About the report

[102-1] The Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski Spółka Akcyjna Group (the PKO Bank Polski Group or the Bank’s Group) and Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski Spółka Akcyjna (PKO Bank Polski or the Bank) present their third Statement on the non-financial information (the Statement), which forms a separate part of the Directors’ Report (in the first year of non-financial reporting, a separate report on the non-financial information was prepared). [102-50] The Statement presents the operations of the PKO Bank Polski Group in the period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. [102-51] The previous Statement was prepared for the year 2019 and published on 12 February 2020. [102-52] The group publishes such statements annually. At the end of 2020, the group comprised the parent entity, i.e. PKO Bank Polski, 12 direct subsidiaries and indirect subsidiaries.

[102-54] The Statement was prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option and in accordance with the non-financial reporting requirements defined in the Accounting Act. Both the bank and the group satisfy the criteria of an entity that is required to draw up the Statement.  The individual issues have been presented in the Statement with regard to the group, with the bank highlighted. [102-10], [102-49] The Statement on non-financial information for 2020 is not subject to an external audit. [102-56] The Statement does not contain any adjustments of information from the previous reports, other than the re-calculation of the greenhouse gases emissions estimation for the base year due to the availability of more accurate data for some locations.

[102-42], [102-46] The preparation of the Statement by the bank was preceded by an analysis of the materiality of the issues specified in the Accounting Act. In the first stage, the analysis of materiality conducted in the autumn of 2020 was based on a review of the stakeholder groups of the group, including the bank, defined to date, and the areas of the interactions between the group entities and the environment. In the second stage, the bank analysed the scope of management of the areas encompassed by the Statement and reviewed the policies in place.

The following tools were used in the study of materiality:

• in-depth interviews with representatives of the bank’s headquarters,
• analysis of contacts with ESG rating agencies and other stakeholders,
• stakeholders’ opinion surveys regarding the significance of various issues for the company’s image,
• enquiries addressed by the bank to the subsidiaries,
• a review of the internal regulations of the bank and provisions of the law.

[102-43] The bank studies the approach of its stakeholders to its charitable and sponsoring activities on a continuous basis. During the pandemic, the stakeholders paid more attention to the companies’ support for healthcare and pro-social activities. In addition to healthcare and sports, the stakeholders were interested in environmental protection. The growing support for pro-environmental activities manifests itself in improving the image of the companies performing such activities.

The study of materiality showed that the bank and most of the subsidiaries have appropriate policies in all areas encompassed by the Statement, while the risks, which are considered to be key, have already been identified in the risk management process. Descriptions of the risks identified in the bank’s group are presented in the Statement in the appropriate chapters regarding the individual social and environmental issues. Attention was drawn in the description to the principle of “comply or explain”: an explanation was added to information on the lack of full coordination of selected policies at the group level.

The group identifies the following significant groups of stakeholders and material non-financial issues:

[102-44] The bank noted an increased (in relation to 2019) interest of investors in environmental, social and corporate governance matters. Their questions usually concerned the bank’s actions aimed at supporting the stakeholders in fighting the epidemic, in particular in the context of the continuity of the bank’s operations, the safety of the customers and employees and participation in social initiatives. The investors were also interested in the bank’s approach to financing high emission industries and the mining sector, diversity policy regarding the management and sustainable development criteria. The bank’s participation in the international disclosures such as CDP Disclosure Insight Action or the Coal Policy Tool was appreciated by the investors. In response to the growing importance of ESG matters in investor relations, the bank launched a new ESG section on the Investor Relations website.