Our stakeholders

Employees

The ORLEN Group employs approximately 20,000 people.
We believe in social dialogue based on independence of the parties, legal compliance, trust, willingness to compromise, and observance of the rules. The rules of social dialogue are founded on internal regulations and generally applicable laws, which facilitates development of constructive and lasting solutions in partnership with employee representatives.

Shareholders

PKN ORLEN’s share capital comprises 427,709,061 ordinary bearer shares with a par value of PLN 1.25 per share. Largest shareholders: the State Treasury, Nationale Nederlanden Pension Fund, Aviva Pension Fund.

Customers

The ORLEN Group sells its products to customers in around 60 countries across 4 continents. The ORLEN client base includes both private customers (such as motorists) and institutional clients representing virtually all industries – including the chemical, automotive, aviation, power, construction, packaging, agricultural, and food production sectors.

Local communities

Local populations living close to our production plants, storage infrastructure and locations where the ORLEN Group carries out its exploration and production activities. It is our closest environment, often including its employees, trading partners and their families. Identification of their needs through an on-going dialogue, as well as respect and care for their living conditions are, on the one hand, a test of the ORLEN Group’s social responsibility, and also the cornerstone of sustainable development.

Suppliers

In 2015, the ORLEN Group cooperated with over 22,000 suppliers; over 12,000 procurement processes were carried out, including more than 1,500 e-auctions. What we buy and who we buy from is of major importance to the Company. Therefore, we have developed long-standing partnerships with our suppliers to fully meet the ORLEN Group’s requirements on an on-going basis.

State Treasury

The largest shareholder of PKN ORLEN, holding 27.5% of total voting rights at the General Meeting, with certain rights reserved in the Company’s Articles of Association and in laws of general application, including the right to exercise over 10% of total voting rights at the General Meeting, and the right to appoint and remove one member of the Supervisory Board. Also, one member of the PKN ORLEN Management Board is appointed and removed by the Supervisory Board at the request of the minister competent for the State Treasury.

Further, pursuant to the Company’s Articles of Association, as long as the State Treasury has the right to appoint a member of the Supervisory Board, passing a resolution to approve the disposal of or creation of any encumbrance over shares in Naftoport Sp. z o.o., Inowrocławskie Kopalnie Soli S.A. and in the company to be established to handle pipeline transport of liquid fuels requires that the Supervisory Board member appointed by the State Treasury vote in favour of such resolution.

The State Treasury as the Company’s shareholder may also have certain special rights under laws of general application. Such rights are in particular provided for in the Act of March 18th 2010 on special rights vested in the minister competent for the State Treasury and how those rights should be exercised at certain companies or groups of companies operating in the power, crude oil and gas fuel sectors.

For more detailed information on the Shareholders of PKN ORLEN having special control powers and on limitations of voting rights, see Section 7of the Directors’ Report on the Company’s operations in the year ended December 31st 2015.

Trading partners

A natural person or legal entity being a party to a transaction with the Company. In practice, our trading partners include both the ORLEN Group’s suppliers and customers buying our products or services. Stable and partnership-based relations with all of the ORLEN Group’s trading partners contribute to the value growth and build trust in the Group companies as market participants.

Competitors

Entities against which the ORLEN Group’s market position is measured and assessed in individual operating segments. Other market participants which not only stimulate PKN ORLEN to seek new competitive advantages but also, jointly with us, develop business rules and industry standards. Therefore, the Company is open to cooperation with its entire competitive environment and joint efforts to develop solutions benefiting all market players. Given the international scale and fundamentals of the ORLEN Group’s business, our key competitors include companies operating in the refining and petrochemical sector and fuel retail chains in Central and Eastern Europe.

NGOs

Organisations playing an increasingly important role in social and economic development of any country as an essential complement to state institutions. Strengthening their position through the transfer of knowledge and financial support is in the public’s best interest. The ORLEN Group is active in that sector, both by supporting individual NGOs and by running its own corporate foundations.

Media

The main channel used by the ORLEN Group to communicate with the stakeholders, disseminate information on its achievements, plans and performance, and address any business-related enquiries and doubts. The media represent all Stakeholder groups; therefore, we attach great weight to quality, open and active relations with the media, particularly in the context of the growing importance of access to information.

Public administration

Given the scale and scope of our business, this group is very broad and diversified, including the anchor shareholder, market regulators, public services, and local government administration in locations where we conduct operations. Irrespective of the level of contacts and the areas of activity, the partnership between the ORLEN Group and public administration is always based on an open dialogue and unconditional respect for the law.

Dealers and franchisees

Dealers and franchisees contribute to the steady strengthening of the ORLEN Group’s leading position in the retail fuel market. This group of stakeholders is also very important to customer perception of our brand. Our dealers and franchisees are highly diversified in terms of the scale and scope of their operations and business models. The key to our success, understood as the ORLEN Group’s growth on par with the growth of our partners, is long-term cooperation underpinned by partnership and highest business standards.

Universities

Given the state-of-the-art technologies employed by the ORLEN Group, as well as our extensive industry know-how and the position of Poland’s business leader, universities are an extremely important group of our stakeholders. The ORLEN Group focuses primarily on building partnerships with technical universities, as they will be one of the main drivers of the country’s future modernisation and new competitive advantages. What is important, the ORLEN Group has teamed up not only with Polish universities, including the AGH University of Science and Technology and Warsaw University of Technology, but has also established educational centres abroad, including a modern R&D centre in Litvínov, the Czech Republic.

Industry and consumer organisations

We have partnered with a number of industry, expert and business organisations and associations to build long-lasting relations with our business environment. Through its engagement with industry organisations, the ORLEN Group has access to up-to-date information on the legislation governing the fuel and chemical sectors both in Poland and in the European Union, and to international research and technological solutions which may be applied by the ORLEN Group. Business organisations, whose inclusiveness and comprehensive nature support the building of economic communities’ position and prestige, provide a forum for exchange of experiences and in-depth discussion of a wide variety of problems faced by the business community, and also serve as important facilitators for the business community.

Non-domestic regulators (i.e. EU, UNDP)

Global and EU institutions offer a material contribution to the shaping of relations with the ORLEN Stakeholders, set standards and regulate market practice, thus delineating directions for the ORLEN Group’s activities. In the area of corporate social responsibility alone, the key pillars are sustainable development and responsible business adopted by the UN, as well as EU regulations, including Directive 2014/95/UE which will take effect on January 1st 2017 and address disclosure of non-financial and diversity information) or the social responsibility standard ISO 26000.

Certification bodies (e.g. ISO, CIPS)

Institutions supporting businesses in standardising and optimising their operations. Through close cooperation with these institutions and thanks to their recommendations, the ORLEN Group obtains external confirmation of the standards it applies in a number of areas of its business, while our customers and trading partners may rest assured that they deal with a proven and reliable organisation.

Financial institutions (capital suppliers and investors)

Banks, insurance companies, and stock exchange institutions are important market participants as they determine the market’s shape, dynamics and directions of development. Winning and maintaining the confidence of financial institutions is one of the key factors for market success. Therefore, the ORLEN Group builds its relations with those institutions based on full transparency and long-term partnership.

Capital market analysts

Stakeholders with unique and broad knowledge of the business; they often act as liaisons between the Company and capital markets. Analysts’ recommendations and assessments are likely to have a material effect on the Company’s standing. Aware of the enormous significance of the efficiency of communication market analysts, the ORLEN Group has for years been setting the highest global standards of access to information and transparency in reporting on its day-to-day operations.