The Responsible Business Forum report is the largest review of the best CSR practices in Poland, published since 2002. Although the 19th edition was created in the difficult period of the pandemic, and companies had to face numerous problems, the report contains a record number of practices in the number about two thousand (exactly 1 958 practices from 225 companies). The recorded figures represent an increase of over 40% of this type of activity in relation to those submitted for publication for the first time.

2020 was a special year, because the Responsible Business Forum, established in 2000, celebrated its 20th anniversary. It is the longest operating and largest non-governmental organization in Poland, which deals with the comprehensive concept of corporate social responsibility. The Forum is an expert institution of a think-and-do-tank type, which remains the initiator and partner of key undertakings for Polish CSR. Its tasks include activities for sustainable development, that is “inspiring business that changes the world, and connecting people who change business”.

Responsible business in Poland. Good practices 2020

The annual report is a review of the activities of companies that reported their CSR activities, and a summary of the most important issues related to responsible business in a given year in Poland. The publication included articles and comments by experts, most of which concerned the most pressing and current issues: related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on e.g. the risk of forced labour, care for senior citizens, remote work, and the importance of CSR in the era of epidemic as well as those related to climate change.
The core of the report are the so-called good practices, i.e. CSR activities carried out by individual companies. The section is divided into 7 areas, referring to the 17 goals included in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda, adopted by all 193 UN member states by the Resolution of the General Assembly of 25 September, 2015. Qualified practices create a map of the positive impact of business and constitute a collection of inspiration for organizations that also want to implement CSR solutions.

New trends

The report highlights the areas of employers’ activities related to the introduction and facilitation of remote work and activities based on good practices for the benefit of the community and the health sector. The extension of philanthropic activities, the most important beneficiary of which was the health service during the COVID-19 pandemic, will certainly not end together with the epidemic, which clearly showed how important an efficient and widely accessible health care system is, but also how crucial physical activity and healthy lifestyle, as well as safety of employees or customers, are.

Kraków Airport’s practices

Every year, Kraków Airport’s practices appear in the report, a fact which proves not only how important a person – both a passenger and an airport employee- is in the daily management of the airport, but also shows the ability to perceive the challenges faced by modern enterprises.

This year’s report includes 9 #KrakowAirport’s practices:

  1. Telephone sets for passengers
  2. Kraków Airport mobile application
  3. Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Services in the National Fire and Rescue System
  4. Kraków Airport Code of Ethics
  5. Electric car charging station
  6. Induction loops for passengers with hearing impairment
  7. Paddock for pets
  8. Amenities for people traveling with children
  9. Map of the dying world

7 areas of good practice
7 areas of good practice

Organizational governance

97 good practices - ethics and management practices dominated here.

Human rights

110 good practices - still a lot of aspects in the area of human rights concerned practices from the category of "women in business".

Labour practices

525 good practices - in the face of the pandemic, companies implemented solutions to support employees and protect them from infection.

Environment

382 good practices - almost half of the practices were a continuation of projects undertaken in previous years. Importantly, more than half of the new practices supported the implementation of the 13th Sustainable Development Goal, i.e. related to climate action.

Fair Operating Practices

106 good practices - the reported initiatives largely reflected the specificity of 2020, during which, due to the pandemic, it was necessary to adjust the business to the new conditions.

Consumer issues

107 good practices - here the number of practices more than doubled compared to the previous year, and the importance of caring for customer safety during the pandemic was visible especially in the last category of the area (consumer health and safety). The pandemic also facilitated online shopping and increased the competences of older people in the use of online banking.

Community involvement and development

631 good practices - the impact of the epidemic was particularly visible in these practices: support for the health service; physical activity, helping teachers and students to transition to distance learning; care for senior citizens who constituted one of the risk groups, as well as support for the integration of local communities.