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.
CEZ Group implements its Community Relations Policy, which falls under the responsibility of the Head of CEZ Group’s Public Affairs Section, who reports directly to the CEO of ČEZ, a. s.
The Community Relations Policy is built on the following principles:
- Community relations are part of responsible business practices.
- Community relations are considered a tool for obtaining feedback.
- We strive for mutually beneficial coexistence between communities and CEZ Group based on open communication.
- Communities are treated transparently, and they have access to a set of communication channels with guaranteed response times.
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.
The ČEZ Foundation supports the development of communities in the Czech Republic through grant programs (Support for Regions, Orange Playground, NGOs – Professional Development of Social Care, Trees, Improvement of Hiking Trails and Running Tracks, Orange Crossing, Employee Grants, Helping Hand for Employees, and Fulfilling Wishes) and fulfills other goals (e.g., support and protection of the environment, biodiversity – SDG 15). The ČEZ Foundation also conducts evaluations within the announced grant programs. In 2024, the ČEZ Foundation supported 2,041 projects with total amount of CZK 352.6 million.
In 2024, ČEZ, a. s., continued its cooperation with the winner of the Lead 2030 challenge organized by the global platform One Young World. It provided 90 hours of expert mentoring and financial support for the installation of island solar systems for 248 residential customers in mountainous village communities in Lesotho. The knowledge gained was further used to install island solar systems for 8 health centers, 4 schools, 2 community centers, and 5 businesses under commercial projects. The project contributed to the fulfillment of Sustainable Development Goal 7, ensuring access to basic energy services (SDG 7) and also access to education (SDG 4). ČEZ, a. s., also supported projects by CTU students in Africa and Asia. In 2024, ČEZ, a. s., in cooperation with Czech universities, prepared new projects in developing countries to ensure access to basic energy services (SDG 7), protect biodiversity (SDG 15), effectively manage water resources (SDG 6), adapt to climate change (SDG 13), and sustainably develop local communities.
In the reporting period, CEZ Group did not identify any material risks and opportunities related to specific impacts on communities. The impacts are always linked to the territory of a specific municipality and region and are not associated with exclusive impacts on specific population groups.
In the locations of CEZ Group operation, working groups are established to discuss the impacts of the Group’s activities, which are attended by representatives of local stakeholders.
When implementing their business plans, CEZ Group companies always proceed in accordance with applicable Czech legislation, including European legislation (e.g., nature and landscape protection, public participation) and comply with internal regulations setting out rules for communication and cooperation with affected communities.
As CEZ Group does not operate in territories with indigenous populations, it does not have a policy in place for indigenous populations, and no CEZ Group projects are implemented in territories with indigenous populations.
All managing documentation of CEZ Group must be in accordance with the Code of Conduct, which also reflects the UN General Principles. CEZ Group carries out its business activities in the EU in accordance with UN and OECD standards, which are part of the legal order of the EU and the Czech Republic.
In 2024, no cases of non-compliance with these principles and standards were recorded. No material negative human rights incidents in the 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 communicates with the public through a number of communication channels:
- Websites, social networks
- Customer or information centers
- Central email address and telephone number
- Statutory body of the executive company
- Project manager
- Regional representative of CEZ Group, if appointed for the specific project
- Information channels, their availability, and responsibility for communication are defined in the relevant management documentation
More information can be found in the Sustainability Report 2024.
CEZ Group operates nine information centers designed for students and the general public, offering a wide range of tours and interactive activities. The turnout in 2024 was 254,271 visitors. One of the most exciting parts of the tours is always a close-up view of CEZ Group’s power plant technologies. Therefore, in addition to the standard offer, special tours of CEZ Group sites, which are normály inaccessible, are being prepared for those interested in the energy sector. This year, these included, for instance, the Lipno, Hněvkovice, or Střekov hydroelectric power plants and the Věžnice wind power plant. In addition, the public also had the chance to visit the training center for nuclear experts in Brno. In addition to these, visitors could also take part in the very popular holiday tours of the sites of the Temelín and Dukovany nuclear power plants.
The nuclear power plants and the Dlouhé Stráně hydroelectric power plant can be visited through virtual reality (ReakTour and WaterTour). Almost 135,467 people took part in these “virtual” tours in the information centers and at thematic fairs and conferences.
Thanks to their high popularity, our online tours called Virtually at the Power Plant continued in 2024. The tours are free of charge and are broadcasted live from the TV studio via MS Teams. The primary target group consists of schools that use them as a supplement to science subjects, but the general public can also participate.
A major innovation in 2024 was the launch of a unique educational program for 8th and 9th grade elementary school pupils and secondary school students titled “Meeting with Energy”, where participants held debates on the main topics of the present and future of energy with lecturers, leading Czech experts, from the comfort of their school desks.
In 2024, CEZ Group companies were awarded for sustainable business, social responsibility, and employee management in the following selected competitions in the Czech Republic and abroad.
Czech awards:
- TOP Responsible Company (in the category Reporting): 1st place for the parent company ČEZ, a. s., (awarded by the Business for Society platform).
- TOP Responsible Company (in the category Large Company): inclusion of the parent company ČEZ, a. s., among the leaders (awarded by the Business for Society platform).
- TOP Responsible Company (in the category Innovation project): 3rd place for the parent company ČEZ, a. s., (awarded by the Business for Society platform).
- TOP Responsible Company (in the category Diversity and Inclusion project): special jury award for the parent company ČEZ, a. s., (awarded by the Business for Society platform).
- Sodexo Employer of the Year 2024 (in the category Large Company with more than 5,000 employees): 1st place for the parent company ČEZ, a. s.
- Web Top 100: WebTop100 – Produktový design roku 2024
- ESG ranking 2024 of the Social Responsibility Association.
International awards:
- Contact Center World 2024: CEZ Group was awarded 2nd place – CEZ Group – About us (cez.cz).
The corporate volunteering program Time for a Good Cause is announced annually in all regions of the Czech Republic. The collective agreement of selected CEZ Group companies guarantees that each employee can use two days of paid leave per calendar year for volunteer work. In the 17 years since the launch of the program, almost 10,900 employees have participated in 1,585 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.
Employees were also invited to participate in the volunteer clean-up initiative Let’s Clean Up the Czech Republic, which takes place throughout the Czech Republic and aims to clean up illegally created dumps and other similar places. In 2024, CEZ Group employees volunteered a total of 11,781 hours to corporate events.
More information can be found in the Sustainability Report 2024.
Among other philanthropic activities of CEZ Group, employee grants, breakfasts and sheltered workshop markets organized for employees, charity clothing collection, and mobile phone recycling to support employment of people with disabilities have long been represented.
Breakfasts for staff, Easter and Christmas markets include the sale of products and refreshments from social enterprises employing people with disabilities as well as sheltered workshops. In 2024, employees contributed nearly CZK 2 million to these events.
Since 2017, CEZ Group has regularly organized a charity collection of clothing, shoes and accessories at several locations in its operations in the Czech Republic. In 2024, employees donated 2,562 kg of clothing and footwear, which were subsequently distributed to regional charities and clothing banks. Nearly 17,000 kg of clothing has been collected since 2017. In May 2024, employees in Prague were again able to participate in the SWAP clothing and household goods swap. In the autumn, employees across CEZ Group took part in a material collection (mainly food and hygiene supplies) to help people affected by the catastrophic floods.
In 2024, in cooperation with Remobil, a regular collection of old, unused or non-functioning mobile phones was carried out among employees. This event encourages the employment of people with disabilities who participate in recycling, thus promoting reuse and environmental protection. Since 2020, when CEZ Group joined this collection, employees have already donated 1,680 devices, which is equivalent to saving 4,418 kg of CO2 and more than 61 thousand liters of drinking water.
Employees in Prague joined the Czech Day Against Cancer collection for the second time, where they were able to support the fight against cancer by purchasing yellow marigold flowers. In total, employees contributed almost CZK 40,000.
Employees at the Temelín and Dukovany nuclear power plants have traditionally participated in the Tříkrálová collection, the proceeds of which go to people in difficult life situations. This year, the employees of the Prague headquarters also joined in. In total, nearly CZK 60,000 was collected.
Since 2019, employees in Prague can donate blood directly at their workplace. There is ongoing cooperation with the outreach team of the Military University Hospital and 3-4 blood donation dates are carried out annually. As of 2019, Military University Hospital medics have already taken over 312 litres of blood.