Bogdanka has published its 2022 ESG Report
The Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka Group has just published its ESG Report for 2022. The document is the tenth report prepared on the basis of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, taking into account also elements typical of integrated reporting, linking financial performance with results in the environmental, social and governance areas.
2022 was a special year for Bogdanka, the country's most efficient steam coal producer. It was a special year for the mine due to its 40th anniversary of mining. To mark the occasion, a series of events were planned to celebrate the round anniversary in various ways. Nevertheless, Russia's military attack on Ukraine and the humanitarian and energy crisis it caused significantly determined the Company's operations. It is worth remembering that Bogdanka, of all the key entities of the so-called critical infrastructure, is located very close to the border with Ukraine. The Group's actions have therefore had a real impact on the Polish economy and security - including households. In 2022, total coal sales revenue amounted to PLN 2,451.7 million, the highest in 5 years. With future generations in mind, and in view of the dynamic changes in the global market, including the fair transition program being implemented in the EU, with the simultaneous embargo on Russian raw materials, work began on updating the business strategy and the Group adopted its first ESG Strategy.
Although the ESG Report describes the Group's activities in 2022, it is impossible not to refer to what happened at the Company in 2023, in particular in the context of the LW Bogdanka Strategy for 2023-2030 with an outlook to 2040, adopted in May. The main tenets of this landmark document for LWB outline Bogdanka's vision as a multi-commodity concern. According to the document, the Company will not only be engaged in coal mining, but also in the extraction of other raw materials that are important for the green transition, such as rare earth metals, coking coal or molybdenum and copper tungsten. At present, involvement in RES production may involve the risk of dependence on components imported from outside the EU, hence - by responsibly managing the chain of suppliers - Bogdanka plans to produce the semi-finished products necessary for renewable energy on its own.
The creation of new jobs is particularly important for such a large employer as Bogdanka (at the end of 2022 the Group employed 5,791 people) since, according to current assumptions, the end of hard coal mining in Poland is planned for 2049.
While this prospect may seem distant to many, we know that the fate of our Group in a few decades will depend on decisions made today. Our Strategy is an ambitious and responsible plan to diversify our revenues, gradually and wisely moving away from our core business,”
- said Kasjan Wyligała, President of the LW Bogdanka S.A. Management Board, on the first pages of the ESG Report.
We will continue the efficient extraction of coal, for which LW Bogdanka is known in the market, but we also want to reach for other raw materials critical to the economy. By consistently maintaining a high level of coal production, we want to generate funds by 2030 that will allow investments related to the multi-commodity area. Over the next 8 years, we plan to invest PLN 8.6 billion, almost half of which will be in new business areas
- adds President Wyligała.
Invariably, the Report devotes a great deal of space to ESG areas, namely the environment, social affairs and corporate governance. The Company presents implemented innovative projects and initiatives, confirming that LW Bogdanka is a leader in sustainable development in the mining industry, and the good practices it implements can be an inspiration for other companies. Among them, the Report details the establishment of the first Scientific Council for Environmental Protection at the mine (an independent advisory and opinion-making body for the Management Board), taking a leadership role in the newly established Łęczyński Energy Cluster, or developing a methodology for measuring the carbon footprint in all three scopes.
As a result of these actions, Bogdanka returned to the WIG-ESG index on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, proving that the adopted path of sustainable development brings tangible results, and the Group is a reliable and trustworthy player in the financial market.
Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka S.A. is a leading hard coal producer in Poland that stands apart from its peers in terms of its modern and efficient mining. It is one of the largest Polish hard coal mines. Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka S.A. chiefly conducts mining operations in terms of hard coal extraction, enrichment and sales. It supplies this raw material mainly to industrial offtakers. Supply contracts are long-term, and the product is sold to the commercial power sector and the industrial power sector.
The company has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since June of 2009. In August 2022, Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka S.A. returned to listing on the WIG-ESG Index.
Since October of 2015 Bogdanka has been a member of the Enea Group, the second largest player on Poland’s electrical power market in terms of the generation of electricity, which manages the entire value chain on the electricity market ranging from fuel to the generation of electricity, distribution, sales (supply) and customer service.