Community Relations
CEZ Group is fully aware of its social, environmental, and financial responsibility, which arises from its operations and business activities on the European market. The goal of CEZ Group is to be a responsible corporate citizen and a good neighbor who is actively and consistently involved in the support and development of community life.
CEZ Group supports projects in various areas, including social care, education, culture, sports, environmental protection, improvement of local infrastructure, and healthcare. CEZ Group also has a significant economic impact on the development of local communities and regions in the Czech Republic. CEZ Group is a major employer and creates employment opportunities in the supply chain.
Relationships with stakeholders are managed with due regard to their specific characteristics and local conditions, as well as their needs and expectations in relation to CEZ Group’s business activities. The objective of engagement with affected communities is to work collaboratively with them to support the overall development of the locality in which a specific project is implemented. The identification of affected communities, including the assessment of whether communities with specific characteristics need to be taken into account in a given location, is carried out during the conceptual phase of the project and subsequently in line with the rules set out in the Community Relations Policy.
CEZ Group has an established Community Relations Policy, the implementation of which is the responsibility of the Head of Public Affairs Department, who reports directly to the CEO of ČEZ, a. s.
The Community Relations Policy is based on seven key principles of stakeholder engagement:
- Accountability – building relationships based on ethics, sustainability, and respect for human rights.
- Transparency – providing truthful, relevant, and useful information.
- Active perception – supporting two-way communication and listening to stakeholders.
- Participation and engagement – involvement of communities in all key activities, especially in the areas of planning, construction, operation, and decommissioning of energy projects.
- Consensus – striving to reach agreement with regard to the opinions and expectations of communities.
- Cooperation – development of partnerships supporting the targets of CEZ Group and contributing to sustainable development.
- Continuous improvement – regular review and optimization of approaches to collaboration with stakeholders.
The statutory bodies are responsible for ensuring fast and effective communication for selected regions, while project managers or regional managers are responsible for the actual projects. CEZ Group has an impact on communities primarily through its own business activities in the areas where its energy facilities are located. The social and environmental impacts of CEZ Group’s activities are monitored at the locations. At the same time, CEZ Group always implements compensatory actions to minimize impacts of its projects.
In the locations where CEZ Group operates, working groups are established to discuss the impacts of CEZ Group’s activities, with participation of representatives of local stakeholders.
When implementing their business initiatives, CEZ Group companies always act in compliance with applicable Czech legislation, including relevant European legislation governing the given area (e.g. nature and landscape protection, public participation), and adhere to internal regulations defining the rules for communication and cooperation with affected communities.
As CEZ Group does not operate in territories with indigenous peoples, it has not adopted a policy specifically addressing indigenous peoples, and none of CEZ Group’s projects are implemented in territories inhabited by indigenous peoples.
All CEZ Group governance documentation must be in accordance with the Code of Conduct, which also reflects the general principles of the United Nations. CEZ Group conducts its business activities within the European Union in line with UN and OECD standards, which form part of the legal framework of the EU and the Czech Republic.
In 2025, no cases of non-compliance with these principles and standards were recorded, and no significant adverse human rights incidents affecting affected communities were reported to CEZ Group.
CEZ Group promotes transparent and open communication about its current activities and operations across ESG topics, the state of the distribution system, and investments with an impact on local communities. Based on the Community Relations Policy, rules of responsibility for stakeholder engagement are established – throughout the year, meetings are organized between CEZ Group representatives and members of local governments, NGOs, municipalities, and local communities to share comprehensive information and to deal with issues from community grievance mechanisms.
In accordance with the Community Relations Policy, parameters agreed upon with communities are actively incorporated into the project and the relevant permit in cooperation with the permitting authorities.
CEZ Group proceeds in a non-discriminatory manner and ensures that all participants of the permitting process have the opportunity to express their views.
Under each project, feedback is collected from affected communities on the level and intensity of provision of information about the project.
CEZ Group emphasizes transparent and open communication with the public. In accordance with the Community Relations Policy, a wide range of communication channels are used:
- websites and social networks,
- customer and information centers,
- general email address and telephone line,
- representative of CEZ Group – a statutory governing body of an executive company, project manager, or regional representative,
- public discussions for the construction of strategic buildings with citizens of the affected municipalities, where they can express disagreement or request explanations directly from the investor's representatives.
The availability of individual channels and responsibility for communication are set out in the relevant management documentation.
An important communication channel that contributes to the positive perception of the ČEZ brand by the Czech public is information centers.
CEZ Group operates nine information centers for students and the general public, offering a wide range of excursions and interactive activities. In 2025, information centers welcomed more than 235,289 visitors.
In addition to the standard offer, we also prepare special tours of our facilities, which are normally inaccessible, for those interested in energy. The nuclear power plants and the Dlouhé Stráně hydroelectric power plant can be visited via virtual reality (ReakTour and WaterTour). A record-high 145,311 people completed these virtual visits at information centers, thematic fairs, and conferences.
In 2026, the ProudTour project will be presented to the public, showing the path of electricity from the power plant to the customer, using VR glasses. In 2025, the brand World of Energy was introduced to the public, covering all educational activities of CEZ Group. A website of the same name was also launched in a new, visually attractive, and popular form. Great interest has continued in online tours of power plants, which were viewed by almost 1,400 school classes in 2025.
Also very popular was the second year of the educational project Meeting with Energy, in which nuclear experts discussed energy with students daily throughout the school year using practical demonstrations and virtual reality. Another 412 classes completed the program.
V roce 2025 byly společnosti Skupiny ČEZ oceněny za udržitelné podnikání, společenskou odpovědnost a řízení zaměstnanců v následujících vybraných soutěžích v ČR i v zahraničí.
| Awards | Organized by | Company |
|---|---|---|
| 1st and 2nd place in the international contact center competition for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region | Contact Center World | ČEZ Prodej, a.s. |
| GRESB rating (94/100) | Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark | GasNet Group |
| Provisional ESG Rating (AA) | MSCI | CGNI (GasNet Group) |
| Company friendly to volunteer firefighters | Svatý Florián – Dobrovolní hasiči roku, z. s. | GasNet Group |
| ESG Transparency Award | EUPD Reserach | CEZ Group |
CEZ Group employees are also supported by other employee benefits, including the opportunity to participate in corporate volunteering and charity events to support non-profit organizations, social enterprises, local and regional producers. Together, we thus create space for sustainable business and the development of local communities.
The corporate volunteering program Time for a Good Cause is announced annually in all regions of the Czech Republic. The collective agreement in selected CEZ Group companies guarantees that each employee can use two workdays of paid leave to volunteer. In the 18 years since the launch of the volunteering program, over 13,000 employees participated in 1,837 events. Volunteering activities can be carried out both individually and in a larger group. CEZ Group also supports team building in the form of volunteer activities with a socially beneficial impact. In 2025, CEZ Group employees spent a total of 11,070 hours on corporate volunteering.
Other CEZ Group's philanthropic endeavors traditionally include charity breakfasts and markets organized by non-profit organizations for employees, charity clothing collections and SWAPs, mobile phone recycling to support the employment of people with disabilities, and employee fundraisers organized in cooperation with the ČEZ Foundation.
Among non-profit organizations, CEZ Group is perceived as one of the key corporate supporters, reflecting the scope of projects and activities implemented by the ČEZ Foundation. The ČEZ Foundation supports the development of communities in the Czech Republic through grant procedures (Support for Regions, Orange Playground, Non-profits – Professional Development of Social Services, Trees, Tracks and Routes, Orange Transition, Employee Grants, and Fulfilling Wishes) and thanks to the mobile app EPP – Help by Movement and the Orange Wheel project.
In 2025, the ČEZ Foundation supported a total of 2,354 projects, confirming the positive impact of CEZ Group on community development.
CEZ Group is implementing several projects in Lesotho and Zambia in cooperation with Czech universities. The projects combine direct on-the-ground support with long-term expert mentoring and knowledge transfer. These efforts contribute primarily to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) – ensuring access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all. Electrification of rural communities has enabled vaccine storage, introduction of computers in schools, improved safety around well-lit businesses, and the development of local entrepreneurship. Thanks to electricity, children can now do their homework at home and listen to the radio. The projects also contribute to SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
Zambia
In 2025, ČEZ, a. s. supported projects of Czech universities in Zambia. Mendel University in Brno planted 2,000 trees, trained 229 farmers, and established 3 agroforestry plots with access to water. The project also supported value-added production (e.g. oil pressing), provided 10 solar pumps, and established a soil science laboratory.
Students from the Czech Technical University continued their long-term project of building a secondary school in Kashitu. CEZ Group employees, together with the students, designed and funded a photovoltaic system for 3 buildings as part of the ČEZ Hackathon "Light up Africa" and supported the construction of a new classroom.
Lesotho
Matsepiso Majoro, winner of the Lead 2030 challenge by the One Young World platform, impressed with her efforts of installing off-grid solar systems in remote areas of Lesotho. With a grant from ČEZ, a. s., her company Mahlaseli Energy electrified 248 households and acquired a van to access mountainous regions. The project also brought electricity to 8 health centers, 4 schools, 2 community centers, and 5 businesses. In May 2025, in cooperation with the Czech Embassy in South Africa, a health center in the remote village of Matsaile was electrified by the CEZ Group technicians.
CEZ Group employees provided a total of 285 hours of expert mentoring for technicians in Zambia and Lesotho as part of an online technical mentoring program. Five selected African technicians completed the practical training program of the Photovoltaic Academy in the Czech Republic.