Stakeholders engagement

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{GRI 4.15.}

For the LOTOS Group’s activities, maintaining good relations with three stakeholders groups is of key importance. They have been identified in the course of strategic workshops, which were attended by representatives of all business areas of the organization. Each group is taken into account in the decision-making processes having an actual or potential impact on their members. And we strive to build positive relations with all of them, although the scale and character of our impact and their expectations addressed towards us can differ greatly.

{GRI 4.14.} 

Key Stakeholders groups of the LOTOS Group
Internal Environment Social Environment Market Environment
Employees Local communities Contractors and subcontractors
LOTOS Group companies NGOs Suppliers 
Trade unions Local government institutions Customers 
Employee Council Government administration Trade partners
  Science and research institutes, and educational centres Competitors
  Employer organizations Industry organizations and international institutions
  Media Regulatory and monitoring organizations
  Natural environment Capital market participants

We employ various tools and means of communication to build our relationships with individual stakeholder groups in a responsible manner and in line with expectations.

{GRI 4.16.}

Selected tools and methods for building relations with stakeholders in 2013
Main Stakeholder categories Relations Management forms
Employees In-person meetings, intranet platform, intranet kiosks, mobile service, corporate newsletter, training, opinion polls, public consultations system, relations with corporate trade unions and with the Employee Council.
Local communities Social programmes and initiatives, internet service, opinion polls, consultations with members of local communities.
NGOs In-person meetings, social programmes, internet service, annual report, opinion polls, consultations.
Capital market participants Current and periodic reports, annual reports, in-person meetings, conferences, conference calls, webcasts, internet service, Analyst’s Day and Investor’s Day events.
Public authorities Annual report, lobbying, in-person meetings, conferences.
Customers Call service, internet service, information provided through product packaging, direct contact, social campaigns as part of the loyalty programme, satisfaction surveys.

{GRI 4.17.}

Discussions with stakeholders of issues relating to the social and environmental impact of our business are valuable opportunities for learning how to improve our performance. In 2013, we created opportunities to meet our stakeholders using a variety of relationship-building means. These included:

  • Public consultations with employees,
  • Conferences promoting good practices,
  • Multi-directional communication with the capital market,
  • Opinion polling.

1. Public consultations with employees

In 2013, we conducted public consultations among the LOTOS Group’s employees on the ethical culture of the organization and the preferred model of selecting the Ethics Officer. These consultations, in which more than 500 persons took part, came one year after the implementation of the Ethical Conduct Programme together with its key element, the LOTOS Group’s Code of Ethics.

Environment

In my opinion, the ethical culture of the LOTOS Group is: (%)

In the course of the consultations, most employees agreed that the Ethical Conduct Programme of the LOTOS Group contributes to promoting desirable behaviour and conduct not only within the organization itself but also in its relations with its external stakeholders. The majority of the participants confirmed their high awareness of the importance of ethical conduct in everyday business activities.

2. Conferences promoting good practices

We participate in projects allowing us to share our experiences and good practices in the area of corporate social responsibility with other businesses and NGOs.

In 2013, we co-hosted the second edition of the "Development of Responsible Business" conference as part of the CSR Academy, organized under the auspices of the Ministry of the Treasury. The project, implemented in cooperation with the Puls Biznesu daily, was a response of Polish business circles to the need to promote the idea of corporate social responsibility, especially among SMEs. This joint effort between the state administration, businesses, and NGOs in organizing the CSR Academy increased the substantive value of the project. At the meeting, good CSR practices were presented by several representatives of the LOTOS Group; Zbigniew Paszkowicz, President of the Management Board of LOTOS Petrobaltic, discussed environmental and social conditions of exploration and production, whereas Jowita Twardowska, Communication and CSR Director, Grupa LOTOS, and Joanna Tyszka, Human Resources Office Director, Grupa LOTOS, presented social programmes and the strategic approach to shaping a responsible HR policy, respectively. 100 representatives of businesses, NGOs and tertiary education institutions in the Pomerania region took part in the conference and accompanying workshops. 

Another opportunity we took to share our good practices was the annual conference, the Development Initiation Forum, held in Gdańsk, which gathered 300 participants representing business, social organizations and local government. As an active participant and partner of the Forum, Grupa LOTOS presented the process of developing its CSR Strategy for the LOTOS Group.

Both events were evaluated by their participants, who rated highly our contribution to promoting the idea of CSR.

3. Communication with the capital market

Grupa LOTOS is keen to ensure that its relations with investors are forged and fostered in a manner of partnership and based on dialogue to find solutions satisfactory to both parties. We analyze and gradually implement new communication tools, and we constantly strive to perfect the form and content of our communications. We strive to present investors with a precise, reliable, transparent picture of the Company's operations, its strategy and financial standing, in compliance with the principles of involvement, availability, and equal treatment of all investors. 

To communicate that information to investors, we use a broad range of IR tools, including mailing, newsletters, webcasts, participation in conferences addressed to institutional and individual shareholders as well as representatives of brokerage houses, conference calls, one-on-one meetings, open-house days for analysts and investors, and participation in the RESPECT Index. 

In 2013, the Company’s Board attended meetings with investors and maintained regular relations with capital market participants. After every release of an interim report presenting the LOTOS Group’s performance, a meeting was held between financial analysts and Mariusz Machajewski, Vice-President of the Board, Chief Financial Officer, Grupa LOTOS.

On November 27th 2013, the International Capital Markets Day was held in Gdańsk, focused primarily on the performance of the LOTOS Group's strategy.

As part of its relations with individual shareholders, the Company collaborates with the Polish Association of Retail Investors. In 2013, Grupa LOTOS attended the 17th Wall Street Conference of retail investors, organized by the Polish Association of Retail Investors in Karpacz.

The Grupa LOTOS investor relations website (link) is dedicated to market participants, the Company stakeholders. This bilingual (Polish-English) service is updated on an ongoing basis to provide foreign investors and analysts with equal access to information. The website contains information and tools grouped in four thematic sections:

  1. LOTOS Group (link) - this section of the LOTOS website presents the LOTOS Group, its strategy, share capital structure and CSR activities. 
  2. Reports and Key Data (link) - this section organizes financial and non-financial information (includes an easily downloadable excel file databook), as well as the LOTOS Group's current and periodic reports published via the Warsaw Stock Exchange. 
  3. Investors (link) – this section contains information on the method of calculating the model refining margin of Grupa LOTOS and its quarterly updated values, information on the Company's dividend policy and dividend payouts, investor tools (calculator, historical Grupa LOTOS stock prices). It also groups downloadable files, i.e. periodic reports, strategy and efficiency improvement presentations, and the issue prospectus. This section also lists of equity analysts covering the Company and their most recent recommendations for the Grupa LOTOS securities traded on the WSE. The corporate events calendar (quarterly reports, General Meeting dates, open-house days, and other events which, in shareholders' opinion, might impact the price of the Company shares) is published in the 'Investor's Calendar' tab (link).  
  4. Corporate Governance (link) – this section contains information concerning the Company's compliance with the requirements of the Best Practice for WSE Listed Companies. It also provides information on the composition, powers and rules of procedure of the Board, Supervisory Board and General Meeting of Grupa LOTOS, and contains the Company's constitutional documents.

4. Opinion polling

We make efforts to conduct opinion polls among our key stakeholders on a regular basis, with a view to improving our management of the aspects of social responsibility and sustainable development. In 2013, one of these efforts was devoted to learning about our employees’ approach to environmental protection and ecology both in their workplace and in their private lives.

What can you do/What do you do personally when performing your work duties to reduce the negative impact on the natural environment? (%)

The results of the survey, called the ‘Green Barometer of Grupa LOTOS’, will be further used to better shape our information policy on environmental issues as well as to provide our employees with useful tips concerning ecology. 

In 2013, we conducted an opinion survey among Grupa LOTOS employees to find out about their engagement and satisfaction levels. They were asked for their opinion about 16 factors determining employee engagement – what makes their work at the Company special and what still needs improvement, what motivates them and what poses an obstacle that needs to be removed. The survey was anonymous and contained a list of standard questions that have been used by our consultant, Aon Hewitt, in 600 similar surveys so far conducted across Poland.

The survey results show that most employees are satisfied with their work at our Company.

I am satisfied with my work at Grupa LOTOS (%)

At Grupa LOTOS, employee engagement level was rated at 72%. This is the percentage of survey participants who concurrently:

  • Say about good working conditions within the Company and would recommend Grupa LOTOS to their friends and family members seeking employment,
  • Stay at the Company, rarely consider leaving and are convinced that there would have to be some important reasons for them to start consider leaving,
  • Strive because the Company encourages them to give their best and appropriately motivates them to go beyond what is normally expected of them at work.

This result is considerably higher than the average for Polish companies and than the average for the energy sector; very similar results were achieved by best rated companies with highest employee satisfaction and engagement levels.

Hewitt poll chart

The survey results show that most employees are satisfied with their everyday work tasks and that the environment (work environment, colleagues) favours engagement. Also, the work areas needing improvement have been identified. These results will be used to further improve the work environment at Grupa LOTOS.

Effective implementation of the LOTOS Group’s CSR Strategy requires that our relations with social partners, such as NGOs, expert advisers, local government and local communities, are managed responsibly. 

In order to reach the most effective level of monitoring the implementation of the LOTOS Group’s CSR Strategy, we developed a number of actions to be introduced in each year of its being in effect. In 2013, we conducted a survey among all our partners involved in mutual social, cultural and pro-environmental projects as well as with whom we cooperate in charity initiatives in the regions of our activities. Under the survey, an electronic questionnaire containing 13 questions designed to evaluate the cooperation and communication with Grupa LOTOS as well as to assess the direction and effectiveness of actions taken under the Strategy was sent to our 50 social partners; in total, 37 organizations took part in the survey and they evaluated the level of communication and cooperation with the organization as very high.

In response to the question: „How do you rate the quality of communication and information flow in your cooperation with Grupa LOTOS to date?”, more than 65% of respondents stated that it is very high, whereas 27% assessed it as high. When asked: “ How do you evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken by Grupa LOTOS to address social needs identified in the areas of the organization’s activities?”, 59% of the persons surveyed rated the effectiveness of the actions taken as very good and 28% as good. In response to the questions regarding the improvement of the quality of their cooperation with Grupa LOTOS, more than half of the respondents said that the cooperation was very satisfactory; however, 15% of the surveyed partners claimed that they saw room for improvement, which should pose a challenge for us in as far as how to plan our future cooperation with them.