Responsible Business

The company functions in the responsible business area based on the CSR Policy adopted two years ago. The Policy determines a direction and an operation method for Budimex that are beneficial for the company's stakeholders and its environment.

Since 2009, the company has been releasing CSR reports according to GRI Guidelines. In 2011, it started to prepare its CSR reports at level B+, which means that external, independent verification covers not only the wide range of the GRI indicators described in the report but also the accuracy and consistency of data.

Since 2009, Budimex has been an active participant in Global Compact, an initiative undertaken by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, aimed at promoting companies' responsibilities towards society. Participation in the initiative confirms the company's commitment to the 10 fundamental principles concerning human rights, labour standards, environmental protection, and anti-corruption activities; it also obliges the company to undertake initiatives that will attest these principles. As required by the initiative, every year the company releases the "Communication on progress" report.

Since 2011, Budimex has been included in the RESPECT Index – the first stock index in Central and Eastern Europe which brings together shares of socially responsible companies. This means that every six months the company must undergo a three-stage evaluation followed by an audit to attest to the company's highest standards of corporate governance and CSR.

Budimex manages two social programmes of its own. The first one is "Domofon ICE." Implemented in 2010, the programme involves providing grade 0-3 schoolchildren with plastic cards with contact details of their next of kin to be contacted in the event of an emergency. Additionally, the campaign has a broader educational dimension as it promotes the principles of road safety and first aid among the young. All children participating in the programme receive mobile phone-shaped cards together with a fluorescent holder that can easily be fixed to a backpack. To date, the programme has covered over 7,700 children from 67 schools nationwide. The "Strefa Rodzica" [Parent Zone] programme is a new initiative. Its purpose is to provide children's departments at hospitals with isolated zones, where parents can stay with their children in decent conditions. A pilot campaign was launched at the beginning of 2013, which resulted in the creation of the first Parent Zone at the Children's Clinical Hospital in Lublin.

Effective corporate social responsibility activities have been recognised by the company's environment on numerous occasions. Budimex was second on the List of Socially Responsible Businesses – a ranking organised by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna in collaboration with PwC (an advisory firm) and the Business Ethics Centre of the Kozminski University in Warsaw.

The company's shares have been included in the ECPI Poland ESG Leaders index, which comprises 24 Polish listed companies that responsibly manage three areas of their operation – social responsibility, environmental protection and corporate governance (ESG – Environmental, Social, Governance). Having analysed the generally available information on Budimex, ECPI – an international organisation developing a methodology for evaluation of listed companies – decided to include our company's shares in that index.

The top quality of its ESG reporting earned Budimex the recognition of SEG (Polish Association of Listed Companies), GES and Accreo Taxand, creators of the "Analysis of ESG Companies in Poland" project. It was the first such a big project in Poland and Europe to gather and organise non-financial data from all companies listed on the Polish stock exchange. The project involved analysing the level of non-financial data reporting for 831 companies listed on the regulated market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and quoted on the NewConnect market. GES Risk Rating, the method used in the analysis, was based on international standards for sustainable development (for instance Global Compact, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, conventions of the International Labour Organisation, ISO 14001, SA8000), corruption (FCPA) and occupational health and safety (OHSAS 18001), and on the Principles for Responsible Investment.

Budimex's CSR report was also appreciated in the Social Reports 2012 competition, organised by Responsible Business Forum, The Ministry of Finance, PwC and SGS. Its objective was to select the best report on social issues and sustainability. The initiative promoted the idea of CSR reporting as a tool equally important in the functioning of companies as financial reports. The 28 reports submitted for the competition were evaluated by an independent jury consisting of specialists in economics, environmental protection, social affairs and CSR. It was also the first time that the reports had been evaluated by a group of 10 journalists.

Budimex's social commitment is also visible in its support for selected foundations. In 2012, the company donated money to the "Na Ratunek Dzieciom z Chorobą Nowotworową" Foundation for the treatment of children and construction of "Przylądek Nadziei" – Clinic of Bone Marrow Transplantation, Oncology and Children's Haematology of the Wrocław Medical University. The "Wróć" Foundation for Children Injured in Transportation Accidents received funds from Budimex for the purchase of paediatric Lokomat – a modern device for walking therapy and evaluation.

Budimex has also been helping Jacek Gaworski, a prominent Polish fencer suffering from multiple sclerosis, by financing a year-long therapy with a modern drug that suppresses the progression of the disease.

The company remains involved in the organisation of the Polish Sailing Championship for the disabled. The year 2012 witnessed the 17th edition of this event.

Additionally, Budimex continues to support the J. Waldorff Social Committee for Stare Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw, as it has done for years. In 2012, the company provided funds to save the historical chapels and tombstones which the Committee looks after.

Apart from community, charity and sponsoring initiatives, Budimex also carried out educational activities, supporting the organisation of professional and industry conferences, congresses and seminars. The company's representatives participated in many of those as experts.