Biodiversity

In May 2020, the EU Biodiversity Strategy was announced, EU Biodiversity strategy for 2030 | European Commission (europa.eu) with the purpose of ensuring that Europe returns to the path of environmental sustainability by 2030. It forms part of the European Green Deal, a strategy through which the European Union is to become the world’s first emission-neutral group of states by 2050.

Implementation of each new project and oversight over in-service installations give us the possibility of looking at local biodiversity. When building and operating RES projects contributing to the reduction of the greenhouse effect, Polenergia has always attempted to restore local biodiversity.

The Group analyzes and evaluates the impact of each new project and obtains a decision on environmental conditions. For projects in progress, Polenergia implements environmental supervision. The environmentalists who exercise such supervision help us not only build in accordance with the law and minimize our environmental impact, but also to create added value for local biodiversity. Such projects have been implemented since 2014 (for example active protection of the Montagu’s harrier).

For the Polenergia Group, each small local activity, no matter how small, to protect and increase the local biodiversity potential, is an element of the CSR Strategy. Local initiatives are crucial for us. They are the measures with which we must begin the implementation of the biodiversity Strategy.

We strive to conserve biodiversity, where protection, restoration or strengthening are forms of adaptation to climate change. Mandatory environmental supervision over each of the construction project carried out by the Group is an example of best practices in the service of biodiversity. Environmental supervision allows us to protect areas that are valuable to the natural environment during the implementation of projects. In each project, we implement the policy of charity and support for local communities. We understand these activities as our contribution to the development and restoration of biodiversity; they include, for example:

• establishment of honey meadows in the areas of all our photovoltaic farms as they are built and commissioned. This way, we create many hectares of areas that are given back to nature and support local biodiversity, provide a food base for wild pollinators and a refuge for many bird species including protected species. We educate communities on the value of such areas, their role and ecosystem services provided by honey meadows.
• planting of trees and bushes in parks, squares and creation of “pocket parks” accompanying the construction of new wind farm projects in consultation with townships and local communities. By planting native species under the supervision of naturalists, we educate local communities not only on the importance of trees in mitigating and preventing climate change, but also how important green areas are for the lives of local residents and how vital the food base and the shelter provided is for local animal species.
• protection of animal species occurring at the site and in the vicinity of our investment projects (e.g. active protection of Montagu’s harrier, hanging of nesting boxes for birds and bats under the supervision of naturalists. This also includes the protection of animals during the environmental supervision over the construction process – the correct fencing of excavations and training of subcontractors on wildlife-safe construction practices, creation of alternative habitats, and planning of construction activities in such a way as to minimize any impact on protected natural habitats (e.g. by using horizontal directional drilling techniques), plants and animals.

We also develop the business of selling green energy to end-users, developing prosumer energy generation and electromobility. These actions are supported by education of customers in respect to the necessity to change the energy mix as the necessary element of preventing climate change.