The Corporate Social Responsibility of Polish Energy Companies

Abstract

If corporate social responsibility (CSR) is expected to work efficiently, there should be a standardised approach for implementation of the CSR concept for all businesses, including companies operating in the energy sector. Although many companies declare compliance with CSR standards, further investigation should be undertaken to evaluate if and how those standards have been applied in practice. The aim of this research is to examine the level of standardisation of the CSR activities within Polish energy companies and explore the good practices developed by those companies. The Polish energy companies have been selected for the investigation as the literature review we conducted demonstrates that there is limited research in this area and there is a knowledge gap regarding how Polish energy companies apply CSR regulation in practice. To accomplish the stated aims, the following research questions were developed: (1) What is the essence of applying the CSR concept in Polish energy companies, and at what level of development is the concept applied? (2) To what extent do Polish energy companies have a common approach to the CSR concept, and in what areas are there differences? (3) To what extent have Polish energy companies applied global CSR standards and solutions? (4) Is there a gap between the declared measures of CSR and their actual implementation in Polish energy companies? The research methodology of this study is based on a systematic literature review of the sources acquired from databases such as ProQuest, Emerald, SCOPUS and the Jagiellonian University Library. The multiple case study approach was identified as the most suitable research tool. Companies for the study were selected according to their affiliation to the energy sector and listing on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. These two assumptions allowed us to base this study on the largest Polish energy companies that have international status. Six areas of CSR annual report disclosures have been identified and used for the investigation and analysis. This research looks at similarities and difference between these six aspects of CSRs disclosed by Polish energy companies. The investigation allows us to conclude that the top three energy companies use similar tools to build their CSR strategies: formalised CSR concept, published CSR reports, disclosure of CSR information on the company website, CSR related activities offered to stakeholders, obtained CSR certificates, and CSR awards. This indicates the existence of a standardised approach to CSR across Polish energy companies.

Digitalization Business Strategies in Energy Sector: Solving Problems with Uncertainty under Industry 4.0 Conditions

“…The listed business strategies are a new class of considered categories that can be called digital business strategies in the energy sector. The implication of introducing this strategy type is the appropriate modification of the company's business model with elements of Industry 4.0 [109]. The digital business model is "a business model whose underlying business logic deliberately acknowledges the characteristics of digitalization and takes advantage of them; both in interaction with customers and business partners and in its internal operations" [110]; There are business models for products and services provided through digital platforms [111].…”

The Relationships among Social, Environmental, Economic CSR Practices and Digitalization in Polish Energy Companies

“…In some cases, depending on a regulatory system, an organization is obliged to report its social and environmental impact [44]. This issue is also perceived as a motivator for enhancing a CSR pro-activity attitude of an energy company [24]; however, some research results suggest [23,24] that the regulatory system could clarify CSR practices.…”

“…Although the operational risk related to energy production, the size of enterprises in the sector, as well as the level of impact on the economy and the environment are factors prompting the inclusion of CSR assumptions in the activities of energy companies [12][13][14][15][16][17], the current state of research on the determinants of CSR implementation should be assessed as unsatisfactory. However, the research on the involvement of energy sector companies in CSR activities emphasizes the role and significance of exogenous and endogenous factors and describes CSR practices [13,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], but ignores the relationship between practices in CSR dimensions and the impact of these practices on digitalization. The adoption of these methods shows the complexity of CSR in the literature [27] and the holistic implementation of CSR [28,29], allowing the formulation of the research problem of the study to investigate how the relationship between individual CSR practices reinforces (or weaken) each other.…”

The Balance of Outlays and Effects of Restructuring Hard Coal Mining Companies in Terms of Energy Policy of Poland PEP 2040

“…Moreover, there were strongly emphasized problems of reclamation [99], recognized in other countries, as well as changes in the technology of mines' functioning in the direction of energy transformation [100]. Another novelty was pointing out the direction of coal mining enterprises as socially responsible [101]. In the assessment of the enterprises' results, the necessary emphasis was placed on the activities in compliance with the contemporary requirements of the ESG policy, especially in relation to listed companies [102].…”

“…It can be assumed that coal mining companies were well prepared to adopt market-oriented policies and that they were consolidated, their debts were reduced, their financial results were satisfactory, and they were ready to develop strategic action plans under government programmes for the industry [134] (pp. [92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107]. However, the degradation process of the industry, which started in 2012, brought about disastrous effects in 2014-2016.…”