ZE PAK SA Capital Group is pleased and satisfied to receive the initiative of its dominant shareholder, Zygmunt Solorz, in the form of establishing the "Clean Poland Program" association.

ZE PAK SA capital group is aware of changes in social aspirations and expectations. Issues related to "socially responsible business" are becoming more and more important, current business models will be changing in an evolutionary manner adapting to social expectations.

Today, ZE PAK's activity is mainly focused on the conventional electricity generation segment in the lignite combustion process, but the Company is aware of the challenges that the industry will face in the near future. Changing legal and environmental conditions, rising prices of CO2 emission allowances, stricter standards regarding the emission of other substances are all requirements that conventional manufacturers will have to meet in the near future and this process is inevitable also for ZE PAK. It should be emphasized that the period will not be easy for the Group.

The company already significantly reduces its carbon footprint. Last year, CO2 emissions fell by over 30% compared to the previous year. One of the reasons was the termination of operations by Adamów power plant, but even in absolute terms, i.e. calculated per unit of electricity production, the Group's CO2 emissions fell by almost 8%.

The company is aware of the role that ZE PAK SA Group plays in the country's energy system, as well as in the structure of the local economy and on the local labour market. However, the responsibility the Company feels for itself is to prepare for the upcoming changes. This process is already underway.

The Konin power plant, in which a 50 MW biomass unit is currently operated, will soon be expanded by another biomass unit of similar capacity. The equipment used to burn coal will be partially adapted for biomass burning. Thus, the power plant in Konin will become the first coal-fired power plant converted into biomass in the country. It should be mentioned that the city of Konin already has heat supplies 100% from renewable energy sources, from the biomass unit mentioned above.

Last year, the Group also informed about a photovoltaic project to be located in areas previously used in mining activities. A number of other ideas have been developed in the field of energy production from renewable sources, energy storage or e.g. production and use of hydrogen.

Some of these projects have already been submitted to a special program under the support of EU funds of regions heavily dependent on coal mining (the so-called "Coal Platform"). The company also joined the "Agreement for a just energy transformation of Eastern WIelkopolska", whose signatories, i.e. representatives of local authorities, non-governmental organizations and entrepreneurs, expressed their willingness to cooperate in order to maximize the use of shared potential in the region's transformation process. 

All these concepts are ambitious ventures, but one cannot fail to mention that their implementation carries a very high risk. It should also be borne in mind that the investment horizon in this type of projects is strongly stretched in time, and certain assumptions accompanying them assume a completely different picture of the functioning of individual industries than what we know them today. ZE PAK shareholders must therefore be prepared for a period when on the one hand the Company is facing challenges related to the coal segment, and on the other a period of capital-intensive investments, extended over time, which may give results only for a long time. Their effectiveness will largely depend on the shape of future regulatory conditions and the adaptation of new technological solutions.

As an entity operating in the energy industry for over 60 years, we believe that we have experience, potential and opportunities to become a centre of competence to develop projects in the broadly understood energy generation industry. We are all the more pleased by the declaration of the dominant shareholder, which shows that this area is currently particularly important for him.