In 2020, we invested over EUR 6.3 mn in projects mainly for health, education and environment which covered 88% of our local communities. Through our community programs and social investments, we had over 140,000 beneficiaries and trained over 450 people for employment.
Helping society fight against COVID-19 Romania
Romania
Caring for romanian public health system – approx. EUR 1.4 mn sponsorship for 17 first line medical institutions from Romania, to be able to provide day by day job to fight against the coronavirus. We provided medical equipment, medical supplies, masks, disinfectants, COVID-19 tests.
OMV Petrom sponsored the Red Cross for equipment and testing kits for fast diagnosis of COVID-19 for 10 public hospitals. In Retail, we prepared, transported, donated over 20,000 packages directly to 7 hospitals, in advance we sent coffee machines and VIVA coffee pallets.
In all 7 Upstream areas OMV Petrom’ financial aid was used for the acquisition of medical equipment, medical supplies, masks, disinfectants, COVID-19 tests and 5,000 visors for medical staff from medical unites from first line.
Moldova
The financial aid was used for the hospitals’ urgent needs: the acquisition of medical equipment, OMV Petrom being also involved in supporting the medical system in the Moldova in partnership with the Moldavian Red Cross organization. The intervention consisted of medical supplies for the medical staff to provide their day-by-day job for medical institutions from three Moldavian regions with important numbers of coronavirus cases Serbia
We donated EUR 10,000 for the Institute of Virology, Vaccines, and Serums “Torlak” and the Community Health Centre in Vozdovac. These funds contributed to ensuring the functioning of organizations in the context of the 2020 pandemic. The Torlak Institute is a national manufacturer of vaccines and serums, immunobiological and diagnostic preparations and agents, which supplies health institutions in Serbia. The second organization was the Vozdovac Community Health Centre, a key organization in the local pandemic response.
Serbia
We donated EUR 10,000 for the Institute of Virology, Vaccines, and Serums “Torlak” and the Community Health Centre in Vozdovac. These funds contributed to ensuring the functioning of organizations in the context of the 2020 pandemic. The Torlak Institute is a national manufacturer of vaccines and serums, immunobiological and diagnostic preparations and agents, which supplies health institutions in Serbia. The second organization was the Vozdovac Community Health Centre, a key organization in the local pandemic response.
Bulgaria
In partnership with the Bulgarian Red Cross, we supported hospitals with COVID-19 prevention materials and small medical equipment. Also, part of our support consisted in donating coffee and other coffee related materials cups, biscuits and coffee machines for an emergency room which had to deal with COVID-19 cases.
Having a responsibility towards the local communities in which it operates, OMV Petrom came to support the first line medical staff in 4 hospitals from Adjud, Râmnicu Sărat, Buzău, Moinești and the Bacău County Ambulance .In the new context created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the route of community projects and social investments was recalculated. From the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, we continued to take care of the communities where we are present by supporting the medical system to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Our rapid reaction’s main pillar was to support 31 first-line medical units from Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria and Serbia.
SDG 3 SDG Target: 3.3 By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases;
SGD Target 3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
As education is one of the OMV Petrom’s main pillars for social investments, in 2020 we redirected our efforts to facilitate the access of vulnerable children to online school programs, through sponsorships and donations of equipment. Furthermore, we also supported initiatives to train teachers and help them adapt to the new context brought by the pandemic and shift to online teaching.
Our 2025 sustainability target | ► Maintain the social license to operate through yearly Community Relations and Community Development strategies, plans and budgets, based on social impact needs and risks assessment in OMV Petrom operations. |
Status 2020 | ► Implementation of projects that support the medical system in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic according to our commitment to SDG. ► Implementation of projects that support the education and vocational and technical education, according to our commitment to SDG 4 (e.g., Oilmen’s School, Vocational Week, Online Teacher). ► Implementation of projects that support OMV Petrom’s local communities. |
Action plan to achieve the target | ► Continuing to have as our main priority implementing projects that support the vocational and technical education and health according to our commitment to SDG 4 and SDG 3. ► Continuing to support OMV Petrom’s local communities through various projects and be their partner according to our Sustainability strategy. |
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) supported
Community engagement
We screen our projects to minimize the communities’ risks and work with local people to prevent, reduce and manage effects that occur. For example, projects implemented by Community Based Organizations (CBOs) were considered as quick reaction in the context of coronavirus for medical institutions in Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Moldova, as well as the support for education for vulnerable pupils in order to remain connected to the education system. OMV Petrom always focuses on conducting the business responsibly, efficiently and in an innovative way. The company is committed to create long-term value for the company and our stakeholders, while respecting the environment and supporting the communities in which we operate.
In 2020 we continued to support the community-based organizations from OMV Petrom hotspot communities of empowering our local communities, obtaining important results:
► 500 beneficiaries in 5 local communities.
► 129 participants obtained requalification certifications.
► over 120 children from five hotspot communities benefitted of educational programs to reduce school abandonment and to enhance school performance for the national exams.
Continuing our capacity-building approach, we organized two consultation meetings for sharing experience regarding the intervention in communities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic for 11 CBOs to increase their organizational capacity to enhance local development.
Another consultation activity involved the most relevant environmental NGOs, with focus on significant environmental issues (e.g., waste selective collection, environmental education and forestation) in local communities and plans for 2021. In Upstream, OMV Petrom continued to support the local education process to face the COVID-19 pandemic context. Thus, we have provided the local schools with electronic devices to reduce school abandonment, and we have offered requalification courses for vulnerable people from local communities. Due to the coronavirus crisis, the digitalization of the education system was done over the night, but the main actors, teachers, and pupils were not prepared for this quick shift. We supported initiatives that aimed to train the teachers on teaching online, and we donated thousands of IT devices for vulnerable kids and teachers.
The context generated also the decrease of the number and types of jobs, many Romanians returned to Romania and this contributed to the need to continue professional requalification projects. We continued the personal developing trainings for the development of children’s life abilities-public speaking. An important part of our projects targeted the adults from local communities in order to increase the employability on labour market.
In 2020, at the Petrobrazi refinery, we developed a task force for community engagement, with a defined action plan that integrates fit-for-purpose solutions that address local needs by involving all relevant stakeholders from other Company’s divisions, local communities, and authorities. Under this task force, we implemented projects for the benefit of the communities in the proximity of the Petrobrazi refinery, projects for environment (e.g., forestation programs and energy efficiency improvements in local projects), health (donations to hospitals) and education (e.g., modernization of schools, scholarships and vocational programs).
In our subsidiaries, we continued to take care of the communities where we are present by our involvement in supporting in the first place the medical system to face the COVID-19 pandemic and educational projects.
Community Development Projects
Started in 2015, the vocational education program is OMV Petrom’s long term commitment to support and improve the technical and vocational education system in Romania. Also, by this approach, we want to raise awareness about the importance of this type of education in developing the national economy and in implementing solutions for our specific labour market. The vocational education program consisted of two major initiatives in 2020: Oilmen’s School and Vocational Week.
The Oilmen’s School is a traditional educational program through which we implement solutions for the future of oil and gas professional education. The first two generations of graduates from our education program are either employed at OMV Petrom (55 students) or have continued their studies. Also, during the project implementation, we invested in the equipment of partner schools’ laboratories with modern technologies, equipment and training for the teachers. Furthermore, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, we developed an updated curriculum to support the teachers and students.
In 2020 we started the project adopting the dual system form. Thus, we established three new classes in well operator in three high schools from Argeş, Damboviţa, and Bacău counties. During all three school years, the students will benefit from a scholarship in the amount of RON 200 granted by the Romanian state and an additional scholarship granted by OMV Petrom of up to RON 700 per month based on the performance at school. Furthermore, the student will have the possibility to participate in internships. We will also contribute to the teachers’ development, the update of the education curriculum, and the upgrades of the laboratories. After completing the three years of vocational education, the students will earn a professional certification valid all over Europe and will have the opportunity to become OMV Petrom employees.
The Vocation Week project was carried out in partnership with two high schools – Mechanical Technological Câmpina and Elie Radu Technical College High School Ploiești – from OMV Petrom communities from Prahova county. The project approach was adapted to the pandemic context and was implemented online. The project was dedicated to 156 students on ninth grade, mechanics and electricians, and 81 teachers as part of the activities planned within the national program “Non-formal week”. Future craftsmen went through an intense program, with personal and professional development online workshops to fill the formal education. The teachers involved in the project participated in online training to adapt methods and subject to online teaching and manage conflicts within the teacher-student relationship. The training theme for teachers was based on a needs assessment process. All beneficiaries of the project from the two partner schools benefited from digital equipment, tablets and internet subscription for one1 year, worth EUR 37,000.
Volunteering Program
OMV Petrom supports its employees’ volunteering activities, encourages them to find solutions for local communities’ development and needs, and rewards the most active colleagues. In this coronavirus pandemic context, all the sanitary and physical distancing measures were observed during the implementation of the volunteering activities. Thus, over 733 volunteers participated in 2020 in volunteering projects within communities such as forestation, first aid activities, education, health and donations.
We continued the Volunteer Championship, our initiative that challenges our employees to find solutions for communities’ needs and dedicate time and energy to implement it. The employees’ projects are included in a competition, and in 2020, 10 community projects were granted with EUR 30,000. These projects are strictly connected with OMV Petrom Sustainability Strategy areas: education, health, safety and environment.
Also, in 2020, our employees supported NGOs and accredited social services suppliers by redirecting 3.5% from their due income tax. Furthermore, 200 of our employees participated in our yearly campaign “You can be Santa Claus!”, supporting through financial contributions 300 children from disadvantaged families.
Environment climate projects (energy efficiency, waste, forestation)
In 2020, we also funded public lighting efficiency initiatives in 2 communes from Asset Oltenia. We replaced 523 existing bulbs with efficient and economical LED lamps increasing the public street lighting’s energy efficiency, improving public lighting quality, reducing electricity costs by 30%, and protecting the environment.
România Eficientă
As the largest player in the Romanian energy market, OMV Petrom endorsed the “România Eficientă” program that promotes energy efficiency at the national level through public information campaigns, education programs, and financing projects for improving the energy efficiency of public buildings. The project has two major dimensions: on the one hand, there is the information, education, and public awareness part and, on the other hand, the execution of in-depth renovation works at nZEB (nearly Zero-Energy Building) standards in six public schools from five counties in Romania (2020-2022). In 2020, in the second stage of the project “România Eficientă,” we have started the procedure of the renovation works of a school in Ploiești, with monitoring of the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) parameters and continuation of the education, information, and awareness campaign. Despite the unfavorable conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain committed to supporting the program until 2022 with a budget of EUR 4 mn.
SDG 13 Target: 13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
Romania plants for tomorrow
In 2020, OMV Petrom launched the largest privately funded forestation initiative in Romania with a contribution of EUR 4.6 mn for 1,500,000 seedlings that will be planted on 300 hectares in the next three years. The campaign runs in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests and six environmental NGOs known for their contributions to environment protection: Act for Tomorrow, Mai Mult Verde, Plantăm fapte bune în România, Pădurea Copiilor, Viitor Plus, and Asociația Parcul Natural Văcărești. The Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests will provide forestry specialists and local expertise during the tree planting campaign. In 2020, from spring to autumn, 550,000 trees were planted on an area of 124 hectares in 32 localities from 15 counties. Around 200 OMV Petrom volunteers participated in this initiative. All the sanitary and physical distancing measures were observed during last year’s planting actions. The volunteers were divided into teams and received sanitary protection equipment, a good part of the plantings being performed mechanically. All planted tree species were selected by specialists from NGOs, taking into account the climate and soil aspects specific to each community.
One of the planting activities took place in Parcul Natural Văcăreşti, in Bucharest. This park is an urban protected natural area, as it hosts a number of species specific to an ecosystem in a state of natural balance (13 species of mammals, 162 species of birds, 6 species of reptiles, 6 of amphibians and 135 insect species).
Forests, trees and their associated biodiversity provide a wide range of products and services that contribute to human health, including medicines, food, clean water and air, shade or simply a green space in which to exercise and relax. The more biodiverse a forest or tree system is, the wider the range of products and services it can provide.
SDG 13 Target: 13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries; 13.3 Improve education, awareness-raisin
In Upstream, two projects were developed in Constanța County bordering the Black Sea that addressed relevant issues such as the limited number of jobs in the area and waste from Black Sea. “Offshore farms for the Black Sea” is a project with a new approach for Romania, with a high potential impact in the medium and long term. Offshore fish farming has reduced the nutrient footprint by 90%, the classic fish farm’s carbon footprint by almost 30%, provided jobs, and increased productivity. The main activities conducted in 2020 refer to disseminating necessary materials and information regarding these new fish offshore farms for Romania.
The second project is focused on waste from the Black Sea generated by the fishing nets. Fishing nets affect the environment and marine life globally because, along with other fishing gear, they account for 27% of total marine litter. During the project, more than 100 kilograms of fishing nets were lifted from beach sections and the Black Sea; after the actual recovery each net was assessed for recycling.