Category: News

This year’s edition of the Responsible Companies Ranking was joined by over 70 companies, and over 100 companies expressed interest in it. Ultimately, over 60 companies qualified to the main ranking. Emitel was placed 7th ex aequo with Grupa Lotos, scoring 86 points out of 100 possible. This is the highest place in the history of the ranking, in last year’s ranking Emitel took 15th place.

In the sixteenth edition of the Responsible Companies Ranking, the first place was taken by ING Bank Śląski, making it the leader of the ranking for the second time in history, having participated in the ROF fourteen times. This time five companies took the second position on the podium: Orange Polska, Santander Bank Polska, BNP Paribas Bank Polska, Ergo Hestia and DB Schenker. Four companies took the third place on the podium: L’Oréal Polska, Coca-Cola HBC, Allegro, PZU.

– In recent years, we have been particularly convinced of the importance of the ability to deal not only with everyday problems related to running a business, but with what is happening around us in our close and more distant environment. Alarming signals from scientists and experts on climate change, challenges related to the pandemic – which, although temporarily dormant – still remain valid, the war in Ukraine and the need to help our neighbours have all caused more and more companies to change their management philosophy, paying more attention to social responsibility issues.  This philosophy of running a business is very dear to to us at Emitel, which is why we constantly ask ourselves – what else can we do, whether our approach is optimal. I am very happy and proud of our promotion to the top 10 companies, because this is the best tool to verify whether we are going in the right direction – said Andrzej Kozłowski – President of the Management Board of Emitel S.A.

The Responsible Companies Ranking, published for the first time in 2007, is the only list of companies operating in Poland assessed in terms of the quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) management. The Responsible Business Forum is a partner of ROF 2022. The content partner responsible for reviewing the responses is Deloitte, and the media partner is Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. The authors of the list are prof. Bolesław Rok from the Center for Positive Impact Entrepreneurship Research at Kozminski University and Jarosław Horodecki, analyst.

“For the 16th time, the largest companies in Poland made an attempt to gather all relevant answers in one place, i.e. in the survey of the Responsible Companies Ranking 2022. This year, we put even greater emphasis on assessing the level of implementation of various declarations and policies in the field of sustainable management. We proposed many product indicators, because the real change is best seen at the level of product innovations.” – commented prof. Bolesław Rok from the Kozminski University, author of the questions included in the survey.

In total, almost 250 largest companies operating on the Polish market have already participated in the Responsible Companies Ranking. The ranking makes it possible to compare the results in individual areas of CSR between companies, and is also a valuable instrument facilitating the organization and development of business responsibility strategies.

On the night of June 26-27, Emitel carried out the last stage of digital terrestrial TV frequency switching, thus completely freeing the 700MHz band, which is to be allocated to the construction of the fifth generation mobile network. The changes covered the Masovian Voivodeship and the eastern part of the country: from the Suwałki region through Warmia and Mazury and Podlasie, to the Lublin region and the Zamość region. The new DVB-T2 / HEVC broadcasting standard for MUX1, MUX2 and MUX4 multiplexes is available to viewers all over Poland. The MUX3 multiplex will be switched to the new standard at a later date.

Refarming of the 700 MHz band is an operation to move terrestrial television multiplexes from the 694–790 MHz frequency to the lower band 470–694 MHz. This was related to the need to release the 700 MHz band in European Union countries for the construction of a mobile network in the 5G standard. The changes were carried out in accordance with the order of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications of January 17, 2020 on the frequency management plan for the 470-790 MHz band. Pursuant to the Regulation of UKE of June 7, 2022, the change in the broadcasting standard did not apply to the MUX3 multiplex – the public broadcaster will be able to broadcast its programs in the DVB-T standard by the end of 2023. The emission parameters of MUX8, which is transmitted in the VHF band, have not changed either, and therefore it was not subjected to refarming.

– We have successfully completed the most complex and demanding project in the history of our Company. We started the preparations already in 2018, and the first frequency switches were performed in March 2020. Nearly 300 of our experts were involved in the project implementation, the work consumed over 130,000 man-hours. About 300 employees from 40 external companies from Poland and abroad also participated in the works. We transported the equipment and devices for the project by sea, air and road. We had to cope with numerous obstacles, such as ports and airports closed due to a pandemic, local and border restrictions and limitations, which forced us to constantly change the project schedule. Therefore, congratulations to all involved and to the supporters of the project are in place. At this point, I would also like to thank the Office of Electronic Communications for very good cooperation at every stage of the project. The change in the frequency of broadcasting was accompanied by the transition to the new, more effective DVB-T2 / HEVC broadcast standard. This change will primarily benefit viewers – providing better picture and sound quality – as well as new TV channels in the future. Viewers who do not yet have TV sets that support the new broadcasting standard, I encourage you to replace them – said Andrzej Kozłowski, President of the Management Board of Emitel S.A.

The refarming process in numbers:

• We have prepared over 1,000 technical documents (technical concepts, industry studies, technological and construction projects, environmental studies)
• We have obtained 140 administrative permits (for the construction of facilities, antennas, containers, reinforcements), we have delivered and installed 319 new DVB-T2 transmitters and over 100 power summation circuits
• We have installed 95 new antenna systems, including a dozen or so multi-story peak systems weighing up to several tons were placed on the highest masts in Poland at a height of over 300 m
• We installed the systems using the traditional method, as well as using a specialized helicopter – below you will find the filmed projects: installation of antennas at the Łódź Zygry facility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prjCVtErFiY , replacement of antennas on the mast in Ryki: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN3o2F_koIs , replacement of antennas on the mast in Miłki: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8DqgpdxmG4
• We have made nearly 20 specialized steel structure reinforcements (masts, towers) in order to prepare the structure for the installation of new antenna systems – for the construction of new facilities, we used 240 tons of steel.

– We worked on a living organism. We couldn’t have just turned off TV for several months. So we had to act using short, often night time windows to carry out the necessary technical works. Our cooperation with broadcasters and contractual obligations are characterized by a very high level of SLA, which guarantees high signal availability. Any interruptions in broadcasting must be short-lived and affect the smallest possible number of viewers, therefore the works related to switching were most often carried out at night, between midnight and six in the morning. It was a great and exciting challenge, but our specialists fully lived up to the task – said Jerzy Godek, Director of the Technology Division, Member of the Management Board of Emitel S.A.

Due to the complexity of the works, the project was divided into stages and included:

Preliminary stages: March 2020 and June 2020 – West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Białogard, Koszalin)

Stage 1: March 28, 2022 – the region of the Sudetes and Lower Silesia, Lubuskie Voivodeship;

Stage 2: April 25, 2022 – the Pomeranian band from Szczecin to the Tri-City, a large part of Greater Poland, Kujawy, the western part of Mazovia;

Stage 3: May 23, 2022 – the southern part of Greater Poland, the Lodz Region, Kielce region, Subcarpathia, Lesser Poland, Upper Silesia, Opole region;

Stage 4: June 27, 2022 – Mazowsze, the eastern part of the country, from the Suwałki region, through Warmia and Mazury, Podlasie, to the Lublin region and the Zamość region.

Information on the changes is available on the Emitel website. The current parameters of the transmitting stations can be checked on the website: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/sprawdz-parametry-emzyj/ and in the EmiMaps application: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/aplikacja-emimaps/.

The report, published annually by the Responsible Business Forum, entitled “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices” is the largest review of CSR initiatives in Poland.  In its 20th edition, a total of 1,677 activities undertaken by 283 companies were presented. The analysis of the submitted initiatives shows, inter alia, growing social expectations of businesses taking responsibility for their impact on the environment.

In the anniversary edition of the Responsible Business Forum report, several changes were introduced. There was a decision made not to include practices that were strictly equity-related and not related to activities at the strategic level or not having the value of innovation. Additionally, as in the previous year, the organizers set a limit of ten new practices submitted by one company. This time, this limitation also applied to long-term practices. These changes were aimed at persuading companies to report CSR activities that bring new quality.

The report published by FOB once again included good CSR practices undertaken by Emitel. Among them are: counteracting inappropriate behaviour and abuse, equal opportunities in the workplace, occupational health and safety, social dialogue within the company, development and education, digitization of the workplace, Mindfullnes Academy and health promotion. In the search engine for good practices on the website https://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/dobre-praktyki/ you can see a total of 34 practices reported by Emitel.

– We understand corporate social responsibility as caring for employees, the broadly understood environment of the company and sensitivity to diversity issues. Last year, we approved the ESG Policy for 2021-2025, and for each direction we assigned the corresponding global UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is an important document for the Company, defining main goals of our activities in the area of the natural environment, social responsibility and corporate governance. I am glad that the Responsible Business Forum once again acknowledges our actions, taking into account even more of Emitel’s good practices in its report – said Andrzej J. Kozłowski, the President of the Management Board of Emitel S.A.

The “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices” report is the most important periodical publication of the Responsible Business Forum, published since 2002. The report is a review of the activities of companies that reported their CSR activities, and summarizes the most important issues related to responsible business in a given year in Poland.

 

Beginning on 23 May 2002, the MUX3 broadcasting network for the Łódzkie Province area consists of nine broadcasting facilities which provide DVB-T coverage to 94.96% of the local population and DVB-T2 coverage to 98.7% of the local population. There were six such facilities before the refarming process.

The switch-off of transmission from the Łódź “Komin EC-4” transmitter and change of the locations of the broadcasting facilities are in line with earlier plans. Broadcasting is now being carried out from 9 facilities, instead of 6 as previously.

The Łódź “Komin EC-4” transmitter station was a provisional solution that was to remain in service until a new facility is built, and has now been shut down. The Łódź/Dąbrowa facility is now the target broadcasting facility. Due to the switch-off of television transmitting from the Łódź “Komin EC-4” transmitter, some viewers may need to redirect their receiver antennas to either the Zygry (RTCN) or Łódź/Dąbrowa (SLR) broadcasting facilities, depending on their location.

Reception for the part of Łódzkie Province that used to receive signal from the Łódź “Komin EC-4” transmitter is now ensured by the Skierniewice/Bartniki and Kamieńsk (TSR) facilities. New equipment installed on the Zygry (RCTN) and Łódź/Dąbrowa (SLR) facilities provide 30% more power compared with the previous solution, making the change much more favourable for the viewers.

Information about changes relating to the refarming process and a possible need to adjust receiver antennas is published in the “Refarming” section on the Emitel website at https://emitel.pl/refarming/. See the map for details.

As part of our comprehensive information campaigns, we are also encouraging everybody to use the EmiMaps app, where every viewer can enter their location to easily find out about the location of the nearest transmitter station, as well as the direction and type of the receiver antenna. Emitel has also launched similar apps for Android and IOS.

Additionally, so as not to leave any doubts or questions of our viewers unanswered, we have opened a hotline (22 711-77-77) which provides information about the changes.

 

On the night of 22 to 23 May, Emitel executed a change in the frequencies and standard of broadcasting of digital terrestrial television channels MUX1, MUX2 and MUX4. The change affected nearly the entire southern Poland – namely the southern part of Greater Poland (Wielkopolska), Łódź Region (Ziemia Łódzka), Kielce Region (Kielecczyzna), Subcarpathia (Podkarpacie), Lesser Poland (Małopolska), Upper Silesia (Górny Śląsk) and Opole Region (Opolszczyzna).

With three of four stages of the project already completed, refarming of the 700 Mhz band is drawing to a close. When the process is finally completed, not only will Poles get a new quality of television, but the freed frequency band will contribute to developing the 5G mobile telephony network. The final stage to end the refarming process is scheduled to take place on 27 June of this year.

Viewers in Łódzkie Province may need to adjust the settings of their receiver antennas in addition to re-tuning their TV sets. Detailed parameters can be found in the EmiMaps app at: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/aplikacja-emimaps/.

This night, the 700Mhz band refarming and the change in the digital terrestrial television broadcasting standard affected nearly the entire southern Poland. This means that terrestrial television in the DVB-T2 standard is already available across 68% of Poland’s territory.

The change to the DVB-T2/HEVC broadcasting standard taking place as part of the refarming means:

✓ Better image quality – HD resolution

✓ Possibility to broadcast UHD / 4k channels

✓ Better sound quality

✓ Wider range of amenities – sound personalisation

✓ Additional services – HbbTV hybrid television

✓ Better offer – it will be possible to include more channels in multiplexes.

Following the changes, most TV sets and decoders (the so-called Set-Top-Boxes, or STBs) should update their channel lists automatically. Some receiver models may require re-tuning with the remote control. Viewers who have older TV sets which are incompatible with the DVB-T2/HEVC standard should either purchase an STB or replace their TV sets to be able to receive digital terrestrial television. The Polish government is supporting households in paying the costs related to the change of the digital terrestrial television broadcasting standard by offering special co-funding coupons. The co-funding amount is PLN 250 for purchasing a TV set, and PLN 100 for purchasing a decoder.  For details visit: https://www.gov.pl/web/dvbt2

The 700 MHz band refarming is an operation which involves shifting terrestrial television multiplexes from the 694–790 MHz frequency band to the lower 470–694 MHz band. This is caused by the requirement for European Union Member States to free up the 700 MHz band for the needs of mobile operators (5G services). The changes are compliant with the Ordinance of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications of 17 January 2020 on the frequency utilisation plan for the 470-790 MHz band.

As decided by UKE, no change has yet affected broadcasting of MUX3 channels as these can be transmitted in the DVB-T standard until the end of 2023 (https://www.uke.gov.pl/akt/mux-3-bedzie-mogl-nadawac-w-standardzie-dvb-t-do-konca-2023-r-,419.html). Furthermore, the change has not affected the broadcasting parameters of the MUX8 multiplex,which is transmitted in the VHF band and is not subject to the refarming process.

Emitel announces all the effected changes on its website at https://www.emitel.pl/refarming/. The information includes respective locations, planned change dates and channel numbers.

Information on the changes is available on Emitel’s website. Updated parameters of transmitter stations can be found at: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/sprawdz-parametry-emisji/ and the EmiMaps app at: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/aplikacja-emimaps/.

 

On the night of April 24-25, we carried out a change in the frequency and broadcasting standard of MUX1, MUX2 and MUX4 digital terrestrial television programs. The changes affected the Pomeranian Belt from Szczecin to the Tricity, a large part of Greater Poland, Kuyavia, the western part of Mazovia.

This was the second of four stages of the 700Mhz band refarming project, which aims to free up frequencies for 5th generation telephony. The next changes, which we will announce in advance, will take place on May 23 this year and June 27, 2022.

As previously announced, we would like to remind you that the change in frequency and broadcasting standard applies mainly to the broadcasting of the MUX1, MUX2 and MUX4 multiplexes, as well as, exceptionally, the broadcasting of MUX 3 (during the current switchover, the broadcasting channels on the transmitter in Bolewice and Człuchów were changed). There was no change in the transmission standard for the broadcast of MUX3, which, according to the UKE decision, will be allowed to broadcast in the DVB-T standard until the end of 2023 (https://www.uke.gov.pl/akt/mux-3-bedzie-mogl-nadawac-w-standardzie-dvb-t-do-konca-2023-r-,419.html).

Also unchanged were the broadcast parameters of MUX8, which is broadcast in the VHF band and is not subject to refarming.

After the changes, a significant portion of TV sets or set top boxes (so-called set top boxes) should update the list of TV programs on their own. For some receiver models, it may be necessary to search for channels again with the remote control. Viewers with older receivers, incompatible with the DVB-T2/HEVC standard, will have to purchase a set top box or replace the TV set in order to receive the Digital Terrestrial Television signal.

The Emitel informs about all the changes being made at https://www.emitel.pl/refarming/. This information includes both an indication of the location of the facility, the planned date of the switchover, and the channel number.

– Last night we carried out the changes as part of the next, 2nd stage of refarming. There are two more ahead – but we are fully prepared. The changes that have been carried out should not create major difficulties for viewers in receiving programs. The directions of programs from Emitel’s broadcast facilities do not usually change, so the need to adjust the direction of the receiving antenna occurs only in a small number of areas without replacing the receiving antennas. In most cases, the TV will update the program list on its own.
For some receivers, it may be necessary to manually search for channels on the TV,” said Jerzy Godek, Member of the Board  of Emitel S.A.

 

Caring for the landscape, biodiversity and protection of habitats, improving energy efficiency, minimizing the impact on the environment, sustainable waste management and concern for interpersonal relations – these are the directions of the ESG policy that Emitel follows.

In the recently published report for 2021, the company summarizes the most important events in the field of environmental protection, social responsibility and corporate governance (ESG). This is the first ESG report prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) international reporting standard.

– This is our first ESG report based on the international GRI reporting standard. We have consciously decided to start reporting in accordance with the ESG standard before it becomes applicable. The aim of our report is to present our approach to doing business and to show our strategic view of the future. I am convinced that this annual summary of our activities shows that we have once again passed the social responsibility test – said Andrzej J. Kozłowski, the President of the Management Board of Emitel S.A.

In August 2021, the Management Board of Emitel approved the ESG Policy for 2021-2025. It is one of the most important documents of the company, which defines the main goals of activities in the areas of environmental, social responsibility and corporate governance. In the course of work on the document, the strategic directions and necessary actions were first identified, and for each direction the corresponding global UN Sustainable Development Goals were assigned.

Emitel understands corporate social responsibility as concern for employees and the broadly understood environment as well as sensitivity to diversity issues. Last year, in addition to permanent initiatives and projects initiated in previous years, the company undertook a number of new activities, such as e.g. partnership in the “Fair to Women” competition, organized by the Vox Feminae Foundation in cooperation with the content partner PwC Polska. Emitel has also joined the 30% Club Poland initiative as one of the 13 member companies – founders in Poland. Emitel is of the opinion that it is necessary to actively promote diversity in business, including in particular equal opportunities for women in the labor market.

One of the company’s priorities is the care for the natural environment. Emitel’s goal is to systematically expand the area of protected natural habitats and participate in species protection programs. The company cooperates with the “Sokół” Association for Wild Animals as part of the protection program of the peregrine falcon. It also undertakes activities aimed at reducing energy consumption and promoting the use of renewable sources. Emitel has built pilot photovoltaic installations in two broadcasting facilities that supply RTV broadcasting, and in 2022, the construction of a dozen or so installations is planned. The company also buys electricity from a broker that offers the largest share of renewable energy. As a result, as much as 86% of consumed electricity is CO2-free.

In 2021, Emitel was listed among the top 15 companies in the Responsible Companies Ranking. The company also scored a record 90 out of 100 points and was again awarded the 5-star award in the GRESB Global Community Engagement and Sustainability Survey. The company’s activities and results in the field of environmental protection, social affairs and corporate governance were very highly rated by the auditors. The involvement in ESG carried out by Emitel was also appreciated by the Responsible Business Forum in last year’s report “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices”, which is the largest review of activities in the area of responsible business in Poland.

The report is available at: https://www.emitel.pl/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Raport-ESG_Emitel_2021.pdf  (polish version)