Beata Kozłowska-Chyła, CEO of PZU
Dear Sir or Madam,
The PZU Group is the largest financial conglomerate in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe with assets exceeding PLN 400 billion. We have a footprint in five countries in this region. In Poland alone we enjoy the trust of 22 million clients. For us this is a source of great ennoblement but also a great obligation. We are aware to how large of a degree we can influence market standards and social attitudes. We utilize this potential responsibly to co-shape a more sustainable, friendly and safe environment to live and work for all of our stakeholders. We get constructively involved in solving key global and local problems, including ones related to the adverse effects of climate change. We would like to generate significant, recurring benefits for our clients and shareholders by attaching importance not just to financial results but also to how we deliver them.
The ESG Strategy for Sustainable Development as one of the pillars in the PZU Group’s new strategy in 2021-2024 lays out our ambitions in environmental protection, social commitment and corporate governance. This is a comprehensive response to the most important contemporary challenges demonstrating that the PZU Group would like to develop its business sustainably, while taking into account climate and social issues and the best governance practices. The ESG Strategy structures and strengthens the cohesiveness of the PZU Group’s long-term activities in sustainable development and blazes the path to pursuing specific, crucial goals.
The extensive implementation of ESG issues and their inclusion in the PZU Group’s overall business and corporate culture have been noticed and appreciated. Our efforts are reflected by ESG risk scores and ratings. In February 2022, PZU SA received an ESG risk rating from leading agency Sustainalytics. It rated PZU's risk of experiencing material adverse financial impact due to ESG factors as low.
In 2021 the PZU Group clearly stated its climate responsibility ambitions by embracing a partnership role in the green energy transition of the Polish economy, which is implementing best practices and inspiring others to take similar action. We are reducing our carbon footprint with great steadfastness by curtailing our own emissions and offsetting those that cannot be cut any further. We marketed unrivaled insurance policies for the private and corporate owners of RES installations to respond to their practical needs and support the development of the renewable energy sector. Within several months of announcing our ESG Strategy we committed to funding the construction or expansion of wind farms by allocating more than PLN 150 million and we invested roughly PLN 300 million in ESG bonds.
The PZU Group is also actively involved in pro-social activities, such as improving safety in local communities, popularizing health prophylactics and sports activity. It also is a patron of many institutions of culture and the arts. We are also involved in solving the most pressing social problems. In just 2021 the PZU Group donated PLN 6.2 million as financial and material support to fight COVID-19. These activities included helping hospitals, supporting assistance hotlines, participating in the National Vaccination Program, the 40 Plus Prevention and the Home Medical Care programs. We also created new programs to attenuate the post-pandemic “health gap” seen among adults, children and youth: the Road to Health with PZU and the PZU Good Team.
We would also like to establish the best standards in business transparency and relations with stakeholders, including employees, clients, shareholders and market regulators. In 2021 we made the decision to switch to hybrid work on a permanent basis and we implemented a number of tools and programs to support employees in this process. An open and inclusive work environment, an extended ecosystem of employee benefits, a rich training offer and attractive fellowships and internships have for years brought the PZU Group recognition and numerous awards as an attractive employer. We were the first financial company on the Warsaw Stock Exchange to launch a loyalty program for shareholders called My PZU Shares.
This report, which I convey to you with pleasure also confirms that we are doing our utmost in non-financial reporting. It has been prepared in accordance with recognized standards and the best market practices while simultaneously taking into account the new reporting requirements stemming from the European Union’s regulations. I am confident that the activities it describes amply demonstrate that the PZU Group is the leader when it comes to setting the trends for the entire financial sector in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility.
Respectfully,
Beata Kozłowska-Chyła, Ph.D. Hab.
CEO of PZU