Corporate social responsibility in Kielce

CSR is a new quality in company management strategies, which take into account not only the business approach, but also focus on the social and economic aspects of the company's operation, which in the long run translates into the development of competitiveness and a positive image of a given company.

Caring for the social issues of employees, investments in human resources, relations with recipients, fair market practices and finally care for the environment are just some examples of broadly understood CSR. Fortunately, more and more such companies operate in our country.

With this text, we would like to present you several companies located in the capital of the Świętokrzyskie region, of which we are particularly proud. Companies that, apart from business success, also successfully implement social missions – activities aimed at the local community as well as on a wider, nationwide scale.

ECOLOGICAL REVOLUTION AND A MURAL THAT CLEANS THE AIR

In the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, the topic of sustainable development and ecological initiatives is taken up more and more often. One of the precursors of this type of activity is Formaster Group, the owner of the Dafi brand. The company produces solutions for the filtration of tap water and is primarily trying to convince the public to give up water in disposable bottles. The scope of additional activities for the benefit of the planet, performed by the company, is really wide, and they include, among others: creating 2 apiaries in which about a million bees currently live, providing eco-containers and bottle dispensers that help in proper recycling or co-created with the Association MOST project "Umbrella for Nature".

At the end of January, the owner of the Dafi brand began work on an innovative project, which primarily draws attention to the problem of global threats, resulting largely from harmful human activity. The company decided to combine business with pleasure and created an ecological mural on one of the walls of the skyscraper located in the center of Kielce. Formaster, in cooperation with the building manager, also participated in the comprehensive thermal modernization of the façade, which was the supporting surface for the mural of the "Cosmic Challenge" promotional campaign. In addition, the company has established 2 apiaries on its premises, thanks to which over a million bees have already settled in Kielce and at the factory in Bilcza. Formaster continues cooperation with the MOST Association as part of the protection of umbrella species, i.e. species whose extinction causes the extinction of others. The aim of the project is to protect endangered species and their habitats. Naturalists created the concept, and the Dafi brand finances it fully. A very interesting and necessary initiative was also the location of the Dafi "bottle kiosk" in Galeria Echo in Kielce. This particular campaign has an educational value, showing how to properly recycle disposable packaging, especially plastic. The company also constantly creates and supplements networks of eco-containers into which used Dafi filters can be thrown.

What is the uniqueness of the resulting mural? The completed project cleans the air. This is due to the fact that ecological paints were used to create it, which are made only from natural ingredients. Thanks to this, they are anti-smog and have cleansing properties. The mural has an air filtration power comparable to 250 trees!

FIGHT FOR THE CLIMATE

The ActivTek company – a tenant of the Kielce Technology Park, has for several years been a manufacturer and the only certified distributor in Poland of air purification systems, operating on the basis of the active, advanced technology ActivePure RCI – Radial Catalytic Ionization.

Ecological paints were used to create the mural, which are made only from natural ingredients. Thanks to this, they are anti-smog and have cleansing properties. The mural has an air filtration power comparable to 250 trees!

The company is the initiator of many social projects that contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the inhabitants of Kielce and the region. In 2016, the company organized the "Healthy Preschool with ActivTek" competition. All kindergartens and nurseries from the region, participating in the competition, had a chance to win a set of ActivTek air purification devices. The award was to equip the Winning Institution (selected as a result of a vote by Internet users) with 5 AP 3000 ActivTek air purifiers. Another example of activities undertaken by the company and promoting a healthy lifestyle among the youngest is the campaign "Child-friendly Health Center". The goal is to improve air quality in Polish kindergartens and school institutions. The effect of these activities

DS Smith is an international cardboard packaging company with four production plants located in Kielce.

“Distance Bench” is not only an exhibit at the exhibition, it is also a piece of furniture that has unique visual, artistic and functional values. One of the benches also found its place in the Municipal Public Library. Ds Smith and its employees join many charities, participate as one team in charity runs and other sports events aimed at helping those in need.

DS Smith Easter auction.

is, among others, a 70% reduction in morbidity among children from participating institutions, adapting schools, kindergartens and nurseries to the needs of children with inhalation allergies, or popularizing knowledge about air quality in school and kindergarten buildings.

10 years after the debut of systems based on ActivePure RCI technology, ActivTek has faced the challenge of the global fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and a disease entity called COVID-19. The ActivTek company has the results of tests carried out in a laboratory accredited by the FDA (American Food and Drug Administration), which showed that only a dozen or so to 30 minutes of Radial Catalytic Ionization (RCI) technology reduces the number of SARS-CoV-2 virus infectious particles in the air over 99.9%. In 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company delivered and installed specialized and state-of-the-art duct equipment to fight the virus. The devices have been installed throughout the infectious disease ward of the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the Provincial Integrated Hospital in Kielce and help the staff and patients to this day.

ECO-PACKAGING AND ECO-EDUCATION

DS Smith is an international cardboard packaging company with four production plants located in Kielce. With its new sustainability strategy, DS Smith has set a goal to make all its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2023. The company, with each of its actions, aims at a circular economy according to the following principles: use again, recycle, reduce.

The company willingly engages in various types of charity and social campaigns, both local and national. The company’s activities often focus on helping the most needy who find themselves in a difficult life situation. DS Smith supports many local initiatives of a cultural, educational, economic and social nature. Its products support institutions, universities, schools and kindergartens. Every year, employees visit the Children’s Hospital, presenting all the little patients of the hospital with specially prepared cardboard toys, cardboard puzzles and sweets.

In addition to initiatives related to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic (including donation of disinfectants for Caritas facilities of the Kielce Diocese, or financial support for the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, which urgently created a laboratory to detect the SARSCoV-2 virus), the company supports cultural and educational initiatives, incl. helping students of the Faculty of Arts of the Kielce University, materialize their ideas and projects with cardboard, which are exhibited in cultural institutions.

DS Smith, together with the Design Institute in Kielce, has made a number of interesting artistic projects. One of them is “The Distance Bench” – another work realized as part of the Institute’s exhibition entitled “Public space in times of plague”. Taking care of the natural environment, the company’s employees last year planted a forest with 5,000 beech trees. Also noteworthy is the educational program in the field of ecology, waste segregation and ecology conducted by the company’s employees in schools and kindergartens.

The company donates many exhibits and products to charity auctions. One of them were corporate, Easter eggs made of corrugated cardboard, in the following years it was a cardboard armchair. The products were auctioned off for a large amount, which was transferred to the account of one of the foundations that help the most needy. Over the last few years, the company has also provided computers to schools in Kielce, and has been involved in a very interesting way in the celebration of the main promenade in the city, the so-called “Waking up Sienkiewka”. A cardboard square was organized, where children and their parents could color cut cardboard butterflies or play in the land of cardboard, creating buildings from previously prepared packages. During this time, parents could rest on a cardboard sofa or armchairs.

More information:

Investor Assistance Centre Kielce City Hall:

Strycharska 6 Street, 25-659 Kielce Phone: +48 41 36 76 571, 41 36 76 557 e-mail: coi@um.kielce.pl www.invest.kielce.pl/en www.mapa.invest.kielce.pl/en