Circular Economy
Implementing the principles of the circular economy in all operational areas, in line with PGE’s strategy, is one of the methods of achieving the goal of climate neutrality by 2050.
The measures taken by PGE to close raw material cycles are aimed at optimising the use of resources, protecting natural resources and minimising the adverse impact on the environment, including by reducing the amount of generated waste.
Environmental and social effects of implementing circular economy products
Tangible effects of circular economy in line with social expectations
- Reducing CO2 emissions by using secondary raw materials in high-emission indusries
- Saving natural resources by using anthropogenic resources
- Restoring the natural and investment value of post-industrial land
- Reducing waste landfilling and liquidating existing landfills
- Actively participating in transition of regions
- Reducing carbon footprint
The following processes and assets are classified as being in line with the circular economy principles:
- extending the life cycle of raw and other materials,
- reducing energy losses and material waste,
- converting waste into commercial products in order to minimise waste generation,
- rehabilitating brownfield sites and restoring their commercial potential.
The PGE Group operates in accordance with national and international guidelines in the area of circular economy, primarily those based on the legislative and non-legislative initiatives of the European Green Deal.
In its resolution of 15 January 2020, the European Parliament called for the necessary transformation of the European society into a climate-neutral society by 2050 at the latest. The provides a roadmap for a more efficient use of resources through the transition to a clean, , and for preventing the loss of and reducing pollution levels. The strategy also aims to protect, preserve and enhance the EU’s natural capital and protect the health and well-being of citizens against environmental risks and negative impacts.
With respect to national regulations, the resolution on the adoption of “The roadmap for the transition towards a ” of 10 September 2019 obliges national legislators to act towards reasonable waste management. The roadmap focuses, on the one hand, on general measures to create conditions for the development of a bioeconomy in Poland and, on the other hand, on promotion and development measures for the creation of local value chains, in the industrial and energy generation sectors. A change in thinking about the production of goods is expected to contribute to a sustainable, low-carbon, resource-efficient and competitive economy.
A circular economy encompasses all stages of a product’s life cycle, from sourcing raw materials through product design, production and consumption, as well as waste collection and disposal.
It is important that waste, if already generated, is treated as a secondary raw material and is returned to production processes. Building a is expected to increase the innovativeness of Polish enterprises and make them more competitive on international markets.
A dedicated Circular Economy segment has been established within the PGE Capital Group. It is responsible for promoting, creating and implementing the principles of the circular economy throughout the PGE Group and increasing the degree of utilisation of raw materials used in energy generation processes.
It is a response to the challenges of the Polish economy both in the long term and in the coming years as an important part of the energy transition process. An effective model will enable an energy transition properly addressing the national challenges of waste-free and environmentally friendly energy.
The leading company in this segment is PGE Ekoserwis, which has decades of experience in utilising combustion by-products generated by the energy sector in various commercial undertakings. Annually, the company recycles nearly seven million tonnes of waste and by-products coming from the energy industry. This results in more than 200 products and product variants manufactured from combustion by-products.
The segment’s activities are focused on the development and implementation of ecological and economic solutions in the area of raw material resources and post-industrial waste typical of the energy sector. The main objective of the new segment is the coherent, strategic and business-oriented management of post-industrial raw material streams in line with the principles, taking into account environmental protection and sustainability.
Implementation of the PGE Capital Group’s strategic priorities within the Circular Economy segment
Present and future model for the management of the circular economy in the PGE Capital Group
Adequately ensuring the use of secondary raw materials involves implementing the principle of priority for such raw materials in economic processes. The EU package, which in principle limits and ultimately eliminates their storage, is a major challenge for the energy and mining sectors. It is at the same time an opportunity for these sectors as well as the benefit of preserving natural resources for future generations and reducing their impact on the environment.
The environmental and social effects of implementing circular economy principles and products:
- reducing CO2 emissions through the use of secondary raw materials in carbon-intensive industries,
- saving natural resources through the use of anthropogenic materials,
- restoring the natural character and economic potential of brownfield sites,
- reducing storage of waste in landfills and decommissioning existing landfill sites,
- participating actively in the transformation of regions, including for the benefit of local communities,
- developing mobile technologies – production of mixtures for the rehabilitation of degraded land, e.g. in consequence of mining operations,
- performing environmental assessments and standardisation procedures – implementation factory production control systems, maintaining reproducible parameters to ensure the functions of products in line with environmental regulations.
By-products of combustion are the result of electricity and heat production in power generation units fired with fossil fuels. The management of combustion by-products in the PGE Group, based on the principles, leads to the use of waste as valuable substances in other branches of the economy (the cement, construction, road building and mining industries), and in consequence to a reduction in the volume of final waste.
By-products of combustion successfully replace natural raw materials (e.g. natural gypsum, aggregate), thus reducing their extraction as well as emissions that accompany their extraction. The responsible use of secondary raw materials, such as gypsum from flue gas desulphurisation plants, is a good example of implementing the principle of priority for secondary raw materials in economic processes. Such measures help to protect fossil resources for future generations.
The reuse of furnace waste in various industrial sectors brings tangible environmental benefits:
- it does not lead to the need to allocate new land for the construction of landfill facilities and associated infrastructure,
- it reduces the use of natural resources (e.g. natural gypsum, aggregate), thereby reducing the degradation of land associated with their extraction,
- it leads to a reduction in the nuisance of landfill sites, both for people and the environment,
- it reduces the cost of doing business.
In pursuing its strategy, PGE places great emphasis on developing solutions that
maximise the commercial utilisation of raw materials and waste, thereby meeting
environmental and climate protection objectives.
In terms of waste management, waste recycling and landfill volume reduction indicators have been set for the period until 2035 in the form of two goals:
- recycling above 65 percent, and
- landfilling of no more than 10 percent of generated waste.
The waste management methods used by PGE with regard to combustion by-products are developed using its own research and development facilities and laboratory, and are supported by leading scientific and research units with which PGE cooperates on an ongoing basis. Generation combustion by-products and gypsum are monitored for quality.
Industries to which PGE sells combustion by-products in the form of commercial products or raw materials and their relationship to the circular economy
Climate protection via CO2 emission reduction
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Construction of buildings
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General construction
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Farming
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Macro-levelling
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Mining
Lower extracting of natural gypsum
Lower extraction of natural aggregates from open-pit mines of rock material
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Hydrotechnical construction
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Road construction
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Rail construction
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Electric energy and heat
Lower extraction of natural sand to fill in mine excavations
Cement and concrete manufacturers, ceramic producers, as well as mining and road construction companies benefit from the use of proven and safe solutions. Products made using combustion by-products meet all the requirements applicable to building materials and products.
The process of using combustion by-products in the construction industry is supervised by the Building Research Institute. Such products are also registered under the international REACH system. As part of the registration, combustion by-products underwent comprehensive toxicological, ecotoxicological and mutagenic tests in accordance with the requirements set out by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The tests were performed in laboratories of the highest global standard and unquestionable reliability. The results of the tests clearly confirmed that these substances are safe and pose no risk to humans, animals or the environment. Their use does not have to be restricted in any way because of their environmental impact.
By-products of combustion are also used in the and macro-levelling of post-industrial and degraded land, restoring many areas to their former landscape and natural conditions. They are also widely used in the mining industry to protect the structural integrity of pits.
The minerals accompanying lignite deposits, referred to as extraction by-products, play an important role in the sustainable supply chain of raw and other materials. These include limestone, lake chalk, sands, clays, flint cobbles and erratic boulders in the form of granitoids and other Scandinavian rocks. Tue utilisation of such minerals contributes to rational lignite deposit management and protection of the earth’s surface.
The of post-industrial sites is an integral stage in the process of terminating mineral extraction operations. The decommissioning of pits is aimed at making them usable and restoring them to the environment. In the case of lignite pits, international experience shows that water-oriented land is the most popular. To this end, macro-levelling is carried out using the earth and rock masses accumulated during the exploitation phase to suitably shape the area for leisure, recreational, sports or other purposes. Rehabilitated land can also be an attractive site for investment in renewable energy sources. The location of such sites close to energy connections will allow them to be used for wind farms, photovoltaic form or energy storage facilities in the future.
In an era of transition, PGE faces new challenges in developing and implementing technologies for the management of waste and recovery of resources from renewable energy installations. In a short time horizon, such technologies will also offer the otential for optimal utilisation of such materials in accordance with the principles of the circular economy.
In order to be able to do this, specialist knowledge and competencies as well as dedicated research and development activities in this area are required. This is why the Research and Development Centre located in Bełchatów was opened in December 2022. It is a centre of research and development competencies responsible for developing and implementing solutions aimed at optimising the use of industrial waste from the energy sector and the recovery of valuable raw materials from decommissioned RES installations.
The Centre’s main task is to develop technologies for waste processing, raw material recovery and the manufacture of commercially viable products from obtained resources, as well as to develop specialised solutions for renewable energy sources used in photovoltaic installations and wind farms. The Centre is an important entity for the development of innovation. Through cooperation with other research organisations, it will develop environmentally friendly solutions. The Centre currently consists of the following organisational units: the Research and Development Department (the Recycling and Recovery Section and the Production Technology Section), the Laboratory Department and the Production Control Department.
By creating new technologies, recipes for the use of anthropogenic raw materials from the energy industry, the Centre reduces the environmental impact of the PGE Group, ensures the supply of materials by diversifying the sources of their acquisition (e.g. through recovery and reuse projects).
It also participates in and carries out company-level environmental assessments (ITB, LCA, PEF), and develops production control documentation for products based on anthropogenic raw materials.
The Centre is also another element of the transformation of the Bełchatów region, which is being conducted by PGE. Unique on a national scale, the Centre attracts many specialists to Bełchatów and plays an important role in its development.
It improves processes by increasing the achievement of objectives related to the implementation of environmental and economic strategies in order to optimise costs (for example by minimising environmental fees) and expenditure (by increasing access to green financing) in the following scopes:
- activities supporting the generation of electricity and heat through an integrated approach to implementing the best available techniques in environmental protection, in particular by preventing waste and restoring the value of brownfield sites,
- manufacture and supply of safe products, goods and commodities based on anthropogenic materials generated by the energy sector. As far as supporting activities are concerned, the Centre integrates the spheres of technology, legal and environmental considerations, management of waste streams and by-products, development of research products and processes in the R&D area, including in particular implementations in the economy,
- broadening the range of options for implementing environmentally sustainable projects, the Centre optimally integrates environmental, regulatory, social, organisational, technological and business objectives contributing to the following:
- increasing the PGE Group’s capacity to conduct operational and support activities in line with the principles of sustainable development (including the Taxonomy) and to meet the environmental objectives of strategic documents from different levels of environmental management,
- developing R&D infrastructure to optimise the practical conduct of industrial research and development, in particular in the area of circular economy and clean energy towards climate neutrality,
- providing greater opportunities to programme the closing of circuits in the economy in the various phases of the life cycle of by-products generated by the energy sector, thus preventing the generation of waste,
- improving the implementation of the looping model, in particular through the creation of new (improved) technologies or products for the economy based, among other things, on anthropogenic raw materials,
- enhancing opportunities for economic/industrial symbioses with third parties and local communities, particularly with a view to preventing or managing waste, for example by the rehabilitation of degraded land,
- participating actively in projects aimed at retraining PGE employees by entering into partnership projects, e.g. the Industry Skills Centre for Environmental Protection and Waste Management,
- developing new models and technologies to rehabilitate degraded land, including brownfield sites, for local communities based, among other things, on anthropogenic raw materials.
The implemented solution aims to influence transformation processes in such a way as to increase the selection of options that facilitate sustainable development, are economically viable, and implement the requirements of regulatory and policy documents from different levels of environmental management.