, the OrlenInfo system, an innovative tool for communicating with the local community. OrlenInfo allows the Company to promptly report any events that occur at the Production Plant and announce projects undertaken for the inhabitants of Płock.

Directions of our CSR activities are defined in the CSR strategy, consistent with the ORLEN business strategy. Since 2019, the ‘ORLEN Group’s CSR Strategy until 2022’ has been implemented, with the following areas of responsibility: Society, Environment, Employees, Customers, Trading Partners. The strategic priorities are to build PKN ORLEN’s image as a leader of CSR and sustainable development, seek to achieve consistency between PKN ORLEN’s business and CSR objectives, generate CSR synergies across the Group, commit to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and support the ‘Accessibility Plus’ programme. Moreover, in 2019 the following three priorities were defined for social initiatives: environmental protection (e.g. educational projects), promotion of safety (e.g. the ‘ORLEN for Firefighters’ programme), health protection and promotion (e.g. the ‘Health City’ campaign). The body that plays crucial role in pursuing the Company’s CSR objectives is the ORLEN Foundation, established in 2001 to fulfil the social responsibility mission of its founder, PKN ORLEN. In 2019, its name was changed from ‘ORLEN – DAR SERCA Foundation’ to ‘ORLEN Foundation’ to achieve greater communication and image consistency.

PKN ORLEN’s sponsorship focus is on selected themes including professional and amateur sports, culture and art, promotion of the Polish economy, international promotion of Poland, education and knowledge advancement, social projects, and initiatives in the areas of national history, memory and tradition. PKN ORLEN is engaged in the life of local communities, especially in Płock. An important category of activities are social sponsorship events, aimed to improve the quality of local residents’ lives, chiefly in small communities, and to build strong relations with all stakeholders. A total of 277 projects of this type were run by the Company.

PKN ORLEN communicates its CSR initiatives via the Responsible Business section of its corporate website and its annual integrated report available online. The website’s content includes the Company’s Sponsorship Policy and Charitable Giving Policy

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