Polish Market No. 205 / 2013 Special Edition

Polish Market  ::  205/2013

No. 205 / 20 13 w w w.polishma r ke t .c om .pl

special edition

inside: The UN Climate Change Conference

Dominika

Kulczyk-Lubomirska the founder and vice-president of Green Cross Poland

Powering Creation

Powering Creation

Independent Poland’s chemical industry was born in Tarnów in 1927. Since then, history has come full circle. Polish chemistry is being reborn in Tarnów these days – conscious of its strength and fully secure. Grupa Azoty is the fusion of everything that we, the Poles, have been able to do best in this industry.

We are ready to transcend new boundaries – because Grupa Azoty is a project focused on the future. This is the way it has always been. We’ve come a long way. We’ve changed. We are now competing with Europe’s largest chemical companies.

And thanks to the recently completed great consolidation, we are prepared for this better than ever before.

We have defined our aims in the strategy adopted for the years 2012-2020. Due to the Group’s well-conceived architecture, we are able to offer our clients an even broader product portfolio – from nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers as well as constructions plastics to OXO alcohols, plasticizers and pigments. We have no competition in this regard as of today. We possess our own logistics infrastructure, as well as research, development and servicing facilities, which also allows us to provide services.

We want to use these assets in further building the Group’s value and that of the companies which form part of it – keeping our shareholders, employees and the local communities in which we operate in mind. The two main lines of our current strategy are taking advantage of the increased scale of operations and maximizing the effects of synergy – this means full use of the potential gained through consolidation.

We are chemists. We are the architects of matter. The architects of the future.

We know what we are due to those who have come before us. We know what we owe to those who will follow us. We owe them a world which will be a better place to live.

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Contents

205/2013

special edition Our Guest

5

Janusz Piechociński, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy; New solutions

Małgorzata Skucha, President of the National

for Environmental Protection and Water 22 Fund Management (NFOŚiGW); The institution focused on EFFECT

6

Marcin Korolec, Minister of the Environment; To consider all interests

Igor Mitroczuk, Deputy Director of the Sustainable Development Departament at the Ministry of the Environment; The global climate agreement

10 in the government of Donald Tusk in the years 2007-2010; Maciej Nowicki, former Minister of the Environment

What is the Warsaw Climate Change Conference all about?

12 Jerzy Bojanowicz; The hopes for COP19 14

Rafał W. Cegielski, Senior Manager, Management Consulting, What are the sector’s major problems?

UN Climate Change Conference

8

24 Accenture Polska; Is the energy market in Poland doing well?

Dominika Kulczyk- Lubomirska, the founder and vice-president of Green Cross Poland; A platform for dialogue

Kowalczyk, Director of the Critical Infrastructure 25 Krzysztof Office at PSE; PSE receives Certificate of Registration for Business Continuity Management System

26 Prof. Krzysztof Żmijewski; Towards a low-carbon economy 28 Environment-friendly electricity from coal 32 Chief Executive Officer in Grupa LOTOS S.A.;

Paweł Olechnowicz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CEEP Protecting the environment - and people

34 NCBJ – experts in ionizing radiation 36 Sustainable development- that is the priorit

16 of The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency;

38 of Horus-Energia and Grzegorz Koblak, Commercial Director

Arendarski, President of Polish Chamber 18 Andrzej of Commerce; A common stance by entrepreneurs

40 Usług Brukarskich;

19

fish breeders and producers “on the crest of a wave” 42 Fishermen, thanks to ARiMR funds

Monika Piątkowska, Member of the Management Board Poland – an incubator for green investment projects

and politicians. Is it at all possible?

Marek Krzykowski, President of International Paper Kwidzyn Sp. z o.o.; Responsible company, responsible partner

Sylwester Jędra, Vice-President and Technical Director of Horus-Energia; We like challenges

Adam Dybcio, President of Adrog S.J. Zakład More colourfully, more nicely, more safely

Borkowski, PhD, Fundacja PlasticsEurope Polska; 20 Kazimierz Contribution of plastics to energy efficiency and climate protection

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Editorial

COP 19 – Warsaw - Poland: return to dialogue?

T

he 19th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) is to be launched in Warsaw on November 11. The National Stadium is ready to host over 10 thousand delegates from 194 countries, foreign journalists and representatives of environmental and business organisations. For two weeks all eyes will be on Poland. It is the place where discussions on saving our climate and negotiations on a new global agreement on climate policy will be held. The agreement - according to the most optimistic scenario - should be signed during COP 21 in 2015 in Paris. The Polish Presidency perceives its mission not only as a privilege to chair the sessions, but also as an obligation to seek a consensus between various positions represented by the EU, the United States, China, India and 190 other partners.

One of the priorities of the November summit will be financing projects for adapting the poorest countries to a changing and harsher climate. This is about the package of USD100 billion from developed countries (not only in cash, but also in the form of loans, investments and other mechanisms) for developing countries, a package which will allow societies to survive in their present environment without the need for mass, life-affecting migration. Poland wants to discuss the effectiveness of financial mechanisms so that they produce real results, and are not only feigning being helpful, so that global projects make sense in business and that financial and private sectors are more willing to engage in the mechanisms. That is why - for the first time in the history of the COP - the representatives of industries, especially energy-intensive industry and the industries producing large amounts of greenhouse gases, have also been invited.

Poland has become the host of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties for the second time, as in 2008 we organised COP14 in Poznań. No doubt it is a sign of the recognition Poland has earned for its activity and achievements. Polish achievements include, first of all, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by over 30% since 1988 - this figure is five times higher than the level set by the Kyoto Protocol. Now per-capita emissions in Poland are not higher than the European average. Since 1990 we have doubled GDP without increasing electricity consumption, which means that we have increased our energy efficiency by 100%. The following programmes were milestones on this road: thermal improvment, Green Certificates (renewable-energy resources), Red Certificates (co-generation),

4 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

supporting energy-saving and passive buildings and energy-saving lighting and low-emission public transport, White Certificates (energy efficiency), and also a prosumer energy support programme, which is being prepared for implementation. The NPRGN (National Programme for Development of Low-Emission Economy), including a few hundred areas of activity in 11 sectors of the economy is intended to define Polish plans for the future.

The Polish COP-19 Presidency will be guided by the belief that signing a global agreement on reducing CO2 emissions depends on reaching the agreement of all the key States. Poland opposes a simple increase in climate targets as formulated in the Kyoto agreement and pushed by some countries. “Today we should ask the question of whether the current form of the Kyoto Protocol corresponds to international reality in 2013 or 2015. That agreement was entered into 10 years ago, when the world was totally different. It was divided into developed and developing countries and the current financial condition of some developed countries is much worse than the condition of developing countries. That is why the question of joint responsibility for climate and joint efforts to protect it is crucial” says Minister Marcin Korolec.

The chance for the success of the Polish Presidency is increased by the fact that after the global crisis many governments, especially the European ones, have started to revise their climate and energy policies. They reacted to the following facts - instead of growth in prices on the CO2 emissions allowances market there has been a collapse caused by oversupply produced by the recession; the world virtually rejected the European Commission’s ambitions to be the leader and the model of climate dialogue it offered; the increasing phenomenon of carbon leakage which could be translated into fast-growing unemployment that led to the need to revitalise industry; instead of decreasing, the emissions increased; and too slow an increase in efficient energy use. That is why the opinions held by Poland have their place in the general debate. Especially its suggestions on the need to change course and to analyse all the emission-reduction mechanisms in the global context or to shift the gravity of the emissions payment system from production to consumption. However, the most important issue here is to change the language of negotiations - to discard the financial pressure or public relations techniques and to return to dialogue and the willingness to listen to and understand arguments and the situation of all the parties. Such an atmosphere pervaded when the participants in COP14 were leaving the first conference organised in Poland in 2008. Now, in Warsaw, we should revive those values.::

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek Editor-in-Chief President Rynek Polski Publishers Co. Ltd.

Our Guest

New solutions Janusz Piechociński, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy talks to “Polish Market” about changes introduced to the big and small energy three-pack.

T

he Polish energy sector is facing great challenges. First of all, it is necessary to adjust the generating capacity to the rising demand for energy, and the development of transmission and distribution networks, and to comply with the environmental requirements imposed by EU regulations. To fulfil the related tasks, we need clear and unambiguous legal provisions.

The private member’s bill for the amendment of the Energy Law, called the small three-pack, was signed by the President of Poland on 14 August 2013 and came into force in September. It implements the provisions of the EU Directives on electrical energy, gas, and renewable energy sources (RES) within

our legal system. If we had failed to introduce EU regulations, Poland would have been fined.

At the same time, at the Ministry of the Economy we are nearing the end of our work on what is called the big energy three-pack.

The provisions it carries provide a thorough regulation of the energy sector in Poland. They are also convergent with the provisions of the small three-pack. The new solutions should be binding until 2014. The big three-pack features systemic regulations for conventional energy, renewable energy sources, gas, manufacturing, and consumers. It organises and simplifies the currently-binding regulations.

We are using it to implement new solutions for the development of the entire sector and for the protection of individual consumers of electrical energy.

By means of new solutions regarding RES, we are going to implement a clear and effective system for supporting green-energy producers. We would like to promote the most effective technologies and encourage companies to invest in new generating capacity based on available local sources. The provisions of the bill on RES guarantee a longterm support system for green-energy producers. According to the EU Directive, our bill on RES will also promote distributed energy, including entities that will be selling electrical energy generated in micro-installations and small installations. The Law will also open the possibility of selling, at a guaranteed price, surplus electrical energy generated for one’s own purposes.

Developing distributed energy is a source of growth and innovation. Restructuring the energy system in this direction will

favourably affect the entire economy, advancing the efforts to build a competitive advantage.

The most important amendments to the Energy Law include the appointment of a Measurement Information Operator. This will improve the level of security in Poland, while increasing the flexibility of managing the demand for electrical energy. We are also suggesting the implementation of an intelligent measurement system that would encourage customers to consume energy in a more efficient and economical way. The bill also includes solutions to facilitate business activity in the energy sector. A number of propositions are regulatory novelties, such as those regarding energy storage, electric cars, recharging points and intervention reserve units.

Among the changes brought about by the reform of the Gas Law, in turn, there are clear and unambiguous solutions which facilitate taking up business activity and removing barriers to access the natural-gas market. We are also aiming at increasing the protection of consumer rights and the security of supplies.

I would like to emphasise that at the Ministry of the Economy we are making every effort to conclude the legislative processes on the big three-pack as soon as possible, thus allowing the new clear regulations to be introduced. We care about the regulations which will favour economic development, while helping us comply with EU requirements. ::

SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 5

Our Guest

To consider all interests Marcin Korolec, Minister of the Environment, talks to “Polish Market”.

Why has Poland undertaken to organize the climate change conference COP19?

Climate change is a global problem, which has affected countries across the world, including Poland. It poses a threat to the countries’ social and economic development. In 2001-2011, Poland spent over PLN50 billion to deal with the consequences of adverse weather events. But climate change is a problem which cannot be solved by individual countries or even Europe as a whole. That is why Poland has taken an active part in the process of global climate change negotiations: a global problem requires a global solution.

At home, Poland has been extraordinarily successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Since 1988 - our Kyoto Protocol baseline year – we have cut the emissions by more than 30% whilst over the same period our GDP grew by over 200%.

So the experience in Poland can be a powerful pm

6 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

example of how it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions effectively without undermining economic growth and social development.

How do you rate the chances of the climate change conference in Warsaw? Will you be able to work out an agreement acceptable to all the countries, regardless of their size and affluence? The summits in Copenhagen and Cancun ended in failure.

First of all, the conference in Warsaw is not aimed at concluding a new agreement. Poland is one of three consecutive presidencies, together with Peru and France, which will work towards a new climate change agreement. The meeting in Warsaw will be the first one almost exclusively devoted to negotiating the global agreement, but the negotiations will not end in Warsaw. The new agreement will be signed in 2015 during COP21 in Paris. But if pm

we are going to reach a successful agreement in Paris, its foundations need to be worked out at COP19 in Warsaw. Among the issues we have to resolve are the question of what legal obligations will be undertaken by the signatories to the agreement and when they will enter into force. These are important stages in the progress towards Paris.

I have no doubt that we need a global agreement and Poland will be working hard to ensure that its foundations are laid during COP19. In my view, the key to success is the fairness of the agreement: all countries must participate, but we need to achieve the right balance of commitments, dependent on the social and economic abilities of individual nations. An important part of our talks in Warsaw will be a discussion of whether the old division of countries into developed and developing ones is still valid. The world is quite different now from in 1992, or even

Our Guest

1997. Today, the financial condition of some developed countries is much worse than that of developing countries. So the question of our shared responsibility for climate and joint efforts to remedy the situation gains a new importance..

What can we expect from COP19?

It is worth emphasising that, for the first time ever, the new agreement will place emissions reductions commitments on nearly 200 countries – all of the parties to the UN climate convention. As a result, we need to give serious thought to how to reach a compromise which bridges the expectations of the largest economies, like the United States, India and China, and those of the small island nations, which have been affected the most by climate change. As I have already mentioned, the key to success is universal participation and the fairness of the new agreement. Universal participation means that every country must take on commitments. And fairness means that the agreement must take into consideration the interests of all parties – there must be a balance struck between countries which have different capabilities to take on commitments because of their differing levels of development. I believe that we will be able to achieve success only if these conditions are met. There will also be an important discussion about how we provide effective financing for adaptation to climate change.

The goals we want to achieve in Warsaw may not immediately seem particularly ambitious, but without them it will be very difficult to reach a compromise in Paris. pm

Warsaw sees the business sector being invited to take part in a COP for the first time. Why is this so important?

The discussions so far within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have mainly been held at governmental level. This year, for the first time ever, the business sector has been invited to take part. No one denies that business is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters. At the same time, the sector has the biggest potential for reducing emissions. By inviting business to the discussion we want to absorb their views and ideas. The pace at which innovation will be embraced and the economy can be put onto a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly track will depend on the involvement of business. We held pm

our first talks with business during the preCOP meeting. I hope we will hold an equally constructive discussion during COP19 in November. Drawing on the experience of the Cancun talks, we also plan to hold a meeting with city authorities, called Cities Day. Cities are a key player in steps that need to taken to combat climate change. They are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions. More than half of the world’s population live in cities, and this share is on the rise.

It is also in cities that the adverse impacts of climate change have been most keenly felt.

The knowledge and experience of cities will undoubtedly make a valuable contribution to our discussion.

What has been Poland’s response to the proposals of significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as part of European Union policy?

I would like to stress that Poland is and has always been in favour of a reasonable climate change policy. Our country has is seeing its share of climate change impacts. This is why we are interested in solving this problem. However, within the EU, we have insisted that global solutions are what is needed we should move towards a low-emissions economy in a way that takes into account the capability of individual countries. There is no one-size-fits-all solution – neither on a global scale nor on a regional scale, withing the EU. This is especially important in the current difficult times with a protracted economic crisis and an uncertain situation on financial markets. The regulations and instruments adopted should encourage manufacturers to modernize rather than relocate production, and consequently emissions, to places where they can benefit from less restrictive regulations, which provide no incentive for them to develop new technologies and innovative solutions. pm

According to official data, Poland has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 30% instead of the 6% required by its Kyoto Protocol commitments. This is no small success. What are the next targets?

It is even more of a success when you consider that the 30% reduction was achieved in tandem with increasing our GDP to more than double its original level. But of course, we are not going to settle for what we have already achieved. We continue to invest to pm

reduce the emissions intensity of the Polish economy by, for example, providing financial support through the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) to measures aimed at increasing energy efficiency, developing renewable energy sources and cutting emissions from public transport. We are also taking measures under our national Green Investment Scheme (GIS) which provides funding for environmentally-friendly projects. Particular attention has been given to energy efficiency projects in schools, hospitals and public amenities through improved insulation, the construction of agricultural biogas plants and biomass-fired heat and power generating plants, the replacement of urban transport fleets with more environmentally-friendly vehicles, and the introduction of energy-efficientt street lighting systems. The projects are also producing significant benefits for the economyas they preserve jobs in the construction and agricultural sectors and improving people’s quality of life. Reduced vehicle emissions and lower energy consumption mean a better standard of living for Polish people, alongside resource conservation and climate protection.

Another important area we are trying to support is the development of innovative environmental technologies. We are preparing special programmes of support for businesses which offer environmental solutions. Among such initiatives are the Generator of Ecological Concepts GEKON and the Accelerator of Green Technologies GreenEvo. What next after COP19?

As organisers of COP19, Poland will have the honour to hold the presidency of the UNFCCC for a year, so our role is not limited to the Warsaw meeting. On my part, as the president of COP19, and on the part of the future presidencies, I want to assure you that we are approaching this task responsibly. The main objective of our presidency will be close cooperation with the future hosts– Peru and France – to ensure that we get to a place in 2015 in Paris that allows us to sign up to a new global agreement on greenhouse gas emissions reductions. We will also be working hard to ensure the efficient implementation of decisions taken at the previous climate change conferences on adaptation, technological cooperation and funding mechanisms. :: pm

SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 7

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

The global climate agreement

Igor Mitroczuk Deputy Director of the Sustainable Development Department at the Ministry of the Environment

P

oland h a s come a long way since 1988. We transformed our economy and at the same time managed to do a lot in decoupling economic growth from environmental burdens. We committed under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 6% in the period 2008 2012 in relation to 1988. We managed to cut the emissions by more than 30%. At the same time Polish GDP rose by the factor of 2.5. We proved that it is possible to grow your economy rapidly without necessarily damaging the environment – that is precisely what we mean by the notion of sustainable growth – growth that does not hamper future generations or limit their opportunities to benefit from healthy and clean environment. It is also worth mentioning that the equivalent figures for the whole European Union are just on the level of 20% reduction of GHG with just 1.3 GDP growth rate (PPP adjusted).

8 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

The energy sector has been continuously improving emissions standards as well. This was visible particularity in the industrial sector where emissions have fallen from the level of 140 kg CO2/GJ at the beginning of transition to some 80 kg CO2/GJ today. Moreover, energy consumption per 1 tonne of output decreased by 40% for steel and cement and by 60% for paper. The process has been accompanied by the 10-fold increase in investment into projects related to environmental protection and water management between 1990 and 2011. Further efforts will require even higher investments and that is the focus in the Polish energy and climate policies. One cannot talk about these investment needs without considering the competitiveness of the national or regional economies. Important in this respect and quite unique are the Polish institutional solutions in environment protection such as the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. In fact, the projects financed from the Fund made the above mentioned changes possible and stimulated further efforts by industry and households.

That is precisely what we want to show to other countries: that we perform quite well in

spite of the economic downturn and that we can share our good experience and most advanced technological solutions with the rest of the world. We also keep on developing new technologies that would help in tackling environmental challenges in Poland more and more effectively. New possibilities should be created by the new strategic research and development programme of the National Center for Research and Development that starts next year. The programme will concentrate on environment, agriculture and forestry and could produce hopefully more than 200 new technologies and products with a potential to better the condition of our environment. The budget we have earmarked for this programme amounts to PLN 0,5 billion and will be spent over 5 years (2014 – 2019) for research and development.

The COP19 conference is about getting the world closer to the global climate agreement but it is also a showcase for our sustainable policies and performance and for companies performing better and better and reaching out to international markets with their resourceefficient products and services perfectly fit for today and tomorrow. ::

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Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

What is the Warsaw Climate Change Conference all about?

Maciej Nowicki Maciej Nowicki, former Minister of the Environment in the government of Donald Tusk in the years 2007-2010

T

he issue of the impact of human activities on climate change has been known for more than 30 years. Although many researchers examined these problems in the 1970s, they were summarised for the first time in the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), presented at the World Climate Conference in Geneva in 1990.

As a result, 192 states signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It has become the largest convention of this worldwide organisation over the years. In its framework, a global negotiation process on two issues was initiated: reduction of the emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that contribute to climate warming, adaptation to the unavoidable effects of climate change.

It must be pointed out that the results of the negotiations, carried out for 20 years now,

• •

10 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

have so far been rather poor. The only tangible achievement was the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, in which the economically developed countries and countries in transition (including Poland) committed themselves to reducing CO2 emissions, in 2012 at the latest, by at least several percentage points in comparison to the emissions in 1988/1990.

Developing countries could still emit carbon dioxide without limits.

However, it turned out that only the EU and Japan have taken the Kyoto Protocol seriously and tried to reduce CO2 emissions, whereas the United States, responsible for 20% of the world’s emissions of that gas, did not ratify it. Within the next 15 years, global CO2 emissions increased by 25%, primarily because of China and India.

Meanwhile, scientists had at their disposal increasingly extensive series of measurements of the entire globe and increasingly accurate mathematical models for predicting climate change. These works resulted in the fourth report of the IPCC, published in 2007, which clearly stated that the Earth’s climate was getting warmer, mainly as a result of burning fossil fuels and deforestation by mankind. This report also pointed to serious negative consequences that climate change will have on humanity, should the increase in greenhouse gas emissions not be stopped quickly.

The IPCC report has caused the problem of climate to become an important topic in political discussions among the world’s biggest economic powers, though concluding with few results. Meanwhile, the annual UN Climate Change Conference initiated a discussion on a protocol that was to go into effect after the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol. The discussion was continued at the 14th UN Climate Change Conference held in 2008 in Poznań. This conference, which I had the honour to run, created a framework for a new global agreement and established the Global

Adaptation Fund, designed to support the activities of the poorest countries that are not responsible for climate change but will feel their negative effects to the highest degree. The financial and legal frameworks for the transfer of technologies from rich to poor countries to protect the climate were also developed in Poznań.

Unfortunately, the climate conferences in the following years did not bring about the desired progress in the negotiations concerning a global agreement. Nevertheless, a very dynamic growth in the importance of renewable energy sources, in particular wind and solar energy, has recently been noticed worldwide. It is enough to say, for example, that the global power of photovoltaic panels, which produce electricity directly from the sun’s energy, has increased by 50 times over the last 10 years, reaching 100 000 MW in 2012; in 2020 it may be as much as 250,000 MW. A similarly dynamic development is a characteristic of wind energy, both on land and at sea. It must be emphasised that, apart from the European Union, the greatest advance in the use of renewable energy sources has been observed in China, India and the United States, that is, in the countries that have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Their total CO2 emissions account for 60% of the global amount. According to the International Energy Agency, renewable energy sources will be producing at least 30% of the world’s energy in 2030, which means the same level of reduction of CO2 emissions.

These facts provide a good basis for a global agreement on Earth’s climate protection. The most important task of the 19th UN Climate Change Conference, which will be taking place in Warsaw this year, is to negotiate such an agreement. Its conclusion is scheduled for 2015 in Paris. It is hoped that the Paris Protocol will be a success, but will it be sufficient to prevent anthropogenic climate change on our planet? ::

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Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

The hopes for COP19

The UN Climate Change Conference is an annual global summit during which climate policy measures are negotiated. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention is the highest decision-making body in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was signed on 9 May 1992 in Rio de Janeiro.

COP19 (Warsaw, 11-22 November) will be launching the negotiation process on a new agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is to become effective in 2020.

Jerzy Bojanowicz

T

he decision to hold this year’s summit in Warsaw was made during COP18 in Doha. “COP is a UN convention, which is why, in establishing various functions, it applies the so-called geographical balance. In 2008 it was organised by the Eastern European Group (EEG) and this year it comes back to the EEG. The fact that Poland is the choice confirms great confidence in the organisational capabilities of our country. As early as at the stage of presenting Warsaw’s package, the delegations of other countries positively evaluated our proposition,” Minister of the Environment Marcin Korolec said early this year. Surely their decision was influenced by the successful organisation of COP14 in 2008 in Poznań, which was attended by about 10 thousand people, including NGO representatives and nearly 190 delegates from UN Member States.

“It is well established that the best-possible solutions are worked out through consensus, not confrontation. That is why it’s important for us to start actively participating in such discussions now. Holding the conference in Warsaw gives us extra privileges, arising from the role of presiding over the Climate Convention from November 2013 until December 2014. This will officially make

12 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

our country one of the most important global players, influencing one of the most significant multilateral political processes in the UN. It was one of the reasons for our efforts to organise the COP in Warsaw,” added Minister Korolec, who will be the President of the Climate Convention from 11 November 2013 to the first day of COP20 in Latin America.

The sessions of COP 19 will be held at the National Stadium, which will be specially prepared for this purpose. Participants will comprise about 15 thousand people: negotiators from 194 countries and representatives of social and business organisations.

The meeting in Warsaw is aimed at laying foundations for a new agreement, so that in 2015 in Paris a new Climate Convention can be signed. As the Convention, for the first time in history, is to impose reduction commitments on 194 countries – parties to the Climate Convention (both developed and developing countries) – the organisation of the first summit to be almost entirely devoted to negotiations on the new global climate agreement was preceded by a number of consultation meetings, including one between Marcin Korolec and Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action (25 February) who confirmed that a common EU position will be prepared by the time COP19 starts, and

one with the representatives of the UNFCCC Secretariat, including Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres (19 April).

“Shaping the future” The fourth meeting in the “Petersburg Climate Dialogue” series took place under this name. These sessions are primarily aimed at supporting international negotiations regarding climate policy. They were led jointly by the Ministers of the Environment of Poland and Germany, Marcin Korolec and Peter Altmaier. The dialogue was opened with the participation of the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. The current ministers in charge of the environment from 35 countries decided that the new Climate Convention should be ambitious, effective, and inclusive for all countries. What’s more, it should feature instruments encouraging businesses to invest in low-emission projects.

The methods of globally reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere were discussed in Kraków (18 July) during the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, (MEF) by government representatives of over 30 countries representing the world’s strongest economies responsible for nearly 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. “It is the

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

first time in history that the representatives of the major global economies debate in Poland and take an important step towards the November climate conference. It is an excellent opportunity to work out a common position with the future key negotiators of the global agreement on climate change,” its ViceChair Minister Korolec said about the meeting.

Other important meetings include the technical mission of representatives of the UNFCCC Secretariat (3-6 September) and PreCOP (2-4 October) in Warsaw.

The subject of the mission visit was a comprehensive presentation of the state of preparations of the Polish side to hold the November Conference, while the latter was an informal meeting of government delegations, preceding the climate summit.

Delegates from nearly 40 countries, including ministers in charge of the environment, discussed the content of the new Climate Convention and the financing measures connected with adapting to climate change.

A debate also took place featuring politicians and representatives of business.

“As shown by the previous experiences, without involving business we cannot effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It is industry that has the knowledge and the tools to successfully reduce emissions. As a very important party to actions to reduce climate change, business has to be part of the negotiation process,” said Minister Korolec.

Henryka Bochniarz, President of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan sees the inclusion of business in the dialogue as a good step towards increasing the effectiveness of the negotiation process.

The Polish Presidency of COP19 Poland plans to actively preside over the negotiations during the whole of 2014. It aims at the global strengthening of the global multilateral process in climate negotiations while respecting the principles of transparency and providing the full participation of all Parties to the Convention, observing the legal procedures and taking into account the diversity of interests and opinions.

The Polish Presidency has three priorities.

First, to map the specific way to reach global agreement in 2015. Poland is of the opinion that only joint effort from all States can ensure effective action to counteract climate change. The Polish Presidency of UNFCCC is ready for full and harmonious cooperation as part of the so-called Presidential Trio comprising Poland, a Latin-American country (to host COP20), and France (which

declared its willingness to host COP21, during which the new global Climate Convention is to be signed). Poland believes that coordinated cooperation will lead to success in 2015, and is thereby fully ready to lay the foundations for COP20 and COP21.

Secondly, the decisions made during COP16 (Cancun), COP17 (Durban), and COP18 (Doha) should be effectively carried out, as only their full implementation can be the basis for the new agreement. This will also restore the confidence of societies in the effectiveness of the entire process, through demonstrating its tangible results.

In particular, the Parties will focus on taking advantage of the synergy between the REDD+ mechanism (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as the protection and sustainable management of forests and increasing their capacity as carbon dioxide absorbers), LULUCF (land use, land-use change and forestry) and potential mechanisms in the field of agriculture, jointly leading to defining the framework for mitigation (reducing greenhouse-gas emissions) and adaptation measures in land use, stopping deforestation and preventing land degradation; the ability to use various forms of cooperation between countries and business entities in the field of supporting projects to reduce and avoid emissions, using the existing market mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol and those instituted by bilateral agreements used for the fulfilment of the reduction targets declared as part of the climate convention, as well as the new market mechanism; assigning a proper rank to the adaptation measures, which can drastically reduce the threat connected with climate change, especially in terms of the protection of potable water, crops and food security, infrastructure, workplaces, etc.; establishing an institutional framework, like for example an international mechanism on loss and damage.

The third priority is to initiate a dialogue and involvement between cities, businesses, politicians, and representatives of the civil society, so that communication about climate change and measures leading to adaptation and mitigation can be harmonised.

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Business and the environment COP19 officially begins on 11 November. Negotiations at the level of officials will continue until 19 November, and then (from 22 November) the High Level Segment, featuring ministers in charge of the environment, will

start. Although the arrival of UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon is expected, among a dozen or so thousand participants there will be no Prime Ministers who will definitely be coming to Paris.

Debates between representatives of business and cities, the so-called Business Day and Cities Day, are also planned. These meetings are intended to collect the opinions and ideas of practitioners, who will largely affect the pace at which new low-emission solutions will be introduced.

COP19 will also feature NGO representatives and environmentalists. The event is to be accompanied by numerous educational campaigns on climate change and ways of preventing this phenomenon – among other things, the Polish Government is planning an exhibition showcasing Polish environmental technology.

As many as 12 companies have decided to provide financial support to the organisation of the climate summit and provide their green products and services for its purposes. This assistance is important, as the organisation will soak up about PLN100 million, which have been assigned by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. In return, the companies will be granted the title of a partner supporting the Polish Government in the organisation of COP19 and also the right to present information on its role in the summit in their information materials.

“Previous experience shows that this cooperation model brings good results. Companies can promote their activities on an international scale and we, the organisers, will receive professional support in preparing the high-level meeting. What’s more, this will allow us to significantly reduce the costs of organising the conference,” said Marcin Korolec.

“We have an ambitious goal, which is to stop the increase in the average global temperature at the level of 2 oC. To achieve this, it is necessary to involve all countries and to take action at the level of governments, businesses, and individual citizens. At the same time, we have to be aware that going in the direction of a low-emission economy is an opportunity for social and economic growth. Poland is a good example of this – in the last 20 years we have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 30%, while tripling our GDP. As the President of COP19 I will be aiming at making significant progress in climate negotiations, which can lead us to success in 2015 in Paris – a new Climate Convention covering all countries.” :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 13

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

A platform for dialogue Dominika Kulczyk-Lubomirska, the founder and vice-president of Green Cross Poland

Dominika Kulczyk-Lubomirska Founder and Vice-President of a branch office of Green Cross International. Member of the Supervisory Board of Kulczyk Investments.

A specialist in communication, multicultural relations, strategic philanthropy, and CSR. She co-founded Values Grupa Firm Doradczych.

She is also an editor of the Stary Browar Arts and Business Centre’s “BR&” magazine. Environmental protection has been her passion for years.

Green Cross International is a non-governmental environmental organisation, celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year. In Poland the Green Cross has operated for 3 years. One of its flagship programmes is “Acqua for Life”. What has it achieved?

Acqua for Life is one of the key projects carried out by Green Cross International in which GCPL is also involved. The campaign aimed to raise funds, to support the construction of systems for the collection, storage and transmission of rainwater for schools and drilling of the wells and deep wells in Ghana and Bolivia. The funds were obtained from the sale of perfume Acqua di Gio and Acqua di Giogia and as a result of the Internet campaigns at www.acquaforlifechallenge.org and on Facebook.

The figures justify the project’s effectiveness: as a result of the campaigns conducted by Green Cross and Giorgio Armani, more than 52 million litres of water have pm

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been collected and transferred in 2012 and 43 million litres in 2011, that is 95 million litres in total for 52,000 inhabitants of 70 villages. Green Cross regional branches in Bolivia and Ghana were coordinating the project on the local level. The infrastructure resulting from their efforts will be used to deliver fresh water for the next 15 years.

It is worth noting that we in Poland took a very active part the campaign on Facebook.

We took seventh place in terms of activity. As a result of the Internet campaign, over 3 million gallons of water were collected.

The most striking fact is that in the 21st century many people have no access to water.

Is there any environmental awareness in Poland, both among ordinary citizens and entrepreneurs?

Facts speak loudest when it comes to the need of campaigning for access to water: indeed, 75% of the planet is covered in water pm

yet only 3% of the resources are represented by fresh water. At present, a mere 1% of water reserves is suitable for drinking. In the Third World countries, access to groundwater is limited. Nearly 900 million people do not have regular access to water while approximately 2.6 billion people (more than one third of the globalpopulation) do not have access to water-operated sanitary facilities. Every day, 4,000 children die of diseases transmitted in contaminated water. On average, during daily activities, one should consume from 20 to 50 litres of water, and not all have this opportunity.

There have been no issues connected with the access to fresh water in Poland so far. The problem comes down rather to the quality of water. Fortunately, an increasing number of entities are getting involved in the promotion of social water-related campaigns and invest in new technologies which ensure clean

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

water as well as using rainwater to water the greenery or to be used in sanitary equipment.

Does the declaration by Henryka Bochniarz, President of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan, who said that “without the involvement of business we won’t succeed in effectively reducing greenhouse-gas emissions,” herald a shift in thinking among entrepreneurs?

For a long time we have witnessed Polish business circles going green. There have been large-scale investments to limit the greenhouse gas emissions or discharge of waste or leakage to groundwater. The so-called “green investments” also consisted in implementing production processes which would not impact negatively on the natural environment but enhance efficiency, including energy efficiency in residential buildings.

Green Cross Poland in its activities, points out how beneficial it is to think about the resources of the Earth. As a result, the economy will be able to make the most of natural resources and will be able to develop. We also talk about the benefits for business, which has a greater impact on a variety of ecological phenomena than an individual human being, because it works on a larger scale. We make efforts to serve as a platform for a continued discussion by scientists, business and consumers, to highlight the possibilities and give ideas on how to live in a more responsible manner. Wealthy states may serve as a point of reference in ecological thinking about business and the economy. What is worth mentioning, ecological approach to business results in measurable benefits for the economy. pm

Green Communities is an interesting project – a series of free training sessions prepared by high-quality specialists, dealing with renewable energy sources (RES). Are many investors interested in such a proposition? What is the role of RES in the national power system?

The beneficiaries of the Green Communities project are local goverments, local communities and entrepreneurs. The interest in the first edition has been impressive.

Green Cross Poland wants to serve as a platform for dialogue between various stakeholders on top of enhancing the competence of local administration. The Green Communities project goes in line with this objective. The aim of the project was to help local governments, local communities and entrepreneurs establish cooperation, supported with professional training. Green Communities is addressed to officials of municipal pm

authorities and includes series of free trainings on renewable energy sources (RES), delivered by experts. It takes the form of an online learning platform. The interest in the first edition exceeded our expectations. We are planning further trainings in 2014.

Until now, the training topics focused on the spatial planning for renewable energy sources, environmental aspects associated with the location of investments in renewable energy, drafting of law in terms of investment in renewable energy, energy law in the context of the development of the renewable energy sources (RES), social and economic aspects for municipalities in the development of

Green Cross Poland “ makes efforts to serve as

a platform for a continued discussion by academics, business people and consumers, to give ideas on how to live in a more responsible manner.

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dispersed renewable energy sources and the financing of investment by governments and by businesses - micro-sources. Information about the project has also reached investors in renewable sources of energy. They have found out which communes are “renewables friendly” and interested in developing alternative sources of energy. The project facilitated the investor – commune communication process.

At present, renewable energy plays a small part in Poland’s power grid. Non-existent relevant legal regulations coupled with the relatively small awareness of the need for growth in communes are hardly good signs of development of this sector of industry. Therefore, we are all waiting for the government’s impulse in the form of a legal act on renewable sources of energy in order to comply with the EU requirements related to the share of renewable energy in the total production of electric power. Therefore it is indispensable in Poland to undertake intense efforts to accelerate growth of this type of energy that would compensate the use of natural resources.

Is there any chance that the Warsaw Climate Change Conference might lead to an arrangement that would satisfy all countries, regardless of their size and affluence?

When the UNFCCC Convention and the Kyoto Protocol were initialled, these were pm

predominantly developed countries which were held responsible for greenhouse gas emissions (the US, Western Europe, Australia etc.) as well as economies in transition.

Since 1992, the global situation has undergone a major change. Many countries, formerly referred to as emerging markets (by some including China, India, Brazil and South Africa) have reached a high level of industrial and/ or economic development and have become great producers of greenhouse gases. In order to limit the negative effects of global warming, reduction efforts instigated only by the Annex I countries (the EU and other developed countries) no longer suffice. A new climate-related treaty is to be adopted as late as in 2015 and be effective since 2020.

Still, the Polish presidency which will start on November 11, 2013 and finish on the day of the COP20 held in Peru will strive to reinforce the global multilateral process in the realm of climate negotiations in line with transparency rules and ensuring full participation of all Parties involved, respecting legal procedures and taking into account the diverse interests and opinions represented by the Convention’s Parties. As the COP 19 Presidency, Poland is facing an opportunity to develop an agreement which will prove an effective tool in combatting climate change and its consequences and will bring about benefits to all countries. I hope that in Warsaw robust foundations are laid for a global treaty in 2015. ::

Green Cross Poland (GCPL) is the Polish branch of Green Cross International, the world’s third largest non-governmental and non-profit environmental organisation. It launched its operations in Poland in February 2010, carrying out numerous projects aimed at developing brand-new solutions for environmental protection and sustainable growth.

Green Cross Poland is a platform for dialogue between business, administration, NGO’s and science centres. Strategic workshops, highprofile debates, and cooperation with Polish and international partners are only a few of the activities undertaken by GCPL within its three main pursuits – the green economy, water management, and green cities and communes.

The organisation actively participates in public consultations of legal acts and international strategies.

Green Cross International was established by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993. For four years, Jan Kulczyk has been the Chairman of its Board of Directors. Dominika Kulczyk-Lubomirska founded the Polish branch of Green Cross in 2010. www.greencrosspoland.org

SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 15

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Poland–an incubator for green investment projects A country which bases as much as 90% of its electricity generation on coal is supporting foreign partners in developing green technologies.

A paradox? It might well be, but Poland is an excellent real-world example of this. Thanks to such programmes as “GreenEvo”, green solutions “made in Poland” are being successfully implemented on the highly-competitive markets of the EU, Asia, and Africa. As a result, exports revenues of Polish businesses participating in the programmes have increased by over 50%, nearly twice as high revenues on exports. What’s more, PAIiIZ (the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency) data clearly demonstrate that Polish “green ambassadors” play a major role in increasing interest in Poland among foreign investors.

Monika Piątkowska Member of the Management Board of The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency

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oland will once again be on everybody’s lips – the 19th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 19) is about to start in Warsaw. This will contribute to shaping the country’s image in the field of environmental policy, and also in other fields.

Warsaw stands before yet another opportunity to demonstrate its great organisational capabilities for major international events.

As a country, we are hosting the UN Climate Change Conference for the second time.

In 2008, when we hosted COP14, the idea of establishing the “GreenEvo – Green Technology Accelerator” was conceived. It was to be a competitive project supporting the promotion of Polish companies sustaining green innovation on international markets.

The programme was launched in 2009 and has since helped nearly 50 Polish businesses spread their wings in exporting their innovative green technologies – regardless of the sector they represent. Participation in the project brings measurable benefits. The data made available by the Ministry of the Environment shows that the competition winners increased their revenues by 31% on average, while revenues from exports grew by as much as 58%. This is also beneficial to Poland as a country, which intensively and consistently builds its brand on the basis of products and services “made in Poland”, which are distinguished by their innovation level, high

16 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

quality and competitiveness. What’s more, in a matter of less than two decades, Poland has managed to catch up with the global leaders, including in the field of green solutions, and so much so that green technology could become another Polish specialty.

As a member of the competition jury, the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency cooperates with the winners of “Green Evo”. The Agency assists them in identifying profitable directions for foreign expansion, during economic missions, trade fairs, and also meetings with foreign investors visiting Poland. PAIiIZ is witnessing a growing interest in Polish green leaders, among Chinese and other investors. The Asian Tiger is paying a the great price of natural-environment degradation for its impressive economic growth. That is why, while intensively looking for advanced solutions in green technologies on the global market, China is also turning towards Poland. Today our country is China’s biggest economic partner in Central Europe, and the trade and investment exchange – especially in the field of advanced technologies and green solutions in industry – is rapidly growing.

Polish innovative technologies in fuel production from straw and grass, the microencapsulation of hazardous waste-mineral structures, or innovative water and sewage treatment, have met with particular interest.

Green business leaders are also entering the African continent, which has been little explored by Polish business, but is currently considered an outlet with the greatest potential in the world. Six out of the ten fastestgrowing economies in the world come from Africa. These are mostly Sub-Saharan countries. Africa needs virtually everything – from consumer goods to factories, an innovative infrastructure and power plants. There is an urgent need for passive low-energy publicutility buildings and homes. This package is also being introduced to the African markets by the winners of GreenEvo. Green technology exports is not the only field with increasing profitability in Poland.

Our country is also an attractive place for developing projects based on “green solutions”.

There are great opportunities awaiting energy-sector investors within the framework of the Public-Private Partnership Programme, which is offering about EUR27 billion to distribute over the next decade. Especially in the context of Poland’s energy sector gradually moving away from coal to other sources of energy, a process which is to last until 2050, the energy sector still provides a large niche to be filled. There is place for both green leaders and foreign investors. As PAIiIZ data shows, the latter are becoming more and more interested in investing and even reinvesting their capital. ::

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Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

A common stance by entrepreneurs and politicians.

Is it at all possible?

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he 3rd European Economic Meeting: “A Competitive and Lower Carbon Economy. Way - Conditions Changes. The EU Climate and Energy Policy. A New Philosophy – Different Objectives”, which took place on 23 October 2013 at the Hilton Hotel in Warsaw, was yet another in a series of meetings of economic and social partners aimed at creating a discussion platform on the EU’s climate and energy policy.

The leading topic of last year’s conference was the assessment of the EU’s climate and energy policy post “Energy Roadmap 2050” “Facts – Effects”; the topic of the meeting organised in 2011 revolved around the theme “The EU Climate and Energy Package – Myths and Costs”.

Each of such meetings features representatives of the Polish economy and their European counterparts, representatives of scientific and environmental circles, social partners, as well as members of public administration, the Government, and the two chambers of the Polish parliament. Our objective is the development and adoption of a common stance by various social groups in the face of expected changes in the EU’s climate and energy policy.

These conferences are also an opportunity for exchanging opinions with partners from the EU economic organisations, which should facilitate streamlining costs in the climate and energy policy, and stimulate changes at the global level.

The EU’s climate policy has a tremendous impact on the economic and social development of the European Union. Therefore, we can assume that the decisions concerning the achievement of further objectives or instruments of their implementation will be based on thorough analyses and assessments.

Unfortunately, none of the European Commission’s documents presenting decarbonisation targets for 2050 includes assessments of the impacts on the respective

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Andrzej Arendarski, President of Polish Chamber of Commerce Member States. What’s more, the scope of the analyses conducted for the whole of the EU appears incomplete.

In all the analyses, whose results have been presented in the official EC documents, climate policy causes a decrease in GDP in the whole EU. These results demonstrate, at the same time, that the negative effects are approximately four times more severe for Poland than for the EU as a whole. Such a discrepancy prevails in almost all implementations of climate policy that were taken into account.

Together with the implementation of the solutions proposed by the EU, there will be an enormous increase in the costs of satisfying energy needs and a serious decrease in energy availability for households in the EU. In countries or households that are poorer than the EU average, these effects will be experienced even more severely. Based on these results, we can expect a rapid spread of energy poverty in the EU. The main objective of the EU’s climate policy is to prevent climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is a global issue, and thus changes in local emissions are irrelevant. What really matters is a change in global emissions.

The ambitious actions the EU has undertaken so far are not meet with comparable actions by other countries. This has led to a growing increase in energy prices in the EU and a decline in the EU’s industrial competitiveness when compared to its main rivals on the global market.

The EU climate policy is not a policy that fits the needs and capabilities of the EU. It leads to the restricting of the EU’s wealth, a slowdown in economic development, considerable energy availability restrictions, and growing economic pressure on the EU households stemming from energy-related reasons.

This policy does not respect the rules of solidarity and a sensible approach to cost division. It strikes the most at the poorest Member

States, while its benefits are reaped by a few – the most-developed countries. Some countries lobbying hard for sharpening the objectives of climate policy do not fulfil their obligations stemming from the implementations of the climate package to the full (this applies to the achievement of renewable energy targets by France and the United Kingdom, and to the reduction of emissions in the Non-ETS sector by Denmark).

Poland cannot accept the current climate policy due to its leading to an increase in energy costs for households beyond the acceptable values, a drastic broadening of the scale of energy poverty, and weakening the competitiveness of the industrial sectors important to the Polish economy, which, in turn, will translate into a slowdown in economic development and many people losing their jobs. We find unacceptable the incorrect division of costs stemming from this policy, which runs against the consensus reached during the adoption of the climate package.

It is of crucial importance that we abandon a policy that, in practice, excludes from the EU economy many industrial sectors as well as jobs and corporate networks connected with them. We should seek increases in the production and net exports of energy services, with the complete utilisation of natural resources, economic potential and companies’ competences in all the Member States. In order to achieve this, we should give up the strategy of developing the energy sector based on subsidised renewable energy sources and the so-called low carbon technologies, and instead develop all locally and globally relevant resources and energy technologies, including state-of-the-art coal technologies and shale gas.

In my opinion, the key matters should include the promotion of the concept of competitive and lower carbon economy, as only such a policy will facilitate uniform economic growth. ::

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Responsible company, responsible partner Marek Krzykowski, President of International Paper Kwidzyn Sp. z o.o., talks to “Polish Market”.

The first impression: paper = deforestation.

How can a company that produces paper be environment-friendly? What practices have you implemented to be a socially responsible company?

International Paper - Kwidzyn operates in the pulp and paper industry, which is classified as heavy industry, and as such suffers from a number of myths associated with its negative impact on the environment, including in particular deforestation in Poland. Environmental footprint is inevitable in this business, but the primary purpose of the company and its employees is to minimize it by a number of investments (high-efficiency electrostatic system for power boilers, responsible water management and elimination of chlorine from the production process). The company conducts monitoring and corrective action with respect to water consumption and the emission of pollutants in waste water, and recycles spent cooling water. An important role within the scope of environmental action is played by a reasonable waste management policy involving the commitment of all employees at every level of the organization.

With a view to improving the quality of life for residents of the city and surrounding areas, the company is continuously working to increase effectiveness in reducing noise and odor nuisance, namely by installing a malodorous gases boiler.

Acting environmentally responsibly we are committed to that the supply chain be fully maintained and managed in a responsible manner approved by independent certification bodies. All products of International Paper - Kwidzyn, made either with virgin fiber and recycled, are FSC certified, which means pm

that they are manufactured using wood from the forests managed in a responsible manner.

The main raw material for the production of cellulose pulp is derived from sanitary measures aimed to maintain the proper functioning of forests.

Do you care about the environmental awareness of your customers?

The fact that we hold certificates granted by independent bodies does not mean that we do not have to educate customers as regards the use of wood for pulp and paper industry, especially that there is a number of myths to be debunked. That is why we educate our customers and local communities in the field of sustainable development and responsible forestry, in cooperation with organizations such as the WWF. pm

Are your customers interested in ecology?

Or are they focused on the product itself?

Our customers are primarily printers, distributors and wholesalers whose customers also expect pro-environmental attitudes.

The end customer, the one who ultimately receives our products, is more and more environmentally aware and conscious in making decisions on what he or she buys, and these decisions are not always driven by price merely. That is why, being a socially responsible company, including toward our business partners, and also a company that constitutes one link in the supply chain, we need to ensure that our customers are fully aware of the products they buy, the products which are all environment-friendly, fully biodegradable, produced from renewable raw materials and harvested in a responsible manner. pm

May one venture an opinion that paper can be an environment-friendly product?

Given all I mentioned above, I can say with full responsibility that paper is an environment-friendly product. Using paper contributes to reducing carbon emissions, because every year, thanks to responsible forest management, more trees are planted than felled, and it is precisely young trees that absorb the most carbon dioxide. In the EU, there are 30% more forests than 50 years ago. The paper that we use today comes from forests managed in an environmentally friendly way, which helps combat climate change. Recycled paper can be reused because cellulose fibers may be used in the production process up to seven times. International Paper - Kwidzyn - the largest recycler in the region - processes more than 140 thousand tonnes of waste paper to produce recycled newsprint paper.

The average recovery rate of waste paper in Poland is 40%, while in Europe it amounts to 70%. Unfortunately, every year two million tonnes of waste paper still go to landfill with other waste, which clearly shows the need for environmental education from the basics. Since 2011 International Paper - Kwidzyn has implemented the programme “Seventh heaven for newspaper”, which aims to support educational activities in the field of waste segregation in the schools of Pomerania. The campaign has recently been acclaimed by the European Recovered Paper Council, which grants awards every two years for initiatives to promote a culture of waste segregation in Europe. :: pm

SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 19

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Contribution of plastics to energy efficiency and climate protection Kazimierz Borkowski, PhD, Fundacja PlasticsEurope Polska

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wide variety of material has a role to meet the needs of modern society and sensible pro duct stewa rd sh ip i s a necessity for all products.

Plastic products account for the use of just 4% of non-renewable fossil fuel consumption but they contribute to a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to the lowering of overall consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels. Paradoxically, increased use of plastics would actually further reduce fuels consumption and CO2 emissions.

This conclusion is somewhat contrary to popular belief but it is well based on existing evidence and scientific calculations. One can understand it better if we discuss specific features of plastics that make them suitable to significantly contribute to energy savings and climate protection.

These features of plastic materials, such as light weight, high resistance, good insulation properties and the possibility of easy shaping, contribute to their ever-growing common use and widespread applications. Thanks to these features and properties, plastics are selected as a more advantageous alternative to the other materials previously used.

The versatility of plastics also contributes significantly to energy efficiency-savings can be achieved by using plastics insulation materials in buildings, by using light weight plastics in transportation, and thanks to plastic packaging spoilage of food is significantly reduced.

The main areas of the biggest contribution of plastics to energy savings and climate protection are: Insulation of residential and office buildings: Plastics provide effective insulation from cold and heat and prevent air leakages.

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Plastic insulation materials consume approximately 16% less energy and emit 9% less GHG than alternative materials. Across their whole life cycle, plastic insulation boards save 150 times the energy used for their manufacture.

Generation of renewable energy: It would not be possible to build big wind turbines’ rotor blades and photovoltaic panels without plastics. Thanks to these major contributions to the efficient production of renewable energy, plastics can save 140 times and 340 times respectively, the emissions produced during their production.

Food production and prevention of food losses: Plastics are extensively used in food production helping to increase yield (mulch, silage, greenhouses, tunnels, piping etc.). Plastics packaging accounts for only 1-3% of typical packaged foods weight, and offers highly efficient methods of preserving, transporting, storing, preparing and serving food. Innovative plastics food packaging delivers more efficient protection, reduces food waste and extends shelf life, thereby saving energy and GHG emissions. Plastics packaging for meat, for instance, extend shelf life by three to six days and even much longer if the most advanced packaging technologies are used. If we remember that producing one kilogram of beef requires ca. 15,000 l of water and it leads to emissions equivalent to three hours of driving, this extended shelf life is a substantial improvement for the environment.

Benefits of lightweight plastics to transportation: Firstly, the use of lightweight plastics packaging reduces significantly transportation needs–more goods in lighter packaging can be transported in the same truck. Replacing plastic packaging with alternatives would increase nearly four

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times the packaging weight. Secondly, modern vehicles and airplanes contain 20% and more plastic construction materials which again results less CO2 emissions linked to transportation. As an example, the newest construction of Airbus group, the intercontinental flying giant, Airbus 380-800, contains 25% of plastics that contribute to lowering the airplane’s weight and reduced fuel consumption. With only 3,3 l of fuel per passenger on 100 km, the Airbus 380-800 greatly outperforms older planes.

Less greenhouse gas emissions: PlasticsEurope commissioned a study with an Austrian consultancy denkstatt GmbH to consider the hypothetical scenario where plastics would be replaced by a mix of alternative materials and evaluate the environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions over the complete product life cycle. The results showed that such a replacement would result in a 57% increase of energy consumption and 61% increase of GHG emissions. The study is available for downloading from PlasticsEurope website www.plasticseurope.org.

In conclusion - the deployment of plastics enables greenhouse gas emissions reductions and energy savings across a wide range of modern applications. Therefore, plastics have an important role to play in the journey towards sustainability. ::

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Source: “The impact of plastics on life-cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emmisions in Europe”, denkstatt 2010 “Plastics’ contribution to climate protection”, PlasticsEurope 2010 “Plastic packaging: born to protect”, PlasticsEurope 2012

Plastics save natural resources...

Energy recovered from plastics waste

WOOD PAPER

15 16 28

COAL

Materials recovered through recycling

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HEATING OIL

45

PLASTICS

48

NATURAL GAS

Calorific value (GJ/t)

...and protect climate Life cycle of plastic products CO2 Production

Energy use

Use phase

CO2

CO2 Waste CO2

Energy savings

www.plasticseurope.org

Thanks to the use of plastics energy savings reach 2 300 mln GJ/year (EU 27) – an equivalent of • 50 million tonnes of crude oil or • 120 million tonnes of CO2 or • 30% of total annual CO2 emissions of Poland

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

The institution focused on EFFECT Małgorzata Skucha, President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) talks to Maciej Proliński.

What is your vision for the development of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW)?

Based on the operational strategy, adopted last year for the years 2013 - 2016 with a horizon until 2020, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management will pursue four priorities: a comprehensive solution to the problems in water management and water protection, a systemic approach to waste management and soil protection, a widely understood climate protection, and biodiversity. Our new strategy provides for the horizontal development of environmental education and eco-innovation. Another important element of the strategy is to stick to the principles of the low-carbon economy. We would like the Fund to be focused on EFFECT* and to be ecological itself. Let me stress that we give good example since we got a “green office” certificate.

We also want to prepare for new challenges, namely e-economy and e-administration.

This year, it will be the first for us to accept competition proposals in an electronic version. Another element of this development strategy involves converting into a revolving fund in the coming years. By 2016, 65% of our funds are supposed to be in the form of repayable instruments, and by 2020 - 80%.

It should be noted that these repayable instruments are not only loans, but also capital input, thus the ability to guarantee. Moreover, we strive to adapt our organizational structure, which has been slightly modified at the beginning of 2013, to the new strategy. One of the main objectives will be to develop new competencies for the NFOŚiGW to spend EU funds in the new financial perspective. To sum-up - evolution, not a revolution... pm

22 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

For several years, we have been debating on a new model of the energy system in Poland. The key role in this process is to be played by renewable energy and the growth of energy efficiency. The question is what is to be expected in this respect?

We do not shape the country’s energy policy. We provide support for the Minister of the Environment in the implementation of environmental policy objectives. It is important to pursue in parallel improvements in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. There has been a steady progress in Poland in the development of renewable technologies - both wind farms and photovoltaics. Supporting them - through the creation of a system of incentives - should involve action both at the national level and in businesses. Energy efficiency improvement, in the absence of one’s own funds, may be carried out in partnership, based for example on the ESCO formula. There is a lot to be done in this area - Poland’s economy is almost two times more energy- intensive than the highly developed economies of the European Union.

ESCO - Energy Services Company - is a formula in which a specialized company provides energy services improving the energy efficiency of the customer and participates in the benefits resulting from the reduction in energy costs. This company investigates the potential for improving the energy efficiency in the form of a comprehensive energy audit, including technical and economic analyses, drafts appropriate documentation necessary for the performance of the projects, and - depending on the formula adopted - funds the project on its own or arranges external financing on behalf of the customer.

Finally, it oversees the implementation of the project, and monitors the results. We are still pm

waiting for a law on renewable energy sources to be passed, which is crucial for investors, but it will also help households become energy producers, and not only consumers. We have already been educating individual investors in the field of energy-efficient construction. I also hope that our programme to subsidize the construction and purchase of energy-efficient houses will stimulate the construction sector toward efficiency. We estimate that funds allocated to this purpose will allow to construct about 12 thousand houses and apartments in multifamily buildings. The NFOŚiGW plans to spend on this project PLN 300 million until 2018. The programme will benefit individuals wishing to build a single-family house or buy one from the developer. It is worth taking advantage of the programme, because after 2020 it will be difficult to sell a house that was not built in accordance with the new standards.

We suggest that new buildings should meet one basic parameter -the annual individual demand for usable energy required for heating and ventilation may not exceed 40 kWh per square metre for energy efficient buildings, or 15 kWh per square metre for passive houses. ::

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T - transparent (performing its duties in an ethical, open and transparent manner)

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Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Is the energy market in Poland doing well?

What are the sector’s major problems?

Rafał W. Cegielski, Senior Manager, Management Consulting, Accenture Polska

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oth globally and in Poland, demand for energy is constantly rising. According to the data presented by the Energy Information Administration at the United States Department of Energy, the next thirty years will see a global increase of 56% in this respect.

What’s more, by 2040, higher consumption is expected of energy from all sources, including natural gas. According to information from the Polish Ministry of the Economy, in 2012 demand for power in Poland surged to 21.2 GW at peak times and was overall 25% higher than a decade before. A substantial part is generated by the changing needs of businesses and retail consumers. Although energy demand has been negatively affected by the economic slowdown, which forced many companies to reduce consumption, and consumers have become more aware of energy-efficient practices, it is expected – also in Poland – that consumption will now rise.

The structure of the Polish energy market shows that the vast majority of energy is generated from coal. The distinctive feature of the Polish market is its low use of renewable sources, which was criticised by the European Commission this year. The power generated by wind farms and biogas plants accounts for less than 15% of all energy produced. Obstacles to using these types of solutions include insufficient co-financing and legal barriers. The consequence of this conduct may be fines of up to several thousand euro a day. Unfortunately, due to inadequate investment in this segment it is very likely that the consequent situation will not change in the near future. The lack of the possibility to make optimal use of renewable energy is also important for clients who are increasingly aware of the significance of green and sustainable solutions.

Changing customer preferences and the breakdown of the previously-extant business governance are very important challenges faced by energy sellers, especially in the context of market liberalisation and increased mobility in terms of choosing suppliers – both for corporate and retail customers.

We are witnessing the birth of a new, more dynamic market. Retail customer’s expectations are on the rise and, as per the fourth

24 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

global “New Energy Consumer” survey carried out by Accenture in 2013 involving 21 countries, customer confidence in energy sellers is at the lowest level in a four-year period. Nearly two thirds of the surveyed individuals are dissatisfied with their suppliers.

In consequence, customers are increasingly turning to alternative suppliers. As many as 82% of those surveyed declared that they could consider using the services of sellers other than their current utilities and electrical-energy providers. 65% of the respondents would be interested in purchasing energy from telecommunications operators and 56% could buy it from retail chains. The main reasons for which customers would be willing to go for alternative energy sellers include lower prices (62%), the ability to buy products in a package (53%) and better service (42%).

Another important conclusion that can be drawn from the Accenture report is the fact that customers, especially the SME sector, expect greater support from the energy sellers. For example, many small and medium-sized enterprises are forced to operate in a new market situation, in which the number of client orders is declining, while the opposite is true for operational costs, including energy bills. The Accenture report demonstrates that more than half of SMEs expect the sellers to help them better manage their energy efficiency, which would directly translate into better financial results. According to the results of last year’s RWE report “How do we conserve energy in the workplace?” over the period of four years, the number of people regularly reducing energy consumption in the SME sector increased by one-third – from 58% (in 2008) to 91% (in 2012)1. What’s more, 53% of entrepreneurs claimed that they would be willing to pay extra for special consulting services in this field.

Energy sellers can help small and medium-sized enterprises reduce their energy expenditure and attract customers. This is possible, through consulting in the field of energy management and adjusting their products in a way that helps small and 1 http://www.rwe.pl/web/cms/pl/1786694/start/ dla-mediow/aktualnosci/jak-oszczedzamy-energie-wfirmach-z-sektora-msp/

medium-sized enterprises manage energy consumption, reduce the complexity of their business operations and become attractive partners for environmentally-oriented customers. Of retail customers in 21 countries, 76% of the respondents declared that they would be more willing to buy products and services from a company certified as green by an energy seller, and more than half (53%) declared that they would pay more for energy from such a company.

Finally, the energy sector in Poland requires the implementation of advanced IT systems, which would allow the effective and multidimensional management of the energy generation, distribution, and selling processes. There is a great need to implement smart technologies and integrate IT systems.

The decisive factor that determines the effective use of innovative business tools in this field is working with external partners providing professional consulting and transformation services.

The current changes create a number of opportunities but also challenges for the sellers of energy. They are pushing them to simplify their previous business model. If taken early enough, these actions could enhance the functioning of energy companies and facilitate their adaptation to the new business environment. Due to macroeconomic changes, energy sellers should prepare new key competence areas. Such a strategy can help them achieve success in the future, regardless of the direction in which the market evolves. ::

About Accenture Accenture is a global company providing services in consulting, advanced technologies, and outsourcing. Over 266 thousand of its employees provide services to customers in more than 120 countries worldwide. Combining outstanding experience, profound knowledge of all sectors and business functions, and an extensive set of findings from research on the best companies in the world, Accenture cooperates with its customers to help them become highly-effective enterprises or government agencies. In the financial year ended on 31 August 2012, Accenture achieved net revenues of USD27.9 billion. The company’s website is www.accenture.com.

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

PSE receives Certificate of Registration for Business Continuity Management System During the First National Critical Infrastructure Protection Forum PSE SA, the operator of the Polish power grid, received a Certificate of Registration for the Business Continuity Management System. The awarding ceremony was held at the National Stadium on October 4, 2013. The certificate was presented to PSE SA President Henryk Majchrzak by a representative of the British Standards Institution (BSI).

Krzysztof Kowalczyk, Director of the Critical Infrastructure Office at PSE

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ertificate No. BCMS 600725 in respect of electric-power transmission in compliance with the recommended occupational-safety criteria of the Polish Power System, was granted to PSE following an audit, which certified the Company’s Business Continuity Management System compliance with the ISO 22301:2012 standard. This was the first certificate of its kind conferred upon a Polish company in the energy sector.

The ISO 22301:2012 standard serves first and foremost as a foundation for the construction of organisational durability, necessary for coping with unexpected events and effective actions during the most dire situations. What is more, it is of key importance that maintaining operational and production continuity translates directly into the organisation’s functioning, and has an impact on all stakeholders. This also makes it possible to highlight and assess needs and establish an effective business-continuity policy.

The implementation of the Business Continuity Management System at PSE, compliant with the ISO 22301:2012 standard, is yet another stage in the strategy of systemically approaching the realisation of the basic objective of PSE’s operations, which was adopted in 2010,that is the provision of safe and economical operation of the Polish Power System.

Other elements in this strategy include the already-implemented and certified Information Security Management System, compliant with the ISO 27001 standard, and an Environmental Management System (ISO 14001).

“Employing a comprehensive approach makes it possible to take into account the context of

ensuring the safety of the Polish Power System at every stage of the power transmission grid’s operation, starting from the plans for its expansion, through construction, maintenance and recall. Owing to its being an integral part of all these processes, we have managed to simultaneously minimise the effects of possible malfunctions or crisis events, both on energy recipients and PSE,” highlighted Henryk Majchrzak, President of PSE. “The Business Continuity Management System is also a consequence of the Risk-Management Policy adopted and pursued at PSE,” added Mr Majchrzak.

Furthermore, the implementation of the Business Continuity Management System facilitates compliance with the requirements stipulated in Art. 6 section 5 of the Crisis Management Act, which oblige PSE to protect the buildings characterised as part of the critical infrastructure, and to maintain their own reserve systems ensuring the safety of and maintaining the working conditions of this infrastructure, until its full reconstruction.

The implementation of this standard brings about substantial benefits, including: • a common business continuity management framework, developed and based on the best international practices; • ensuring a proven method of reconstructing the organisation’s ability to supply products and provide services of critical importance, at a set level and at an agreed-upon time, in the event of disruption; • the proactive bolstering of the organisation’s survival capabilities in the event of disruption;

• the guarantee of a proven reaction, making it possible to manage disruptions; • the protection of the Company’s brand and reputation.

The First National Critical Infrastructure Protection Forum, featuring the Certificategranting ceremony, was organised by the Government Centre for Security to present the critical infrastructure protection system and basic actions undertaken in this field by public administration and enterprises responsible for the security of critical infrastructure (including entities in the energy, gas, and petrol sectors), further to the Act on the National Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection, adopted by the Government on 26 March 2013. This Act, based on international standards, introduces a new quality to the sphere of interconnected actions by the administration and enterprises, thus ensuring efficient functioning systems which are of key importance to the State and its citizens’ security.

The certifying entity – The British Standards Institution – is a pioneer in the field of Business Continuity Management (BCM), and the originator of the first set of best practices BS 25999-2, which comprised the foundation of the ISO 22301: 2012 standard. The organization holds a Royal Charter from the British Monarchy.

Thanks to the fact that this standard is based on a PDCA model, it is possible to further perfect the system. ::

SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 25

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Towards a lowcarbon economy Perhaps this article should have been called “Towards sustainable development,” as that is the phrasing we have put in our Constitution1, rather than low-carbon development. However, if the title had been as above it would have suggested that the author is about to point the way, or even blaze the trail, to sustainable growth. Unfortunately, this is beyond his knowledge and ability.

1 The Constitution of the Republic of Poland, Art. 5

Krzysztof Żmijewski

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he factors contributing to sustainable, and also long-term, development, are a combination of economic, ecological, energy, technical, sociological, and probably also psychological requirements. They are being modified by politics, ideology, and even religion, which replace strictly rational considerations with a more emotional approach that often leads to an irrational antithesis of sustainability summarised by the words “After us, the Deluge”.

World greenhouse-gas emissions for 2010 by source

48 629 MtCO2eq energyintensive industry

commercial and public buildings

energy, own use

residential buildings

Source: ECOFYS http://www.ecofys.com/files/files/asnecofys-2013-world-ghg-emissions-flow-chart-2010.pdf

26 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

A low-carbon economy is definitely one of the requirements for sustainable and longterm growth. It is difficult to define and pin down how low in carbon we can go, but it can be assumed, as a working approximation, that it is such an emission that can be absorbed and neutralised by nature’s own mechanisms. To be sure, we are speaking about all kinds of emissions – dust, liquid, aerosol, gas, and also noise and other factors, with an adverse impact on the environment.

Carbon efficiency is primarily an issue connected with energy, the environment and economics, and in its technical aspects, with the energy-processing, construction, and transport sectors.

My professional exother industry perience allows me to take the liberty of discussing the first two land use change of the above sectors.

They cover 31% of towaste tal global emissions1, and industry covers 29%, while transport accounts for 15%. In consequence, this aragriculture ticle discusses issues in the fields of energy and construction connecttransport ed with environmental 1 http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/ global.html according to IPCC (2007); http://www. ecofys.com/files/files/asn-ecofys-2013-world-ghgemissions-flow-chart-2010.pdf according to ECOFYS(2010)

protection and economics. By necessity, I have also touched upon a number of technical issues and, for the same reason, virtually omitted the sociological and psychological aspects, which would arguably deserve a separate study.

The road to a low-carbon economy should be considered in the context of E3 (economy – energy – environment). The road, or policy, should be understood in an Aristotelian rather than a Machiavellian sense. The first aspect to be considered is policy per se (volume one) as a space for formulating strategic objectives and balancing the resources necessary for their implementation (otherwise, this would be a policy of wishful thinking similar to building castles in the air). Then, the analysis should cover the mechanisms facilitating the implementation of this policy (volume two), and finally the principal effects of such mechanisms – investments (volume three).

As already mentioned at the beginning, a low-carbon economy must be built in accordance with the sustainable development principle, which means, among other things, that emissions should be avoided in the longterm and global perspectives, and no translocations in time and space are permissible (i.e. to different time or a different continent).

From this point of view, such phenomena as carbon leakage (migration of emissions = migration of industry) and CCS (carbon capture and storage) are not in line with the sustainable-development principle.

There are measures that allow the longterm and actual (global) reduction in emissions. A special role in this respect is played by sustainable building. It is worth emphasising

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

that it is already profitable to build low-energy and low-emission houses, and in the near future, it will be profitable to construct not only nearly zero-emission (passive) houses but also positive-energy houses. The last of these hinges equally on the development of the construction and energy sectors.

In the construction sector, we can expect progressive improvements in insulation materials – vacuum, capacitive, aerogels, etc.; windows – remote-controlled superwindows, energy-saving windows, and also more effective ventilation and air-conditioning – recuperators, exchangers, heat pumps. We are getting closer and closer to the integration and convergence of construction and energy – especially in residential housing and prosumer actions. We already have our own heat sources (42 thousand installed in Poland – 300

thousand sq. m)2. The next step is photovoltaics, initially roof panels, and then wallmounted panels. Another solution entering the market involves hybrid panels, which combine both functions – power and heat generation. These processes do not compete with each other, as the heating system increases the efficiency of the photovoltaic part by cooling it down. Solar panels (PV, TV and P&TV) are more and more often becoming an integrated part of the building, a skin rather than an extra patch on the roof or facade.

Obviously, a positive-energy building must have a ventilation system that is completely different from the traditional gravitational ventilation. It has to be computer-controlled, and not only should it follow changes in weather, but also anticipate the trends to properly account for the building’s thermal inertia.

Modern windows are more than just sources of light – they can also be sources of energy – by adjusting the airflow and generating electricity in transparent photovoltaic panels. Such a combined system can have the spaces between glass filled with liquid crystal, which can be polarised to change its properties (transparency).

Sustainable building also involves rational water management (reusing greywater), sustainable architecture, and, finally, sustainable urban planning. This way you can get more for less. At first glance, it might seem inconsistent with the principles of economics, but if we take into account the sheer wastefulness that is eliminated – it is fully :: realistic.3

2 http://www.nfosigw.gov.pl/srodki-krajowe/doplatydo-kredytow/doplaty-do-kredytow-na-kolektorysloneczne/biezace-efekty-wdrazania/ according to NFEP&WM as at 05-08-2013.

3 Factor four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use; L. Hunter Lovins and Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute and Ernst von Weizsäcker, founder, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment & Energy.

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Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Eco-friendly electricity from bituminous coal Mirosław Kowalczyk, head of the Environmental Protection Department at ENEA Wytwarzanie S.A.

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he ENEA Capital Group is a modern electricity producer, seller and distributor. ENEA S.A. debuted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in November 2008 as the first company operating in the energy sector and now holds a 12.5% share in sales on the retail electricity market in Poland.

The electricity is supplied to 2.4 million retail and business customers. ENEA Operator, the Group’s distribution company, operates a network which covers nearly 20% of Poland, supplying electricity to consumers in the north-western Poland. Almost 8% of electricity generated in Poland comes from power plants owned by ENEA Group.

As regards generation, ENEA has been investing in renewable energy sources: hydroelectric plants, wind farms and biogas plants. However, bituminous coal is still the most important fuel used by ENEA. The Group generates electricity from bituminous coal in compliance with the environmental protection regulations being now in force and with consideration for the stricter regulations that will become effective in the near future.

The Group proves that thanks to modern technologies it is possible to produce bituminous coal-based electricity in compliance with the strictest environmental standards and efficiently and cheaply at the same time.

ENEA Group is now conducting the biggest investment project in the Polish power sector: the construction of a 1,075 MW unit, the most modern in Poland, in the Kozienice power plant. The unit meets all of the European environmental standards, even the strictest ones. The programme to modernise the existing 10 units is designed to extend

28 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

their operation until at least 2030 while ensuring that the facilities are fully safe and more efficient, and – which is the most important – meet all environmental requirements. The investment projects already completed have enabled a significant reduction in pollutant emissions to the atmosphere.

This means that in 2016, when the industrial emissions directive (IED) will come into force, ENEA Group’s generating capacity will be fully available. The new 11th generating unit is to be launched in mid-2017 and it will further increase the generating capacity by over 30%.

The Kozienice power plant is a commercial baseload condensation power plant. It has an open system for cooling condensers with water derived from the Vistula River. There are eight 218-225 MW units and two 560 MW units to generate electricity. The power plant’s turbines have been successively modernised since 1996 to raise their generating efficiency. As a result of modernising the LP parts of the turbines in the 200 MW units and the LP and HP parts of the turbines in the 500 MW units, now ENEA Wytwarzanie has an installed capacity of 2,913 MW, a level higher than the designed power of 2,600 MW. Bituminous coal, supplied mainly by Polish mines, is the basic fuel burned in the power plant’s boilers. Apart from electricity, the power plant also produces heat in cogeneration. It has a thermal power capacity of 266 MWt. A radical process of tightening emission standards has continued for several years now. It will reach its peak in 2016 when emission requirements for large combustion plants (LCP) will become much stricter than at present in connection with the implementation

of the IED directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on industrial emissions (integrated pollution protection and control of Dec. 21, 2007). The directive was adopted by the European Commission on 7 July 2010. From 2016 existing plants will be subject to the following emission limit values: 200 mg/m3u for SO2, 200 mg/m3u for NOx and 20 mg/m 3u for dust. Under the directive, from 2016 all sources installed at ENEA Wytwarzanie S.A. have to meet the emission standards of 200 mg/m 3u for SO2, 20 mg/m3u for dust and 200 mg/m3u for NOx for five OP-650 boilers. Because of derogations, the remaining three OP-650 boilers and two AP-1650 boilers will have to meet the 200 mg/m3u emission limit value for NOx from 2018.

The implementation of the industrial emissions directive means that all the generating units of the power plant have to work with facilities for the wet removal of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from flue gas (secondary DENOX - SCR or SNCR plants).

The regulation on emission standards for dust is similar. In practice, it means the need to use a two-stage flue gas dedusting system: in an electrostatic precipitator and wet desulphurisation plant.

In order to adjust to the steadily growing technological and environmental requirements, ENEA Wytwarzanie has been gradually replacing its core and auxiliary facilities with energy-efficient ones to ensure low energy consumption for the power plant’s own needs. The power plant’s efficient energy management also involves the combustion of fuel of an increasingly good quality.

With the existing production processes, this

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

enables the company to meet environmental protection requirements while ensuring economic efficiency of electricity production.

SO2 reduction There are already three wet lime flue gas desulphurisation plants at the power plant: IOS I, IOS II and IOS III. IOS I, put into operation in 2001, cleans flue gases from the generating unit no. 9. IOS II, with a capacity equivalent to 800 MW, was put into operation at the beginning of 2007. IOS II can be used to the full thanks to the ability to switch among flue gas ducts of the units no. 2 to 8, and the ability for four units to work at full load or more units to work at lower loads. IOS III cleans flue gases from the 500 MW unit no. 10.

The desulphurisation plants make it possible to keep SO2 emissions below 200 mg/m3u.

The product of the reaction is gypsum of commercial value. Almost 100% of it is utilized.

The flue gas desulphurisation plants in the 200 MW and 500 MW units have enabled considerable reductions in sulphur dioxide and dust emissions.

The power plant is building its fourth flue gas desulphurisation plant (IOS IV) to ensure that generating units can work at full capacity after 2015. The new plant, like the existing ones, will be using the wet lime process.

Its flue gas desulphurisation capacity will be equivalent to 800 MWe. Thanks to this project, the power plant will be able to remove sulphur dioxide from flue gasses emitted by each of its generating units, with a reserve desulphurisation capacity enabling maintenance works on the plants without the need to reduce the generating capacity of the power plant. The pollutant concentration will be below 200 mg/m3u – in compliance with the future environmental requirements.

Methods for reducing dust emissions Dust is removed from flue gases with the use of highly efficient electrostatic precipitators able to remove 99.6% of the particulate matter. The precipitators, installed in each of the generating units, ensure that dust emissions do not exceed 30-50 mg/m3u, depending on the generating unit. In 2012 the average concentration of dust leaving the power station’s precipitators was 20 mg/m3u. Since 2008 the emission limit value for dust has been at 50 mg/m3u, with the emission standard applied independently to each chimney.

In 2004-2013 the power plant carried out the second round of replacing and modernising its existing precipitators to ensure dust concentrations below 50 mg/m3u. The currently installed precipitators have guaranteed dust concentrations below 30 mg/m3u. From 2016 the emissions limit value will be below 20 mg/m3u owing to the planned change in regulations. The two-stage dedusting process, in which a generating unit works with the electrostatic precipitator and wet desulphurisation plant (IOS), will enable the power plant to meet the new standard. Once the construction of the IOS IV desulphurisation plant is completed, all flue gases from the power plant will be dedusted in the twostage process.

Methods for reducing NOx emissions In order to reduce NOx concentrations to the required level of 500 mg/m 3u, ENEA Wytwarzanie S.A. has implemented a new combustion system for the boilers of the 200 MW units no. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, and the 500 MW units no. 9 and 10. The system is based on low-emission burners and a system of air nozzles installed on the front and back wall of the boilers over the burners (OFA and SOFA nozzles). In 2012 the company completed the installation of low-emission burners in the unit no. 3, with guaranteed concentrations below 300 mg/m3u. In 2012 the average concentration of NOx in flue gases coming out of the chimneys amounted to 458 mg/m3u.

To meet the requirements of the LCP and IED directives, in 2012-2017 the power plant is constructing a plant for the catalytic removal of NOx from flue gas for the OP-650 boilers no. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The plant will enable an 80% reduction in NOx from the present 500 mg/m3u (understood as a sum of nitrogen oxides calculated into NO2 with a 6% content of O2 in dry flue gases) to <_100 mg/m3u of NOx. In the same period, an NOx removal plant will be installed in the 200 MW units no. 1, 2 and 3. And by 2018 an SCR plant will be installed in the 500 MW units no. 9 and 10.

Methods for reducing CO2 emissions The LP parts of the turbines in the units no. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8, and the LP and HP parts of the turbines in the units no. 9 and 10 were modernised in 1996-2001. As a result, the amount of coal used for combustion and pollutant emissions to the atmosphere were reduced. At present, to reduce CO2 emissions, ENEA Wytwarzanie co-fires biomass with coal in its eight 200 MW units, with biomass accounting for up to 10%. The biomass co-firing system for 200 MW units was put into operation in August 2007. The second stage of the project – the installation of the second movable floor and miller was completed in 2009. The system enables electricity production from a renewable energy source. Biomass combustion results in the avoidance of carbon dioxide emissions SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 29

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

460,534.6 Mg in 2012. Carbon dioxide emissions from the power plant amounted to 882 kg/MWh in 2009 and 839 kg/MWh in 2012. The relatively low emission levels in the power plant in Kozienice are mainly due to the modernisation projects carried out at the end of the 1990s to improve generation efficiency.

Capital expenditures Outlays on environmental protection projects have for many years had a significant share in the total investment spending.

In 2009, when quite a large number of environmental projects was carried out, this share was as follows:

OP-650 boiler in unit no. 3. The installation of the SCR plant in 560 MWe units is planned for 2017 and 2018. The units have derogations in the area of NOx removal until 2018.

The second important element of the modernisation programme is the construction of the fourth flue gas desulphurisation plant (IOS IV). Thanks to the plant, all flue gases emitted by the power plant will be subject to desulphurisation. The plant’s capacity will be sufficient to desulphurise flue gases from four 200 MWe units.

The following measures in existing generating units are planned to reduce CO2 emissions: raising the capacity of the HP parts by at least 3 MW,

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The power unit, as a new IPPC facility, will be equipped with the following air protection facilities: in the area of dust removal from flue gas: the installation of an electrostatic precipitator with at least five sections and guaranteed dust concentration (after the precipitator and before IOS) not higher than 50 mg/m3u (6% O2). The second stage in the dedusting process is the sorbent which removes sulphur dioxide from flue gases. At this stage, the gas is additionally dedusted to the average concentration of several mg/m3u. The guaranteed dust concentration after the IOS sorbent is 10 mg/m3u (6% O2). in the area of nitrogen oxides emission reduction: a low-emission combustion system for the boiler of the new generating unit. The system is composed of low-emission burners and nozzles which let in air for more efficient combustion. Additionally, a system for the selective catalytic removal of nitrogen oxides (SCR) from flue gases will be installed at the outlet of the boiler. The reactor enables a reduction in NOx emissions to below 100 mg/m3u. in the area of sulphur dioxide emission reductions: the installation of a wet lime desulphurisation plant with the cleaned flue gases discharged through a cooling tower.

The technologically guaranteed SO2 concentration after the IOS sorbent is 100 mg/m3u (6% O2). in the area of carbon dioxide emission: The new unit will be “capture ready”, which means it will be ready for the installation of a carbon dioxide capture and transmission system. Its emission level of around 730 kg/MWh is much lower than is now possible to achieve in coal-fired boilers.

ENEA Group understands the importance of renewable energy sources and is investing in them. Under ENEA’s new strategy, the generating capacity from these sources is to be raised significantly – by around 500 MWe by 2020. However, the investment projects carried out by the ENEA Group in Kozienice prove that electricity generation from coal, which is a traditional fuel, is also not only profitable but first of all in compliance with the strictest environmental standards. ::

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Investment projects planned Considering the need to meet stricter emissions requirements which will become effective on 1 January 2016 under the IED directive, the decision was taken in the power plant to invest in flue gas desulphurisation for 800 MWe of installed capacity in the 200 MW units no. 1-8 and to install NOx removal plants in all generating units.

As has been mentioned, the power plant has conducted the programme to build plants for the catalytic removal of NOx (SCR) from flue gas for 200 MW units no. 4-8. In the near future, there are plans to install complete modern catalytic plants for the removal of NOx for the OP-650 boilers in the units no. 1 and 2, and a non-catalytic plant (SNCR) for the

30 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

• • •

improving the efficiency of the HP parts to at least 85%, reducing per-unit heat consumption in the HP parts by at least 100 kJ/kWh, reducing coal consumption by around 5,320 tonnes, resulting in a reduction in CO2 emissions by around 10,640 tonnes.

Construction of a new 1,075 MWe generating unit On 21 September 2012 ENEA Wytwarzanie S.A. and a consortium of Hitachi Power Europe GmbH and Polimex -Mostostal S.A. signed an agreement on the construction of a new bituminous coal fired generating unit.

The contract will be implemented in the period from 21 September 2012 to 21 July 2017.

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Protecting the environment and people Paweł Olechnowicz

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Chairman of the Board of Directors of CEEP Chief Executive Officer in Grupa LOTOS S.A.

often speak publicly at conferences and seminars and talk to the media on the need to maintain an extremely pragmatic, responsible and emotionless attitude to the problem of climate change.

In recent years this area acquired high profile status with the media and became a favourite political subject. A variety of figures, opinions and suggestions are published nearly every week and the overall result of highly intensive coverage is general disquiet and a fertile ground for unsubstantiated theories. The more grim and doomsday-like theories there are, the better media attention and public interest. It is very difficult to talk facts, figures and business in such an emotionally volatile environment.

I manage a big oil company and I cannot indulge in intellectual speculations as well as emotional outbursts. Business is a realistic art of the possible and I stick to that principle.

I try looking into the facts and figures, and act accordingly. Here is what I see.

There are waves of pessimism and optimism on the global warming issues. We have been subjected for quite some time to the alarming figures and even more alarming theories explaining them. Yet the latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the ultimate watchdog, whose massive six-yearly assessments are accepted by the environmentalists, politicians and experts, sounded somewhat more optimistic than the previous ones. It says that the world might be warming at only just the half rate claimed by the IPCC in its previous assessment report published in 2007.

The 2007 report said that the planet was warming at the rate of 0.2˚C every decade.

That was pretty bad. This year’s report corrects the index and says that since 1951 the warming was 0.12˚C per decade. It looks like computers erred and dark conclusions were wrong. The IPCC admits that while computer models forecast a decline in Antarctic sea ice, it has actually grown to the new record high.

The report does not explain why.

The list of similar examples is long. That does not suggests that the problem does not

32 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

exist and we should produce CO2 without regards to any limits or norms. Not at all. We’ve got to be prudent and responsible. Limiting economy’s adverse influence on the environment is a must. At the same time we have to remember that the economy must grow and we should maintain balance of growth versus environment protection all the time.

This is the area where Central Europe Energy Partners activities are seen in their full swing. We started that organization almost 3 years ago and we are proud to have 20 members from Central and Eastern Europe now.

All of them are important players in the energy field: big industrial enterprises, oil and utility companies, academic organizations, which are able and eager to contribute to the most important energy area debates. These are energy security and energy producing structure vis-à-vis climate change. We in CEEP are both visionaries and pragmatists.

I am extremely glad to say that we are listened to and increasingly engaged in the meaningful dialogue of the energy future for Europe.

The most controversial issue on which most of the debates concentrate now on is the carbon emissions limits and the optimal energy mix for Europe. Some of the EU countries, particularly new members, heavily depend on coal and react strongly against anything which will limit their capabilities to produce electricity in the coal-fired stations.

Emphasis on nuclear energy or renewable sources (RES), which is strong particularly in the Western European countries, should be balanced with the realistic appraisal of Central and Eastern Europe current level of economic development and their immediate future needs.

There is a vast gap in the GDP per capita of the EU-15 countries and the rest of the European Community members. If European Union is to progress and develop, those differences must be systematically reduced. If they stay on, we will be living in the two speed Europe with the conflicts and tensions between the richer and the poorer. Nobody wants it.

Therefore, there must be a consensus to allow the Central and Eastern European

countries to continue to use their coal-fired utilities for a specific period of time, whilst making efforts to limit their carbon emissions.

It is quite feasible and by using Best-Available Technologies (BAT) it is quite possible. In this way Central and Eastern European countries will be able to continue the process of closing the gap, whilst contributing towards general limiting of carbon emissions.

There must be a more reasonable distribution of the burden to help the climate. The level of GDP per capita as well as the pace of its growth must be considered within the overall picture. It is difficult to defend emissions per capita of 17.3 tonnes (in 2011) and the average for Europe being 7.5 tonnes now and planned to drop to 7.1 tonnes.

We live in a global world and in global economy. We should all contribute to a better climate but remember, that environment protection cannot result in economic stagnation. The same idea refers to shale gas. The United States enjoys a huge competitive advantage over the European Union because of its large scale use of shale gas.

We in Europe try to make that process legally very complex, which means that shale gas use will be limited and expensive. Why are we doing this? On environment protection grounds, though nobody has as yet proven any significant damage to the natural environment resulting from shale gas exploration and production.

Looking towards the COP 19 summit in Warsaw, my bottom line is simple. We’ve got to consider every aspect of our industrial activity and we should, as a principle, limit its adverse influence on the world around us. But whatever we do, we should consider every aspect of our action. We cannot buy clean air and pristine nature with the stagnating living standards of people. They are after all an important part of the world that we all try to protect. ::

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 33

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

NCBJ – experts in ionising radiation

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he National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) is currently the largest research institute in Poland, and has a vast range of expertise – starting from particle physics, through nuclear power engineering, to nuclear medicine. In the Centre - which came into being only two years ago, as a result of the fusion of the Andrzej Sołtan Institute for Nuclear Studies and the Institute of Atomic Energy Polatom – both scientific and developmental research are conducted. Furthermore, innovative ideas are put into practice here.

The scope of activities of NCBJ includes science, economy and the State. The Institute’s objective is forwarding the mission for science through conducting scientific research, as well as fabricating and maintaining research infrastructure for the purpose of Poland’s and Europe’s science and economy. In meeting the needs of the economy, the Centre offers the implementation of the full scientific and technological chain – beginning from cognitive research, through applied research, proceeding with prototypical and development works, and ending with the final market products based on knowledge and technologies involving the application and harnessing of ionising radiation. Fundamental actions undertaken for the benefit of the State focus on supporting planning, decision-making and controlling processes through consultancy, as well as expert and specialist analyses in the scope of experience in nuclear energy, personnel training, and the promotion of physics, nuclear energy and the application of ionising radiation.

The teams of scientists and technicians from NCBJ participate in global research ventures, and are involved in the construction of large research infrastructures worldwide. Their experience in constructing various types of accelerators, in addition to the infrastructure in Świerk, make the Institute a natural place for building new research devices. NCBJ has provided some of the equipment for the projects implemented in CERN (LHC, CMS, LHC-b, GBAR), as well

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as elements that compromise the European-XFEL DESY accelerator in Hamburg, the neutral beam injector to the Stellator W-7X in Greifswald and detectors to FAIR in Darmstadt. In addition, NCBJ will also provide the elements of an accelerator to the European Spallation Source in Lund, as well as measurement equipment to the Jules Horowitz Reactor in Cadarache, and to the NICA accelerators in Dubna.

NCBJ has achieved many commercial successes in the application of the results of its research projects. The Department of Nuclear Equipment HITEC is one of the several facilities in the world manufacturing equipment intended for diagnostics and cancer therapies, including electron accelerators and therapeutic tables. What is more, the Radioisotope Centre Polatom conducts research, implementation, production, service, and trade activities in the scope of radioactive preparations, radiopharmaceuticals and isotopic medicines, immunodiagnostic sets, labelled compounds, reference sources and compounds. Indeed, the sole Polish nuclear research reactor, “Maria”, is one of the few reactors in the world that generate radionuclides for medicine, covering 18% of the global production of the crucial molybdenum-99 nuclear isotope, and playing an important role in the production of many radiopharmaceuticals.

With a view to the further development of specialised systems using accelerators and detectors for ionising radiation, NCBJ has launched the “Accelerators and Detectors” Project . This aims at the development of systems facilitating cancer therapies, as well as cargo scanning aids for the prevention of the smuggling of goods and technologies of strategic relevance, including fissionable, radioactive and explosive materials, and toxic substances.

NCBJ is intensely modernising its research and IT infrastructure. In the Świerk Computing Center (the CiŚ Project), a cloud computing infrastructure of the total performance of 500 TFLOPS is being developed. Upon

completion, this will offer computing power to the entities engaged in the development of power engineering sector, as well as the government, and scientific and research institutions. In Świerk, NCBJ also undertakes building and refurbishing work, as well as the modernisation of infrastructure. What is more, it provides additional equipment to four laboratories: the Laboratory of Acceleration Structures, the Laboratory of Ion and Plasma Beams, the Radiography Laboratory, and the Environmental Measurements Laboratory (the 4LABy Project). Furthermore, NCBJ, in aiming at strengthening the transfer of knowledge to business, is building the Scientific and Technological Park on its premises.

NCBJ is authorised to award scientific degrees of a Ph.D. and Assistant Professor in physical sciences. In addition, NCBJ also offers educational opportunities to a wide range of recipients. It educates students, trains the employees of companies involved in nuclear technologies, and actively participates in numerous educational ventures acquainting society with the issues connected with nuclear physics.

NCBJ cooperates with leading institutions on all continents, for instance, CERN Geneva, DESY Hamburg, Darmstadt, Cadarache, CEA, IAEA, IEA, and INFN LNF. It is, as well, a member of many consortiums like CEAT, COPIN, Euratom, EuroFEL, NCRH, POLFEL, and XFEL. ::

Contact details: ul. A.Sołtana 7 05-400 Otwock Poland Telephone number: +4822 71 80 001 E-mail. ncbj@ncbj.gov.pl

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Sustainable developmentthat is the priority

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A gas separation system based on pressure swing adsorption (PSA)

The Central Mining Institute (GIG) is a major Polish research institution. Driven by technical and human potential, its extensive research capabilities enable it to appropriately respond to the needs of the mineral-mining industry, as well as other sectors of the economy. The Institute is committed to exerting a positive impact on the relationship between the industry, its people, and the natural environment.

ne of the guiding principles of the GIG is to pursue multiple paths towards sustainable development. As far as the mineral mining industry is concerned, this involves ensuring its economic efficiency to improve living standards for both employees and local communities, while keeping in mind occupational safety and the condition of the environment, and also the availability of resources.

Since its inception, the key issue that the Institute has been committed to investigate is occupational safety and technological

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progress in mining, especially in hard-coal mines. Indeed, the GIG consistently ventures into new areas of research. And in so doing it responds to the challenges that the modern-day Polish and European economies are facing. Some of the problems that these challenges relate to include the development of clean coal technologies, the geological storage of carbon dioxide, the generation of hydrogen by means of underground coal gasification, the reuse of methane derived from coal mines and water mining, high-technology for the sustainable development of mining areas, and research into social change within industrial regions. All these are new developments, so there is yet much to be done.

Hence the interest that it sparks both across Europe and worldwide.

Clean coal technologies (CCT) represent, by far, the top priority for the GIG, as both the future of Polish coal and the energy security of our country are conditional on their development. CCT is an umbrella term for low-environmental-impact industrial technologies that involve coal, be they in the mining, energy or chemical industries. A state-of-theart research complex, the Clean Coal Technologies Centre, was launched this year with a view to gaining new insights into these technologies and other fields of interest.

In investigating the above-mentioned research area, we also keep in touch with the developments related to climate change and clean energy. For several years now, the Institute has been deeply involved in developing a safe underground-coal-gasification technology. Once implemented, as well as facilitating better use of Polish coalfield resources in the future, it will also help achieve a very

clean energy product. Other projects focus on reducing methane emissions attributable to the working of coal fields. They are of substance both for occupational safety and environmental protection, and also for reusing this gas for energy. Clean geothermal energy, derived from mining water pumped out to the surface, is also a subject of major interest to the GIG’s research teams.

Significantly, the proposed technological solutions are meant to take into account the social factor, with the emphasis on the social acceptability of the individual technologies.

For this reason, in keeping with the principle of sustainable development, GIG has laid out an original methodology to assess the eco-efficiency of technologies. By developing technologies that qualify as sustainable, the Institute feeds into the EU policy of implementing the Environmental Technologies Action Plan.

These are only the core areas of our effort, since it would take a great deal of time to provide a more detailed list. Think land protection, waste management, water management, air protection, noise prevention, and many more. What is significant is that in the entirety of its research policies and activities, the Institute is committed to delivering something new and innovative, and also to keeping in touch with the needs of the markets that our clients operate in. It is they who set the bar high for science, as the problems of the modern-day industry that the Institute is trying to solve are becoming more and more difficult and complex. ::

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

The Oil and Gas Institute

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he Oil and Gas Institute (INiG) is a scientific research institution which deals with a range of activities related to oil and natural gas, from prospecting and extraction of hydrocarbon deposits, through storage, transportation, distribution and use of natural gas, oil and petroleum products to the development and perfection of technologies for producing liquid fuels.

The main scope of the Institute`s business comprises, among other things, transformation of technologies, products and knowledge into their industrial application. At the Oil and Gas Institute each problem is dealt with comprehensively so that the final product is modern, safe in operation and environmentfriendly.

The quality of engine fuel

The Dynamic development of power transmission technologies which use advanced electronic systems makes it necessary for the fuel production technologies to meet stricter requirements. The effect is not only an improved efficiency of engine operation but also reduced emission of harmful substances. Reaching the goal is possible owing to the knowledge of experienced engineers and a well-equipped research workspace.

The Institute conducts research using accredited methods, CEC methods for assessment of operational properties of engine fuels and also their own non-standard solutions.

appropriate models and apparatus. In this respect, the method most frequently used by the Oil and Gas Institute is the assessment of the product`s effect on the environment in the lifecycle (LCA). Its great asset is the fact that it allows to obtain multifaceted knowledge on the effects of biofuels on the environment (including the stages of raw material acquisition and waste management). Moreover, it offers a chance to denote the share of particular lifecycle stages in the integral value. The information is especially valuable for the process of planning and optimization of biofuel supply chain. Such methodology also facilitates comparison of the effects of biofuels and conventional fuels on the environment. In case of conventional engine fuels, the GHG emission occurs not only during fuel combustion in the engine – it is also generated during petroleum processing in the refinery and in its extraction and transportation. However, the lifecycle of biofuels, particularly in their initial phase, takes a different course. Plants cultivation, their processing into biofuels, transportation and storage, as well as blending with a conventional fuel also generate GHG emissions. Calculations according to a standardized method, performed simultaneously for conventional fuel and biofuel, and then a comparison of the obtained indices with reference to the energy contained in the fuel will answer the question of the ecological effect related to the introduced type of biofuel.

Sustainable production of biofuels

According to the Oil and Gas Institute, it is also vital that biofuel production should be conducted bearing in mind the respect for the diversity of the natural environment. Increased cultivation of energy plants resulting from higher demand for biofuels cannot lead to damage to areas abundant with natural diversity, including the natural habitats of animal and bird species. Therefore, on the basis of sustainable development criteria described in the RED directive (2009/28/EEC), the Oil and Gas Institute developed their own certification scheme for sustainable production of biofuels and bioliquids (KZR INiG). This scheme specifies the criteria related to using farmland for cultivation of energy plants and also the requirements for reducing GHG emissions with respect to fossil fuel. The KZR scheme created by INiG will act as a voluntary system, recognized for that purpose by the European Commission. Awarding the KZR INiG certification to a biofuel manufacturer will be the proof that the production they are running is in conformity with the criteria of sustainable development (in line with RED directive) and combustion of the biofuel generates lower GHG emissions in the life:: cycle than its fossil equivalent.

Biofuels

An essential aspect in creating the fuel formula is considering the energy originating from renewable sources. In practice, the process is aided by the use of biocomponents. They have a double function; they contribute to reduced dependence on fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

In so far as the extent of the fossil fuel replacement is relatively simple to assess, the effect of biofuels on a reduction of GHG emissions is considerably more difficult to work out and it requires the application of SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 37

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

We like challenges Sylwester Jędra, Vice-President and Technical Director of Horus-Energia, and Grzegorz Koblak, Commercial Director of Horus-Energia

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orus-Energia has been in business for nearly 20 years. It is one of the largest domestic contractors of power and heat supply equipment. Sylwester Jędra and Grzegorz Koblak talk to Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś about the company’s strategy and environmental responsibility.

The flagship product of Horus-Energia are generating sets. How energy-intensive are they? Are they efficient while also being environment-friendly?

Sylwester Jędra: Speaking of environmental-friendliness, it is worth addressing a number of aspects. First, the type of fuel used. We mainly use methane, which is - apart from hydrogen - the most environment-friendly fuel. As a result, compared to large coal-fired power plants, we produce the same amount of electricity with the same efficiency, but emitting approximately two times less carbon dioxide. Secondly, there is the generator’s efficiency, that is the amount of fuel burned per unit of useful energy output. Our generators are technologically advanced and rank very high when it comes to EU requirements. The efficiency of a generator depends mainly on the quality of its engine, and we use the best engines. We are at Europe’s forefront.

Grzegorz Koblak: It should be stressed that our plants fall within the scope of the socalled distributed generation, which means that they produce energy where it is needed with no transmission. It is also an element of environmental savings insofar as energy losses are reduced. We build power plants close to end consumers to avoid losses on transmission.

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Taking responsibility for the environment also involves reducing emissions of CO2 and other harmful compounds.

SJ: In the course of energy production that involves coal firing, CO2 emissions cannot be avoided. What can be done is reducing them and other pollutants emissions. The combustion process in our generators is subject to strict control, with the emissions being about half the level considered normative in Europe. pm

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Could you specify what fuels are your generating sets fired with? You have only mentioned methane...

SJ: Yes, our generators are primarily fueled by natural gas, that is methane. Another fuel we use is biogas - a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, which is produced in the process of anaerobic digestion. This is of course an alternative for places where there is no natural gas.

GK: The future is what is called syngas the fuel produced in the process of thermal gasification of tough biomass. Biogas itself is produced from organic substrates subject to fermentation, whereas syngas can be produced from tough biomass or even from such materials as tires or plastic. In the face of the waste management legislation currently in force, it is particularly important to implement generation units fired with waste. Syngas has been known for many years. It is not an easy-to-use fuel, but many companies use it and this is the direction in which the world is heading. Producers of gas engines invest heavily in research into the combustion of such fuels. A new trend in the research is the use of energy sources considered to be waste. pm

And diesel? Does it fuel generating sets too?

GK: Diesel is very common, but we strive to replace it with our products. There are pm

many locations in the world where generators are powered by diesel fuel, but if there is also natural gas available there, then diesel can be replaced by a gaseous fuel power plants, and it will be profitable. It is a matter of economics, because gas is much cheaper than diesel.

Horus-Energia has been operating mainly in Poland. Do you plan expansion into foreign markets?

SJ: Our target is not only the Polish market. We seek to expand into the global market.

Given the energy structure and market size of particular countries, as well as their natural resources, we target African and Asian countries. In Europe, there are very well-developed power industry systems, so the market is rather closed. In Poland, electricity is, somewhat paradoxically, cheaper than in Africa. In Asia, apart from electricity, there is also demand for heat, and thus for cogeneration units with an overall efficiency as high as 90%. In African countries, trigeneration systems are used that produce, besides electricity, cool air. In African climate, it is the optimal solution.

GK: In a distant future we also plan to expand into South America. The global market is very promising. The driving force behind the growth in demand for our products is the ever-rising availability of natural gas and the increasing demand for electricity, even in the poorest countries of the world. pm

That is an ambitious task indeed. And how does your company stand out from the competition?

SJ : In the Polish market we are a distinguished equipment manufacturer. Only distributors are our domestic competitors.

Another advantage is the fact that we have pm

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

a service center. We realize that the added value for the customer is that the generator works and delivers the product, which is electricity and optionally heat or cold. It is important that the generating sets that we supply to our customers work flawlessly.

And as far as the global market is concerned?

GK: In fact, we compete with Western European producers, mainly from Germany and Austria. What represents a great asset of our company is the economics of the project, staff costs, etc. Moreover, it only takes us a few months to deliver the product to the customer from the moment the contract is signed. So what distinguishes us is speed and efficiency. In some cases, our generators are available for immediate delivery. We believe that this is our competitive advantage and we are intent on keeping it up. We are able to build fast a local energy source almost anywhere in the world, and the same applies to the after-sales service. pm

How are you going to service generators in, say, Africa?

SJ: The procedure to follow is that while launching a product in a particular country, we execute a contract with a local company, which takes over the burden of providing maintenance services. Of course, such a contractor is specially trained and equipped. pm

Is your production in compliance with the European standards?

SJ: Of course it is. Our products are manufactured in keeping with Polish standards, which are, in turn, correlated with the European ones. Our products are affixed with the CE marking. pm

What about using innovations, cuttingedge technologies?

GK: Our team of designers has implemented innovative solutions in various technological aspects, including especially waste fuels. It is a kind of a market niche we want to venture into. We like challenges. Our projects are developed with an eye for detail as evidenced by the numerous awards we have received such as the Gold Medal Poleko 2013 for the generating set powered by contaminated hydrogen- a waste from chemical plants converted into fuel. :: pm

Is it possible to specify which generating sets are most popular in Poland, and which elsewhere in the world?

SJ: It depends on the market because target groups differ from each other. For example, we produce equipment suitable for use in deserts and tropical zones, with temperatures up to 50°C and risk of sandstorms or tropical rains, but we also provide equipment designed to work in Siberia (-50°C and winds in excess of 120 km/h). Although these are similar generators, they are intended for completely different markets. pm

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SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 39

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

More colourfully, more nicely, more safely Adam Dybcio, President of Adrog S.J. Zakład Usług Brukarskich, talks to Maciej Proliński.

Nowowiejska Street in Warsaw

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What is a challenge with all those various refurbishment works which Adrog has been doing for several decades in Warsaw?

The city, due among others to our painful history, is very inconsistent in every way: the Piłsudski Square, the Old Town Market Square - these are probably your most important projects. Is there anything that surprises you?

40 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

Warsaw and many other Polish cities are taking on a completely different look. There is no monolithic concrete and asphalt paving, large slabs, various types of concrete blocks, which in Western Europe are used exclusively to commercial buildings and warehouses.

Warsaw, like the rest of Europe, sticks now to natural surfaces, mostly made of stone, both when it comes to historical architecture and the modern one. The projects that we are running in Warsaw are still being upgraded and adapted to the existing architecture so as to reflect the architecture of the city.

The ongoing renovation of the Old Town Market Square involves evening out the surface and repaving it with cobblestones. Concrete slabs will disappear from sidewalks and will be replaced by porphyry ones. Kerbs at pedestrian crossings will be reduced to almost zero (no raised step separates the sidewalk from the street) to make it easily accessible for disabled people and mothers with strollers. Pavers reproduce the graphic patterns that are on the Market Square. It is intricate work. I must admit that we expected more

surprises on the Market Square. During the modernization works we only encountered a well from the 18th century. We are renovating the surface at a depth of 60-80 cm. Our Old Town was very neglected. When doing our work in Warsaw, we are following the example of the Old Town Square in Wrocław modernized 20 years ago.

On Piłsudski Square, the surface was replaced nearly 20 years ago, but with concrete blocks. And these 20 years, and our Polish certainly tradition of salting the streets, to remove ice in winter took its toll. The new pavement was designed to be made from our native Strzegom stone. When conducting the works, we came across several significant archaeological discoveries - graves from the 16th century, well-preserved fragments of Lindey’s channels (the name comes from the builder of sewage system in Warsaw), as well as the foundations of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Currently, intensive works are being carried out to replace the surface.

Approximately 500 sq.m. of granite slabs are

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

of the relationship between the environment and people’s lives continues to strengthen.

Another activity of Adrog is the development of green areas. What is your understanding of this job?

Developing green areas makes up to 30% of our business. Warsaw is changing in a fantastic way, also in these “green terms”. It is becoming an increasingly European city. My friends who came to Warsaw after 10 years of absence spot it straight away. Among the projects we manage, there are those where satisfaction is combined with the glamour of the place that we made available to visitors, such as the area around the Chopin monument in Łazienki Królewskie Park. There are also those where we can hardly speak of splendour, such as the revitalization of parks, especially playgrounds for children, but we are satisfied that our children can grow up in a beautiful and aesthetic environment. It is worth noting that in Warsaw there are more and more playgrounds, and not only in central areas of the city, but also in housing estates. Another issue is their surface. We have flexible rubber surfaces that are safe for children. Also, designers are moving toward naturalness and modernity to make these places are more colourful, more beautiful, and most importantly, safer. pm

Builder during the renovation of the Old Town in Warsaw, Nowowiejska Street

laid down on the square every day. In parallel, works are underway to develop green spaces around the square.

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What are the deadlines for the completion of these works?

The celebration of the Independence Day on November 11, 2013 will be held in the renovated Piłsudski Square. The renovation of the Old Town Market Square is expected to be completed in the second half of November 2013. pm

On November 11-22, 2013 Warsaw will host the most important global forum on climate policy: the 19th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework

Convention on Climate Change - COP19.

What do you think could be its autcome?

Poland will host the most important representatives from politics, business, nongovernmental and environmental organizations, who are instrumental in deciding on the economic and environmental future of the world. In my opinion, COP19 should have a much broader dimension than just negotiating a new international climate agreement. It is about an important international process in which decisions are made having impact on the global governance: availability and prices of raw materials, creation of new markets and technologies, social development and environmental protection.

What are your expectations with regard to the upcoming year 2014 ?

Warsaw is growing increasingly beautiful!

But let’s face it, there is still a lot to be done.

We certainly expect a similar pace of investment. Another thing, which is extremely important for entrepreneurs competing in public tenders, is the unfortunate criterion of price... Using the mere price criterion does not always solve all problems and provides the best possible solution for the customer. Other, non-price, criteria should also be applied in order for the project to be performed properly. One such criterion can be choosing an experienced contractor who has already completed similar projects successfully. :: pm

Education equals innovation, and that is true in any field... What should be the place of environmental education in Poland these days? Because you do not get environmental effects through mere investment... Do you see this problem in Warsaw too?

I hope that to local governments, businesses and all of us environmental commitment will be defined as a great opportunity for progress. Thus, no limitations, but development, including economic growth. Such a hope should also definitely be combined with the broader trend, I mean the civil society. Here, especially in the minds of the younger generation, a more subtle understanding

The Chopin monument in Łazienki Królewskie Park.

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SPECIAL EDITION /2013 :: polish market :: 41

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Fishermen, fish breeders and producers “on the crest of a wave” thanks to ARiMR funds

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ithin the EU Operational Programme “Sustainable Development of the Fisheries Sector and Coastal Fishing Areas 2007 - 2013”, Poland has received about PLN4 billion. The money was channelled to reduce the gap between Polish fisheries and fish breeding and the European level. Most of the funds (PLN2.8 billion) were entrusted with the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARiMR). The Agency has performed the task successfully. Over PLN 2.5billion has already been contracted for in agreements with beneficiaries, and PLN2.1 billion has been transferred to their accounts by the Agency. That is why so many of them are “riding the crest of the wave” of development.

The most spectacular results of the PO Ryby 2007-2013 (Operational Programme Fish 2007-2013) can be seen on the Baltic coast.

Modernised, with the ARiMR’s support, port waterfronts, fishermen’s wharfs in Gdańsk,

42 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

Gdynia, Szczecin, Kołobrzeg, Darłowo, Ustka, Władysławowo and Kuźnica have become showpieces for those cities and towns. Cargo unloading from fishing boats has been modernised, new warehouses and cold stores have been built, and the fishery fleet has been restructured. The Agency has devoted about PLN500 million in total to these “coastal” investments. The funds were granted to, among others, the owners of the Baltic’s most modern ice plant and frozen-fish storage facility, operating in Kołobrzeg.

Fish-processing plants in Poland, in turn, thanks to support from the PO Ryby 20072013, could purchase advanced production lines, and improve the sanitary and transportation conditions of their products. Now many of them are the most modern in the world, and as much as 60% of their output is exported. The Agency has devoted about PLN374 million for fish-processing plant development.

The ARiMR has also been co-funding freshwater fish breeding. The PLN186 million granted by the Agency has helped to modernise fishery farms and to launch new ones. A new, huge thermophilic fish farm in Bońki-Zawady near Płońsk is a good example. Fresh tilapia coming from this farm will soon be available in stores. So far, this species has been imported from the Far East.

The PO Ryby 2007-2013 has allowed protection measures for the Baltic fish and of investment projects aimed at preserving bodies of water and fostering the growth of aquatic flora and fauna. The ARiMR has provided PLN 40 million for the construction of culverts and the purchase of equipment enabling the free movement of migrating fish.

Also scientists, including those conducting research into eel, burbot and perch rearing in artificial ponds, and those working on bringing back the sturgeon – the royal fish – to Polish rivers, have benefited from the programme. ::

PERŁY POLSKIEJ GOSPODARKI

Prestiżowy ranking polskich przedsiębiorstw

XI EDITION OF THE PEARLS

OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

VIII EDITION OF THE HONORARY PEARLS THE ROYAL CASTLE IN WARSAW, 3 DECEMBER 2013

Polish Market about UN Climate Change Conference

Obituary Tadeusz Mazowiecki ( 1927-2013)

T

adeusz Mazowiecki, the first noncommunist Polish Prime Minister since 1945, died on October 28, 2013, aged 86. He was engaged in the most important events of Poland’s recent history: in 1968 when the deputies of “Znak” filed a parliamentary question concerning a brutal police operation, in August 1980 he was at the Gdańsk shipyard with striking workers, in 1989 he played an active role in the Round Table talks and then headed the government, in 1997 he helped reach a compromise on the Constitution. In 1991 he was appointed Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia, and was the only UN high officer who stepped down in 1995 in protest at what he regarded as the international community’s insufficient response to atrocities committed during the Bosnian war.He received the title of the Honorary Citizen of the City of Sarajevo, and was honoured with the Golden Order of the Coat of Arms of Bosnia (1996) and Srebrenica Award (in 2005). Since 2010 he has been advising the President of Poland on national and international politics. He was the Knight of the Order of the White Eagle. “A Man passed away who had the courage to be wise at crucial moments for Poland.

Thank you, Mr Prime Minister,” wrote President Bronisław Komorowski. In 2009, during the annual Gala of “Polish Market”, he was presented with the Pearl of Honour in recognition of his services in promoting Poland’s traditions and national heritage, and especially for his contribution to the rebirth of democracy in a free Poland. He then said: “Twenty years ago, at the time when I assumed the post of Prime Minister in Poland’s first non-communist government, we were facing a colossal challenge. The Polish economy was crippled by a huge foreign debt.

There was rampant inflation. At the same time, there was a burning need to thoroughly overhaul the country’s economic system to move away from a command economy to a market economy. All these three things posed a multitude of problems. In fact, there

44 :: polish market :: SPECIAL EDITION /2013

were many more problems than we had anticipated before the fall of communism. But Poland did manage to cope with those headaches.

I don’t think that there was any alternative to the direction of economic transformation we set in motion. There was simply no better solution. Some of the hurdles turned out to be more difficult to overcome than we had originally thought. Especially the social costs such as unemployment proved much harder to tackle. But the direction itself proved to be a correct one. I believe that this was why no successive Polish government tampered with the reform process. Of course, the present world crisis could not have been predicted. But we can observe that Poland is coping with it remarkably well, because its economy rests on solid foundations. I must confess that even given the mountains of problems we encountered back in 1989 when we took power in Poland, I was still confident that we would succeed. I was vindicated.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was a consequence of unrest in all of Central and Eastern Europe. It directly affected the way in which we were able to go about solving our problems.

It enabled Solidarity to pursue a line of peaceful change. The Round Table talks between Solidarity and Poland’s communist regime in 1988-89, which led to Eastern Europe’s first free elections, served as this country’s example to others in the region. Of course, it could not have been foreseen at the time which way the changes would go. Germany was not unified until a year later. The autumn of 1989 saw the collapse of a wall that had cut Europe in two: the East and West. I feel a tremendous amount of satisfaction that we took part in those historic events of 1989. Polish celebrations of the twentieth anniversary of communism’s collapse reminded the world that the changes had started in Poland long before the Berlin wall fell. But there are still many throughout the world who associate the end of communism with the wall, while not fully appreciating Poland’s contribution. I’m afraid that you can’t win in a battle of symbols. The collapse of the Berlin wall is of course a visual

Tadeusz Mazowiecki during the annual Gala of “Polish Market” in 2009, he was presented with the Pearl of Honour in recognition of his services in promoting Poland’s traditions and national heritage.

symbol of what happened. But we do need to try to change the dominant perception in western societies where the grassroots anticommunist movements in Poland and other countries of the region in the run-up to the autumn of 1989 are largely overlooked.

But if it hadn’t been for that, events like the gaining of independence by Poland, the then Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine simply would not have happened solely as a result of diplomatic efforts. ::

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