The world's wildlife population has declined by 60 per cent in the last four decades. One million species are threatened with extinction and almost 80 per cent of endangered species are affected by economic operations. Polenergia is aware that biodiversity is essential for our lives. Healthy ecosystems are the foundation of our well-being. Conversely, their further degradation is a significant deterioration of our quality of life with all its consequences - including natural disasters.
In May 2020, the EU Biodiversity strategy for 2030 | European Commission (europa.eu) was announced, with the aim of redirecting Europe to a path of environmental sustainability by 2030. It is part of the European Green Deal – a strategy to make the European Union the world’s first carbon-neutral group of countries by 2050.
The 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference held in Montreal, Canada, launched works on a new global compact on nature conservation.
For Polenergia Group, it is extremely important to take care of the environment during project implementation. It is our responsibility to mitigate the impact of our projects. By implementing them, we always generate added value for local ecosystems. We know that biodiversity loss and the climate crisis are intertwined.
Implementation of each new project and supervision of plants in operation give us the opportunity to look at local biodiversity. When constructing and operating RES projects that contribute to reducing the greenhouse effect, Polenergia always seeks to restore local biodiversity.
When implementing any new project, the Group analyses and assesses its impact and obtains a decision on environmental conditions. In addition, for projects under construction, Polenergia implements environmental supervision. The experts carrying out the supervision help us not only build in compliance with the law and mitigate the environmental impact, but also create added value for local biodiversity. Such projects have been created since 2014 (e.g. the active conservation of the Montagu’s harrier).
For Polenergia Group, any local action – however small – that protects and enhances local biodiversity is an action in line with the ESG Strategy. We believe that the most important initiatives are the local ones and this is where implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy must begin.
We care for local biodiversity, the protection or restoration and enhancement of which is a form of adaptation to climate change. An example of good biodiversity practices is the mandatory environmental supervision of every construction project carried out by the Group. Environmental supervision allows us to protect naturally valuable areas during project implementation and to protect species that may occur in the area of the projects. With each project, we pursue a policy of charity and support for local communities. We also understand it as activities that contribute to the development and restoration of biodiversity, e.g.:
Polenergia is initiating a collaboration with the University of Zielona Góra to conduct comprehensive biodiversity monitoring of the Photovoltaic Farm Complex in Sulechów.
In addition to the long-term greenery planting program, which has been implemented in all the wind farm projects being developed, several other activities supporting biodiversity have been undertaken.
Since 2014, the Polenergia Group has supported the Montagu’s Harrier Protection Project, thus implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and the EU’s biodiversity strategy. The protection measures included among others installing by the ornithologists, in cooperation with Polenergia, the fences around the harriers’ nests to prevent their damage during harvesting or other agricultural activities. Since the very beginning of the Programme implementation, 87 young birds have been saved.
Polenergia has responsibility to local communities and the environment. This is why, both during the construction and operation of facilities, it takes responsibility for conservation of the environment and biodiversity of the areas and minimizes its negative impact.
We share with you the “electric” honey from the Photovoltaic Farms of Polenergia Group in Sulechów. It is the third year of operation of our apiary and another honey harvest. The apiary consists of ten hives. Each bee colony consists of as many as 50,000 bees, which collect nectar and pollen from the flowers growing on the farms and from other honey plants in the area.
Does energy production on photovoltaic farms involve negative impacts on the natural environment? No, on the contrary! Nature monitoring carried out on large-scale photovoltaic farms belonging to the Polenergia Group shows that the areas that have been covered with solar panels are characterized by higher natural richness than before. The measures we are taking further enrich the biodiversity of the area around the photovoltaic installations and strengthen the ecosystem services of the multi-hectare acreages.
In accordance with the highest standards of financial institutions, Polenergia publishes an annual Environmental, Social, Health and Safety (ESHS) report.
