CSR in Poland and the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in the Energy Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic ^†

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine whether the COVID-19 epidemic has slowed the fulfilment of one of the core tasks of the energy sector “Ensure Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All” (SDG7) taking into account corporate social responsibility. Four research questions and hypotheses were posed, relating to the perspectives of local authorities, the activities of large energy companies, the impact of the epidemic on the implementation of the SDG7 and, in addition, to the understanding of CSR principles from the point of view of ordinary entrepreneurs. A qualitative descriptive analysis based on two reliable databases and a survey procedure (Question 4) was used to answer the research questions posed. The goal was achieved by positively confirming three hypotheses and testing one negatively, relating to COVID-19’s slowing role in SDG7 implementation. The analysis showed that the 2020–2021 epidemic in Poland has led to more initiatives in this area, contrary to expectations. However, they were linked to the simultaneous implementation of other SDGs, which distorted their importance for achieving Goal 7. In summary, although energy companies were more active than expected during the epidemic, they had a low contribution to SDG 7. This also applies to local authorities. An analysis of the knowledge about CSR in a group of entrepreneurs from the Lublin district (case study) confirmed the opinion appearing in the literature about the lack of understanding of the concept and the need for its application.

1. Introduction

Over the past 25 years, the realities of the energy sector have changed in response to new market, geopolitical, social, technical, environmental and lastly health conditions [1]. With demographic pressures, a culture of overproduction and the short-term sustainability of products encouraging increased consumerism, many environmental and social indicators have been adversely affected to an alarming degree. Hence, the necessity to protect the climate and the environment, including by striving for the widespread use of low- and zero-emission sources. The Kyoto Protocol, and then the Paris Agreement, gave the European Union impetus and direction in shaping its climate and energy policy. Initially, the EU took on the challenge of meeting the so-called 3 × 20 targets, under which the EU committed to achieving a 20% share of renewables in gross final energy consumption, a 20% improvement in energy efficiency and a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In 2014, the European Council continued its efforts to combat climate change and approved further targets for 2030, which, after revisions in 2018 and 2020, committed the EU as a whole to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% from 1990 emissions; increase the share of renewable sources in gross final energy consumption to at least 32%, a 32.5% increase in energy efficiency; and the completion of the EU’s internal energy market. In December 2020, the EU declared intent to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. However, Poland has pledged to achieve at least a 23% share of energy from renewable energy sources (RES) in gross final energy consumption by 2030, a 23% improvement in energy efficiency (as a reduction in primary energy consumption compared to PRIMES2007 projections) and a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990. In 2021, negotiations began on the “Fit for 55” legislative package, which will make the 55% greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2030 more operational by accelerating the development of renewable energy sources and increasing energy efficiency. On 2 February 2021, the Council of Ministers adopted the landmark Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 (PEP2040). For the first time in a long-term government strategy for the energy sector, a path to a zero-carbon energy system has appeared. PEP2040 is also the first government document to record a date for closing coal until 2049 [2]. As late as 2019, Gawlik and Mokrzycki criticised Poland’s preparations for the necessary change in the energy structure as one of the arguments, citing the statement that “in contrast to many European countries, the Polish government is not considering coal phase-out” [1,3]. The situation in this respect is changing rapidly not exceptionally in Poland and not only because of the implementation of the planned changes initiated by the European Union. The COVID-19 outbreak, which began in Poland on 4 March 2020 with the first case of the disease proved to be a distraction to the planned changes, including in the energy sector. The crises have had an impact both in the private and in the entrepreneurial sphere. The COVID-19 pandemic is considered a case of cumulative risk with far-reaching consequences [4], both as a natural disaster and as a financial crisis combined into one [5]. The response of financial markets to COVID-19 was shown to resemble the response to the previous financial crisis, rather than previous pandemics [6].

Without going into the biological nature of the disease-causing, ever-changing virus SARS-CoV-2, and given the topic of this paper, it is worth noting there were six apparent epidemic waves in Poland. The most dramatic were the first two: the world’s surprising first wave from March to summer 2020 and the second wave from September 2020 to January 2021, when almost 1,422,000 people fell ill with COVID-19, and 35,135 died. The third wave began on 10 February 2021 (while the revival of cases began), and by the end of May, there were 1,315,000 coronavirus cases with a mortality rate of 34,333. This wave was much more violent—it lasted for a shorter period of time but collected a similar number of fatalities. The record day in terms of the number of daily COVID-19 cases was 1 April 2021, when 35,251 people became ill. A week later, a record number of deaths during the entire epidemic was recorded—954. The fourth wave, like the second, had a slower progression after the vaccinations, and before it expired for good, a new variant of the Omicron coronavirus appeared and the number of cases began to rapidly rise, creating a fifth active wave by June 2022 [7]. The sixth epidemic wave started at the end of July 2022. For entrepreneurs and businesses, this wave was associated with a previously unknown threat, both to the individual and to the economy (those who remembered previous major epidemics, such as the Spanish flu after the First World War, have already died). The rapid introduction of severe economic restrictions slowed the epidemic; it has also severely constrained economic activity and overestimated the country’s physical and infrastructural goals and needs. In view of the organisational shortcomings at State level, citizens and especially large companies participated in the aid, offering mainly material and material aid [8]. In terms of citizens’ health, the country’s second-largest epidemic was worse due to the conflict between health and economic protection (in terms of reintroducing restrictions on business activity). Other waves accompanied by a high number of deaths occurred when vaccination against COVID-19 was already available. The high number of deaths affected people who refused vaccination, but also the limited human resources of hospitals and the availability of medical care for diseases other than SARS-CoV-2 [9,10]. While the media in the first wave cited numerous examples of support for hospitals and medical staff by organisations, there was only sporadic information in the second wave. However, that does not mean that this help did not exist; it was not driven as it was at the beginning of the pandemic.

For energy companies, active participation in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic in the country is not a statutory activity but can take place within the framework of the pillars of corporate social responsibility and also in the context of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 3 “good health and wellbeing”. However, it must be emphasised that each of the 17 SDG targets includes practices that contribute to improving people’s quality of life through direct or indirect impact on our health. In the first year of the 2020 pandemic, Poland recorded a 40% increase in voluntarily reported good practices in the area of CSR, many of which related to the implementation of SDG 3. The financial, trade and energy sectors were the most active [8].

The paper is structured as follows: First, the authors present the situation of the Polish energy sector in the context of adaptation to the latest challenges of the climate neutrality policy in the EU and describe the main features of the COVID-19 epidemic in Poland. We formulate research goals, questions and hypotheses and show how the analysis fits into the collection of existing studies. We also explain the choice of the topic of corporate social responsibility in the energy sector. We would like to underline the need for such studies in connection with Poland’s obligations in the EU and towards the world. The next step is the definition of the research method, followed by definitions and circumstances of the introduction and popularisation of concepts such as CSR and SDG, with sources of information on the activities of companies in this field in Poland. The data and results of the analysis of the four research questions are then presented. In the following sections, the authors discuss and analyse the results.

1.1. Research Goals and Questions

The analysis of the impact of the epidemic on best practices and good governance in the energy sector was based on the belief that investors consider tourism, oil and gas and the financial sector to be the most affected by COVID-19 [11].

The research goals. Bearing in mind that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic could change the plans (priorities) regarding the fulfilment of corporate social responsibility tasks or slow them or delay, it seems interesting to look at CSR in the energy sector in the implementation of statutory activities of companies relating strictly to the energy sector, whose activity is included in (SDG) 7: “Ensure Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All” [12]. It is logical that in the implementation of this noble objective, the principles and rights of people and workers must be respected, and that is why we have decided to combine the “sustainable energy” plan (expressed in SDG) with the corresponding implementation of the measures taken for that purpose (good CSR practices). Broadly speaking, this can only mean the energy sector, which we want to look at from a dual perspective: the local authorities and the companies operating in the sector.

Against this background, it is useful to answer the following research questions:

• To what extent are local authorities involved in the implementation of CSR good practices in the field of energy efficiency?
• To what extent does the energy sector contribute to the implementation of CSR good practices for “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy” (SDG 7)?
• Has the COVID-19 outbreak reduced the involvement of companies in the implementation of SDG7?

Based on our current knowledge, we assume that:

Hypothesis 1 (H1):

Local authorities support the concept of energy efficiency, which can benefit both authorities and citizens. Implementation, however, requires considerable financial resources, which is why the measures are small steps, small initiatives.

Hypothesis 2 (H2):

As the participation of Polish entrepreneurs in CSR is still relatively low, the involvement of the energy sector (in particular due to the difficulty in adapting to the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality policy) is also expected to be low, although it refers to its priority activity in the area of affordable, clean energy. However, we have no doubt about the pro bono participation of companies in this sector.

Hypothesis 3 (H3):

We, therefore, assume that the outbreak of the epidemic in Poland has limited the commitment to “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” to other ad hoc initiatives.

Any findings confirming or disproving the low level of activity in good CSR practices can be partially commented on by answering the following question:

4.

Do entrepreneurs (regardless of the sector) understand the concept of corporate social responsibility?—using the example of local companies from Lublin district (own research).

Hypothesis 4 (H4):

Given the lack of a uniform definition and the complexity of the concept [13], we assume that it may be difficult to develop a deeper understanding of the objectives and the way in which the popular concept of CSR is pursued.

This choice of questions has, of course, its limits. First, the set does not complete the theme; second, it relies on information provided voluntarily (and, therefore, more subjectively) by organisations; and third, information on the understanding of CSR is more or less local (question 4). In addition, both the concept of corporate social responsibility and the Sustainable Development Goals are general in nature, and CSR is interpreted in different cultural contexts, both in terms of national and corporate culture. Finally, the proposed topic is highly actual, the data collected at the end of May 2022 and the connection between CSR and SDG tasks are hardly visible in the literature. This is the first empirical study on the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on very modern concepts of responsiveness in the economic conditions of the Polish energy sector.

1.2. Selected Literature

In contrast, the COVID-19 pandemic is probably the most popular research topic in many contexts. In addition to medical research, it acts as an umbrella over place and time, activities, and interactions in other disciplines. It can be said that in many cases it is a symbol of time. That is why we have, therefore, decided not to carry out studies on many subjects under the umbrella of COVID-19 in order not to lose sight of this work. However, it is worth mentioning some of the thematically related issues, such as:

“COVID-19: What it means for the energy industry” on the PwC platform [14]—The outbreak has contributed to a decline in oil demand, resulting in plummeting oil prices and production declines, especially in the wake of the Russia–OPEC price war.

Prepared by Lu et al. [15], “Impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on the energy sector” on the example of energy companies from the USA and China has shown that although the epidemic negatively affected many aspects of the energy industry, the pace of transition to clean energy has not stopped. However, some energy companies went bankrupt during this time.

Olabi et al. [16] “Impact of COVID-19 on the Renewable Energy Sector and Mitigation Strategies”. This report examines the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the renewable energy (RE) sector, particularly in countries with the largest renewable electricity capacity, such as the United States, China, India and the EU. The start of renewable energy projects was interrupted due to lack of funding allocation and disruptions in the supply of equipment and components due to blocking measures. “The RE sector was […] significantly impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic, but interestingly in a unique way. The power supply from REs was not affected similar to those for coal- and natural gas-fired power plants that have ceased operation or reduced operational capacity due to reduced power demand and limited fuel supply with the drop in maritime trade. The RE sector was affected mainly due to lack of capital investment and supply chain disruption, along with lockdown measures and hence reduced workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded additional budget from many governmental entities to manage such crisis and save peoples’ lives; hence, less budget for capital expenditure or subsidy was available for execution of RE projects. The disruption in the supply chain has resulted in the unavailability of RE components, more specifically PV modules, either due to lockdown measures at manufacturing facilities or cessation of transportation operations, which has led to the deferral of many REs projects along with increased cost. Additionally, the lockdown measures have resulted in ceased construction work in many RE projects. […] Nevertheless, the pandemic can present some opportunities once proper mitigation strategies and policy recommendations are considered for the post-COVID-19 era.” (p. 569).

Werth et al. [17] in “Impact analysis of COVID-19 responses on energy grid dynamics in Europe” performed an analysis in sixteen countries. They provided results that the restrictions caused the load drop, and energy generation was affected in most countries. The results also showed that energy generation from nuclear, coal and gas sources decreased significantly, while penetration of renewables is increasing.

Siksnelyte-Butkiene [18] in “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic to the Sustainability of the Energy Sector” provided the systematic literature review performed in the Web of Science (WoS) database, where a total of 113 relevant articles were selected for the analysis. The five main impact areas of the COVID-19 pandemic to the sustainability of the energy sector were found: consumption and energy demand; air pollution; investments in renewable energy; energy poverty; and energy system flexibility.

About Poland “The Economic Effect of the Pandemic in the Energy Sector on the Example of Listed Energy Companies.” [19] The capital groups selected for the study were: Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE), Tauron, Enea and Zespół Elektrowni Pątnów-Adamów-Konin (ZE PAK). These capital groups are the largest electricity producers in Poland, as they own at least one of the ten largest power plants in Poland and are listed on the stock exchange. To examine the energy effectiveness, the authors used ratio analysis tools, i.e., financial ratios, liquidity, debt, profitability and efficiency. According to the conclusions, the level of industrial production and investment declined, contributing to a decrease in domestic electricity consumption and, thus, affecting the reduction in electricity production. However, the decline in production in power plants by about 4% compared to the same period of the previous year is not significant. The pandemic accelerated the introduction of activities related to preparing entire organisations for changes to meet the challenges posed to energy companies related to decarbonisation. However, Rutkowska-Tomaszewska et al., the authors of this article, were not able to verify the actual share of RES in energy production due to the lack of figures on energy consumption by prosumers (they are not recorded).

Other works dealing with Poland and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on selected economic aspects (other than energy) are, of course, widely represented, both as articles [20,21] and as topics of dissertations [22,23,24].

Of the few articles on the conjunction of CSR and SDG, the paper “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a Framework for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)” [25] should be highlighted, in which these two concepts were scientifically linked. Of course, we consider that the value of these ideas lies in putting them into practice. In a sense, however, there is a surplus of texts urging organisations to use them, and an excess generally leads to trivialisation. For this reason, our study focused on a database that shows already implemented good CSR practices related to the Sustainable Development Goals, not only the declared ones.

It should be emphasised that there are more scientific studies that cover only some aspects examined by our study (defined by two or three keywords). A systematic literature review performed by Stuss et al. [26] using the keywords “CSR + Poland + Energy Sector” showed 32 publications in the ProQuest database in 2011–2021, in Emerald—10 publications, and in SCOPUS—4 publications. The search in the ProQuest database (August 2022) with the phrase “COVID-19 in Poland” leads to 321 records and “CSR in Poland” to 73. There is no article that summarises all the keywords in this work.

2. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development Concepts

There is no one specific definition of CSR [13]. Rather, the concept is defined by the context in which the term is used. CSR is a process in which business show their concern about the welfare of the environment and for people. The concept varies between society, and it is likely to change constantly according to the circumstances of each company [27]. The three pillars of CSR are: environment, society and economy [28]. In the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) conceptualisation, CSR is the method by which enterprises can adapt and manage economic, social and environmental issues for the benefit of communities, as well as measures in the field of social inclusion and human rights [29].

The reporting of corporate social responsibility (CSR) after the first years of chaos (especially now, due to appearing epidemic consequences), the so far widespread use of avoidance by companies or the presentation of facade solutions (stigmatised as part of greenwashing or latest warwashing) becomes increasingly honest and forward-looking, although still uncomplete. It is based both on voluntary commitments and actions by companies and on mandatory standards (in terms of transparency in reporting non-financial data) introduced by stock exchanges and state governments or institutions, such as the European Union. In fact, the documents prepared by the European Commission were of key importance for the development of CSR, especially:

• Green Paper: Promoting a European framework for Corporate Social Responsibility (2001) [30];
• White Paper: Communication from the Commission concerning CSR: A business contribution to Sustainable Development (2002) [31];
• “A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility” (European Commission, 2011) [32].

The last document stresses that “that the economic crisis and its social consequences have to some extent damaged consumer confidence and levels of trust in business. They have focused public attention on the social and ethical performance of enterprises. By renewing efforts to promote CSR now, the Commission aims to create conditions favourable to sustainable growth, responsible business behaviour and durable employment generation in the medium and long term” (p. 2). These words about the financial crisis at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, began to come true unexpectedly a decade later in 2020s when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, which changed economic activity in almost all parts of the world. It is this sudden change that we can call global, while the 2008 financial crisis had “only” an international dimension.

In the case of Poland, information about CSR practices by institutions is now available thanks to the Directive 2014/95/EU (relating to disclosure of non-financial information by companies) [33]. It was implemented into Polish law in January 2017. Furthermore, 2018 Polish companies are obliged to report on non-financial information in a free access [34]. However, despite the lack of obligation, the number of published non-financial reports continued to increase from one in 2005, with as much as a 50% increase compared to the previous year in 2010 (39 reports). Most non-financial reports in 2005–2016 were published (in order) by the fuel sector, banks, food and energy sectors [35].

In Poland, corporate social responsibility is a concept whose origins are seen in the economic practices of the country’s companies in the 1990s. Although there were earlier publications about CSR in the field of economic activity (especially on the ethics of action), the dynamic diffusion of this idea took place only in the years 2006–2007 due to the massive influx of foreign investors to Poland [36]. However, already in 1999, the Council of Ministers adopted the document “Poland 2025-Long-term Sustainable Development Strategy” [37].

The first years of CSR in Poland are divided as follows [38,39]:

• The first stage of CSR development in Poland (1989–1999)—phase of silence and lack of interest;
• The second stage (2000–2002), CSR raised dislike and sometimes even opposition from many business leaders and economists, overwhelmed by the idea of “the invisible hand of the market” as a cure;
• The third stage (2003–2004) brought interest in declaring recognition of ethics and social responsibility as a foundation of a company’s conduct;
• The fourth stage (2004–2005)—development of specific, albeit partial, projects,
• involving certain significant areas of a company’s functioning;
• The fifth stage (2006–2007)—an attempt to link CSR with other strategies implemented in a company, i.e., communications, personnel, marketing or corporate governance strategy;
• The sixth stage (2007–now) is of advanced implementation when managers of large and medium companies try to adapt their activities to standards seen in western practices.

Stakeholder expectations and a good image of the company, exchange of best practices, dissemination of CSR knowledge in the media and compliance with European requirements are factors influencing the development of CSR in Poland [40]. In the next segment, we will deal with the SDGs. These goals were set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 and included in the UN Agenda Resolution 2030 as a blueprint for the continuation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The SDGs are as follows [41]:

• No poverty: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
• Zero hunger: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
• Good health and well-being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
• Quality education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
• Gender equality: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
• Clean water and sanitation: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
• Affordable and clean energy: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
• Decent work and economic growth: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.
• Reduced inequalities: Reduce inequality within and among countries.
• Sustainable cities and communities: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
• Responsible consumption and production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
• Climate Action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
• Life below water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
• Life on land: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
• Peace justice and strong institutions: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
• Partnership for the goals: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.

SDG7 is an objective directly related to the tasks of the energy sector. We can assume, that 8 out of 17 goals may relate also to this goal: (3) good health and well-being, (4) quality education, (8) decent work and economic growth, (9) industry, innovation and infrastructure, (11) sustainable cities and communities, (12) responsible consumption and production, (13) climate action and (17) partnerships for the goals.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has slowed down the implementation of the increasingly efficient objectives of sustainable development. The World Bank points to “The 2022 edition of Tracking SDG 7” [42]: “The Energy Progress Report shows that the impacts of the pandemic, including lockdowns, disruptions to global supply chains, and diversion of fiscal resources to keep food and fuel prices affordable, have affected the pace of progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 7) of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy by 2030. Advances were impeded particularly in the most vulnerable countries and those already lagging in energy access. […] The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on energy was compounded in the last few months by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has led to uncertainty in global oil and gas markets and has sent energy prices soaring”. Since the authors in the previous work deplored the fall in fuel prices, which exacerbated economic and employment problems [14,15,16], it is necessary to highlight the extraordinary unpredictability of the energy market in recent years, not only due to the pandemic but also due to numerous political turbulence, without climate policy to forget.

Although much is said about sustainability issues, there is no theoretical or practical consensus about what CSR is and how it relates to sustainable development and business sustainability. However, international organisations believe that both CSR concepts and the SDGs are consciously and organisationally linked [9]. The Sustainable Development Goals are changing the debate on corporate social responsibility. The SDGs are the roadmap to a more sustainable future, and CSR is the first step. Companies have the necessary resources, manpower and technology to achieve the SDGs. The SDGs are much broader and more forward-looking than individual corporations, making the economy more social and sustainable [11,25]. CSR is also a key to promoting the SDGs [43].

CSR is popular in the energy sector. Companies promote renewable energy sources “and invest in improving their energy security and efficiency, updating their technology and procedures, and minimising the negative effects of energy storage and transport. Sustainable Energy Development (SED) (Sustainable energy development, recognized since 1987, is a complex multi-dimensional concept that can vary in meaning based on the context it is applied in and the perspective of the user [44].) goals aim to reduce pollution, increase efficiency, enhance alternative energy resources and utilize new technologies. In the meanwhile, energy supply sustainability is the guide to protect future needs while satisfying current requirements. CSR activities may lower the costs for consumers and encourage renewable energy and energy-saving technologies. […] CSR elevates companies’ non-financial performance such as carbon footprint mitigation” [25]. According to Tiep [45], the role of corporate social responsibility in achieving sustainable energy is positive.

Nair et al. [46] point out that the concepts of changing the role of SDGs after the pandemic suggest contradictory views in the literature. Some authors explain the growing importance of SDGs for the environment after COVID-19, while others discuss the possibility that COVID-19 may hinder the implementation of the SDGs. Authors “suggest that, in the new normal (post-pandemic), the SDGs within those principles ought to be re-prioritized and better integrated with CSR strategies and actions […] and propose that corporate entities assume a more proactive role in reorienting their CSR initiatives to-wards achieving the SDG targets in the post-pandemic global context”. The findings of ElAlfy et al. [15,47] “affirm the need to understand the environmental and social impacts of CSR activities on sustainable development and how current CSR performance can be improved and redirected to have long-term sustainable benefits on companies and society at large”.

The flagship source of information on Poland’s progress in the field of CSR and SDG are the reports by the Central Statistical Office [48,49]. “Poland on the path of sustainable development. Report 2020” was prepared on the 5th anniversary of signing the Agenda 2030 by Poland. The next 2021 Report was focused on selected threads of economic inclusiveness. Its leading topic was inclusive economic growth, emphasising the drop in regional and social inequalities since 2015.

Other information about CSR practices in Poland is available in numerous companies’ reports [50], regional self-government [51], as well as nationwide [52]. Descriptions of good practices identified in local government competitions, including, in particular, the “Local Government Leader of Management” as part of the work of experience sharing groups and identified independently by the offices of local government organisations, by local government media and recommended by other local governments, were entered into regional self-government databases [51].

Apart from the above-mentioned databases, the most important source of information presenting CSR practices in Poland in the context of SDGs implementation is annual report “Responsible Business in Poland. Best practices” [53] published by the largest Polish NGO, named the Responsible Business Forum. The Forum is an expert organisation with the longest tradition in Poland, running since 2000, that initiates and partners in key activities for the Polish CSR. It presents the data in a comprehensive manner, dividing activities into seven areas, according to the ISO 26000 standard.

The report, which has been published since 2001, provides an overview of the activities of companies that have notified their CSR activities. Each year, it summarises the most critical issues of a responsible business in Poland, based on voluntary CSR reports from organisations (up to 10 practices per year per company can be submitted), and since 2016, it also includes information on good practices contributing to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal.

3. Materials and Methods

In order to obtain relevant information and maximally unbiased observations, a qualitative approach and individual interviews were chosen. To realise the objective of the study, the following measures were taken:

• The research framework was defined.
• In order to show the responsible and sustainable work of local authorities in implementing the strict policy of the next steps towards climate neutrality in the EU countries by 2050, data on good practices of local authorities were collected in the categories “Energy Efficiency” (the only category in the CSR database that directly addresses the energy dimension) and in two local initiatives (case studies for urban and rural areas).

The data are taken from the database of the nationwide local governments. It contains information on the energy practices of local administrative units. Its name is The Base of Good Practices, and it was launched in 2007 by nationwide self-government organisations. It collects descriptions of good and proven solutions in the field of improving the management of public services and the development of local government units, including institutional development, and since 2013, it also contains inter-government cooperation. At present, this database contains more than 500 standardised descriptions of practices, consistent with the adopted methodology. They are divided into several sections: Social services, technical services, institutional development, energy efficiency and others [52].

1.

To demonstrate a similarly responsible approach by energy companies to the same ambitious goal of climate neutrality, the data were taken from the nationwide database The Responsible Business Forum, which combines CSR practices with sustainability goals. Currently (data for the end of 2021), this database contains 7772 examples of good practices from Poland, 783 companies involved in CSR, 28 industries and 20 reports of Good Practice [54]. This is a record growth in reported practices over the year (by 1664 examples), and it is still the epidemic period (but with less restrictions and mass vaccinations against COVID-19). The companies engaged a report on a maximum of 10 best practices. Qualifying a good practice requires its compliance with the concept of corporate social responsibility. The final evaluation is carried out by the qualifying committee, which includes representatives of the Responsible Business Forum. The data collected allow us to link the good CSR practices with Goal 7: affordable and clean energy, which is of interest to us in this case.

The analysis of changes in CSR practices in the energy sector during the COVID-19 epidemic was based on data from the following years:

• since 2016 but before the epidemic outbreak (that is, since both categories: CSR and SDG appear in the reports)
• and in the first epidemic year 2020 (before vaccination against COVID-19) as well as in the second year 2021 (with vaccination against COVID-19).

2.

In order to assess the companies’ understanding of the CSR objectives and the degree of implementation of the measures (usually not only in the energy sector), the results of a sample of more than 400 companies from the Lublin district in south-eastern Poland were presented. A preliminary questionnaire was introduced in 2018 and updated in 2021.

A descriptive qualitative analysis was used to answer the research questions. This method makes it possible to collect and combine systematic, objective, and repeatable research information. The empirical basis of the study is the cross-sectional time series contained in the annual reports. These databases have a good reputation and are used in several domestic [55,56] and foreign [57,58,59,60] publications, including some published in Energies [26,61,62,63].

With such vague concepts as CSR and the implementation of SDG, the use of statistical analysis is not justified. “Numbers are not inherently superior to sound judgments” [64]. It should be noted that all subjective data provided by companies are available online in free access. Companies are prepared to publish information on their best practices in order to disseminate them while strengthening the company’s image [65]. When actions are reported not as a whole but as several separate tasks, which statistically increases the number of remarkable achievements, it can be an advantage of the prepared databases, as well as its disadvantage. Such an assumption discourages the use of statistical methods all the more.

4. Results

In answer to research question 1: To what extent are local authorities involved in the implementation of CSR good practices in the field of energy efficiency? In Section 4.1 and Section 4.2, we focus on CSR initiatives that are voluntarily submitted by local authorities to the nationwide Good Practice Database [52]. This section discusses the initiatives taken but also highlights two examples of such activities, one in the urban areas and one in the rural areas.

To answer research question 2: To what extent does the energy sector contribute to the implementation of CSR good practices for “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy” (SDG 7)? We used data extracted from the database Responsible Business Forum [54]. We were looking for data sets that met the following requirements: thematic area (multiple according to CSR dimensions1), industry (we chose the Energy sector), source of good practice (reports 2016–2021), selected from the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG7) list.

The next step was to search the records by the name of the organisation (company) and the following years (by entering the report for the corresponding year in the source of good practice window). The results are presented in Section 4.3.

This section also contains the information required to answer question 3: Has the COVID-19 outbreak reduced the involvement of energy companies in the implementation of SDG7? All data for answers to question 2 and 3 are arranged by years, i.e., before the pandemic (2016–2019) and during the pandemic (2020–2021).

Section 4.4 presents the results of the survey in response to research question 4: Do entrepreneurs (regardless of the sector) understand the concept of corporate social responsibility?—using the example of local companies from the Lublin district.

4.1. Energy Efficiency in a Common Base of Good Practices of Local Government Units

Data on good practices used here are provided by the energy efficiency section up to the end of May 2022. The “Energy Efficiency” category has significantly less good practice than the “Social Services”, “Technical Services” and “Institutional Development of CSR” categories. In the energy efficiency category, 41 practices were registered, of which 4 were in rural communes, 7 were at subdistrict (poviat) level and 30 were in urban communes (the most in Bielsko-Biała, Częstochowa and Poznań, respectively) [52].

The activities in rural communities included:

• Comprehensive activities increasing energy efficiency, improving the ecological effect based on investments using renewable energy sources in Gierałtowice;
• An initiative to increase the use of renewable energy sources (Kobylnica);
• Comprehensive use of renewable energy sources as one of the pillars of the sustainable development of the rural commune of Słupsk;
• Reduction in pollutant emissions using renewable energy sources in a rural Mazurian commune (Stare Juchy).

At the subdistrict (poviat) level, in fact, most of the “city” problems were implemented, such as:

• Center for Renewable Energy Sources in Bielawa;
• Comprehensive program of atmospheric air protection in the scope of limiting the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere of the city of Bielsko-Biała from residential buildings;
• Improving air quality and increasing the use of renewable energy sources by modernising the heat source and installing solar collectors for SPZOZ County Hospital in Bochnia;
• Optimisation of energy and environmental management in public buildings of the city of Częstochowa;
• Cooperation of the poviat self-government with non-governmental organisations in the effective use of renewable energy sources in the nursing home for children “Rainbow House” in Ełk;
• Renewable energy sources as the basis for the modernisation of the school heating system;
• Comprehensive modernisation of thermal energy installations based on renewable energy sources in the nursing home.

In addition, many varieties of the city energy programs were reported directly at city level as one of the pillars of effective city management, solar roofs, changes in street lighting, educational programs, etc:

The activities in city communities included (location and name of the project):

Northern Poland:

Dzierzgoń (33 th. inh.)—Sunny roofs for the Dzierzgoń commune.

Dzierżoniów–Energy management in a small town—a model proposal

Kępice (69 th. inh.)—Cooperation of the municipal government with the state forests and other entities in the use of renewable energy sources.

Central Poland:

Głowno (14,5 th. inh.)—Modernisation of street lighting in the city of Głowno.

Płońsk (22,55 th. inh)–Modernisation of the district heating system of the city of Płońsk.

Poddębice (7,5 th. inh.)—CITY OF THE SUN—the use of renewable energy sources for heating purposes in the strategic promotion of the Poddębice commune.

Uniejów (3 th. inh.)—The only geothermal heating system in Poland without the use of conventional heat sources as a supporting system.

Western Poland:

Gniezno (69 th. inh.)—Gniezno Poviat—Biofuels.

Poznań (540 th. inh.)—The use of biogas from municipal waste for combined energy production as an element of comprehensive waste management in the Poznań agglomeration.

Poznań—“Keep warm” 2010/2011—a program for free thermal imaging of buildings.

Poznań—EcoDriving of safe Poznań—the local government promotes driver education, serving the safety of city traffic and environmental protection.

Eastern Poland:

Ełk (61,5 th. inh.)—Investments in renewable energy sources as an element of the integrated eco-development policy of the city—“Renewable Energy Master”.

Ełk—CITY ENERGY PROGRAM as one of the pillars of effective city management.

South Poland:

Bielawa (30 th. inh.)—Environmental education in Bielawa from kindergarten to university.

Bielsko Biała (530 th. inh.)—Educational and promotional campaign ”Bielsko-Biała protects the climate.”

Bielsko-Biała—Energy management system in Bielsko-Biała.

Bielsko-Biała—Renewable Energy Sources (RES)—an innovative concept for training future staff in Bielsko-Biała.

Bielsko-Biała—Monitoring of the energy market in Bielsko-Biała.

Bielsko-Biała—Low emission reduction program in Podbeskidzie—a successful example of replicating the experiences of the Tychy local government in Bielsko-Biała.

Częstochowa (225 th. inh.)—A tender for the purchase of electricity is one of the elements of cost optimisation for local governments.

Częstochowa—Council for Sustainable Development of the Energy Economy of the City of Częstochowa as a platform for cooperation between entities shaping and implementing the local energy policy.

Częstochowa—City of Sustainable Energy—Częstochowa local government is the promoter of the exemplary local energy efficiency action plan.

Częstochowa—Energy and environmental management in public buildings of the City of Częstochowa.

Radlin (17,8 th. inh.)—The use of solar collectors (RES) as part of the modernisation programs of heat sources implemented by the commune.

Radlin—Low Emission Reduction Program.

Kluczbork (24 th. inh.)—Cooperation of the municipalities of Opole Silesia in effective energy management on the example of the negotiation process with an energy concern.

Kraków (768 th. inh.)—Comprehensive action of the Municipality of Kraków for energy efficiency.

Nowa Dęba (11 th. inh.)—Effective use of biomass energy in combination with sewage waste for ecological city heating.

Świdnica (57 th. inh.), Lubin (71 th. inh.)—Reduction in electricity purchase costs through cooperation of local governments within the purchasing group.

Tychy (127 th. inh.)—Effective and environmentally friendly heat sources—the Tychy program for reducing low emissions (PONE).

To sum up, the basic objectives for renewable energy provision are included in all good practices reported by rural authorities, almost all by subdistrict (poviat) authorities and only in some cities. Good practices for cities (Bielsko-Biała, Czestochowa, Poznań, Dzierżoniow, Ełk, Radlin) were submitted extensively and some cities have reported several (sometimes they are related, such as the reported practices in the energy dimension in Częstochowa city). Most cities participating in the CSR good practices in energy efficiency are small towns (up to 70,000 inhabitants), mainly in the south of Poland. From cities with more than half a million inhabitants, only initiatives from Krakow and Poznan are reported. Unexpectedly, Warsaw (capital) and the three-city (Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot) are missing. In each of the five zones of Poland (North, West, East, Central and South), there are renewable energy supply initiatives, but the number of notifications is low. Best practice reports from southern Poland focus on the modernisation of heating systems. These are areas with high air pollution in the country [66], and the municipalities are striving to reduce low emissions (smog). Since 2022, the oldest solid fuel boilers have been banned in two districts of southern Poland (Silesia and the Subcarpathian). Both resolutions concern boilers in service more than 10 years after their manufacture and boilers without a nameplate. From 2023, the oldest boilers in the capital region and in south-eastern Poland will also be banned [67]

4.2. CSR Local Practices in the Energy Sector–Case Illustration

4.2.1. Township Scale

The example chosen to illustrate measures to implement the Sustainable Development Goals correlated with CSR relates to a project to modernise street lighting in the town of Głowno in central Poland. It is a small town with about 5000 inhabitants. Until the modernisation project, more than 1500 light points were installed in the urban area, most of them mercury lamps. The old lighting system had an output of 280 kW. Mercury lamps produced copious amounts of hazardous waste and were less efficient. The aim of the modernisation was to illuminate streets and public spaces in compliance with current standards while reducing the so far installed capacity. After replacing the lighting, the total installed capacity dropped to about 155 kW. The estimated cost of the luminaires to be replaced was about 500 thousand PLN (around 106 thousand euro). The financial effects show the difference in the cost to the city budget in the winter months before and after the modernisation of the system, which decreased by more than 30%. Account should be also taken of the shadow prices associated with mercury-containing waste, which is no longer present in the system. Other benefits have to do with improved social security, as the lighting system is now more efficient. The project started before the epidemic and was completed in 2020–2021 [52].

4.2.2. The Case of City Rural Surroundings

This is the case of the rural surroundings of Słupsk city located at the Baltic Sea. This area is known for its project to install the American missile shield, but here, the main point of our interest is its very intensive local government’s environmental policy. Through a dynamic investment policy for the efficient use of renewable energy sources, the small municipality is one of the leaders in the use of renewable energy, not only in rural communities but also in many much larger and more prosperous municipalities. In this context, a gradual thermo-modernisation of the buildings has been carried out since 2001, and in 2004, the modernisation of school boilers was completed, leading to the commissioning of five independent biomass boilers. In 2005, own energy pasture plantations were set up for the heating cellar, and two years later, the municipal biomass heating plant was established. In 2009, the municipality implemented the “Solar Installations in the Municipality of Słupsk” program under which individuals and small businesses could apply for a partial grant for the purchase and installation of solar collectors. The collectors were also installed in the buildings of the municipal water park in Redzikovo. In the same year, a street lighting system with LED lamps and solar panels was installed. All these measures led to significant savings in electricity consumption and a significant reduction in air pollution in the municipality. As a result, the inhabitants of nearby Slupsk city prefer to move to the area of the village Słupsk and increase their budget by increasing tax revenues. The brand “I fly for the city” promoted in this way has become the calling card of this corner of Poland [52].

4.3. CSR Practices in the Energy Industry in Conjunction with the Sustainable Development Goals

Good CSR practices in the Energy sector were reported 63 times in total in the analysed years 2016–2021, including 19 in 2021 and 14 in 2020, which means 33 in both years of the epidemic (2020–2021) (

Table 1. CSR good practices in the energy sector in Poland in a framework SDG 7 by core subjects of ISO 26000 (in 2016–2021).

7 Core Subjects of ISO 26000	2021	2020	2019	2016–2021	CSR Activities by Type 2016–2021
Organisational governance	1	0	0	1	Management (1)
Human rights	0	0	0	0
Labour practices	0	0	0	0
Environment	16	10	4	40	Certification (2) Ecological education (6) Eco-office (1) Eco-construction (2) Eco-efficiency (13) Eco-products (2) Circular economy (2) Renewable energy sources (8) Pro-environmental programs (3) Sustainable transport (1)
Fair operating practices	1	3	0	5	Market education (3) Relationships with suppliers (1) Relationships with stakeholders (1)
Consumer issues	0	1	0	13	Availability of products and services (2) Consumer education (8) Facilitation for customers (3)
Community Involvement and development	1	0	1	4	Good neighbour (1) Charity and philanthropic activities (0) Education of children and youth (2) Sustainable cities (1)
TOTAL	19	14	5	63	20 types

Source: own selection [54].

).

This means that most good practices were reported in epidemic years, and by far the most in 2021, when anyone wanting to vaccinate against COVID-19 was able to do so because a number of vaccines were available. As a result, the year 2021 was not dominated by charities for medical infrastructure, as was the case in the first year of the 2020 pandemic. However, it should be noted that most deaths in Poland occurred in 2021 (15 April), and then on 1 January 2022 [20]. It is, therefore, difficult to say whether conditions in Poland were safe enough to forget about the pandemic and focus on different CSR activities and the achievement of SD goals outside of health. Without the pandemic, the interest of the energy sector in achieving the European Union’s “Fit for 55” targets probably could increase. In the years of the 2020–2021 pandemic, the energy sector reported 22 charitable and philanthropic practices, including 17 in the first year of the 2020 pandemic. Only one non-profit project listed in Table (Table 1) means that only that project was notified for the achievement of SDG7. In total, the energy sector reported 44 best practices under philanthropy over the period 2016–2021, which shows that the energy sector increased its philanthropic activities in the field of charity and philanthropy in 2020, compared to other years [54].

However, when assessing the level of interest of the energy sector in the implementation of the environmental policy prepared and subsequently adopted by Poland, the interest was relatively low compared to expectations and overall objectives. In 2016–2021, 194 good practices from all sectors listed in the database were reported (including 30 under the renewable energy category) to implement SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy). However, it represents only 2.5% of the total number of good practices included in the database in those years. Only one third of the 2.5% was proposed by energy companies. In addition, the practices reported by energy companies (usually large and state-owned), were more than 12.5% (63 out of 504 reported), and thus, the proportion of these practices among energy companies was higher than in other sectors of the national economy. Which should not be surprising.

In the epidemic years 2020–2021, energy companies returned 16% of the reported SDG 7 good practices. Before the pandemic, 2016–2019, it was only 10%, and if one looks at just one year before the pandemic, it is even less than 7% of all reported good practices (affordable and clean energy). Therefore, it can be assumed that the outbreak of the epidemic and achievement of other objectives by companies, such as philanthropic or public health objectives [8], did not change (or stop) the achievement of SDG7 in their routine activities. This can probably be explained by the low level of commitment on the part of companies that are predisposed to these activities. If so, we have to ask why?

Some of the companies running in the energy market and reporting CSR practices did not have activities related to the provision of affordable and clean energy at all. For example:

• Veolia Energia Polska, which notified four practices (SDG 4 and 11), but none in the energy sector;
• Poland Energy, 14 practices, none related to SDG 7;
• Tauron Poland Energy, 62 practices (20 in 2020–2021), of which only 9 are linked to SDG 7, while 21 are linked to SDG 3 (health and quality of life improvement), and 20 are linked to SDG 4—good education. In the pandemic years 2020–2021, Tauron carried out such practices as: Video cabin with an advisor, Feel the magic of Christmas, Don’t lose shape, Train at home!, Plant Experimental Area, Great Joy on Two Wheels, MegaPower of Christmas Carols, etc. The few that relate to SDG7 and renewable energies are: new sources in the “TAURON virtual power plant”, Take no smog, Take a breath, EKO Premium product, Electricity and heat from methane, Photovoltaic farm on the site of a former coal-fired power plant, eco-competition “Subsidy for the house”;
• PGNiG, 32 practices (18 in pandemic years, 10 in 2020 and 8 in 2021). Only 4 practices were related to SDG 7 (of which 3 were in 2020): RIPEE—Register of Energy Efficiency Initiatives, Energy from the Sun, ISO 50 001 certified—Energy Management System, PGNiG Thanksgiving Account;
• PKP Energetyka, 16 practices, including one linked to the achievement of SDG 7: Traction energy storage system PKP Energetyka;
• ENEA, 62 good practices, including 6 related to SDG7 in the areas of consumers’, children and young people education; there is no connection to renewable energy sources;
• PKN Orlen, 60 practices, including one in the eco-efficiency category under SDG 7 Investment projects with innovation, innovation and R&D components of the 2021 Decarbonisation Programme;
• Energa ORLEN Group, 29 practices, including 6 related to SDG7, in the category of sustainable cities, eco-efficiency, environmental programmes, consumer education, certification; no connection to renewable energy sources;
• Veolia Group, 32 practices, but only 6 related to SDG7: Innovative Energy Installation—Heat Recovery from Waste Water (Szlachęcin), Energy Efficiency of Buildings—Competition at Veolia Group in Poland, Transformation2050. pl, Veolia Group’s Intelligent Heat Network in Poland and two in the Circular Economy category: Obtaining heat production from industrial processes for district heating and the use of waste gas for heat generation;
• Polsat Plus Group (Cyfrowy Polsat, TV Polsat), 22 good practices, 2 of which are related to SDG7, including 1 on renewable energy: the Polsat Plus Group on Green Energy from the Sun;
• Columbus Energy, 9 Best Practices (all from 2021), of which 3 are related to SDG 7, in the categories “eco-products”, “eco-office” and “environmental education”.

In 2016–2021, only 6 good practices met SDG7 exclusively, in the categories of consumer education, market education or children and young people education (mainly in 2016). In other cases, several SDGs (two to five) were achieved simultaneously and within the same project. In these cases, SDG7 was in first place only four times. The most frequent combinations with SDG 9: industry, innovation and infrastructure (27 times) and SDG 13: climate action (27 times) as well as SDG11: sustainable cities and communities (19 times) and SDG12: responsible consumption and production (18 times). In addition, it was combined with SDG 4 (7 times), SDG 8 (2 times) and once with SDG 14, 15 and 17.

4.4. The Problem of Understanding CSR and Raising Awareness of Sustainable Development Goals among Companies’ Leaders

The problem of understanding CSR and raising awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals is of particular concern to companies. The same was noticed in the Stawicka and Paliszkiewicz paper based on a statistical database [65]. Grass root level research shows this question in detail. A survey of the local economic activity in the Lublin district made in 2018–2020 included the sample of 448 companies. Students from the University of Economics and Innovation in Lublin, who are members of the Student Scientific Circle, took part as interviewers. They approached this task very responsibly by adding information from the supplementary interviews to the printed questionnaires. The students live in different localities of the Lublin district, so the geographical scope of the research was broad and involved companies of varied sizes and activities. Out of a total of 448 surveys, 162 were conducted in Lublin city, 103 in other major towns of the district (Zamość, Chełm, Puławy, Kraśnik) and 183 in smaller settlements. The various locations of the companies were an additional factor taken into account in the analysis [68].

The objective was to assess the extent to which entrepreneurs in local markets understand the challenges of CSR implementation and whether CSR practices improve competitiveness. The project covered several aspects of corporate social responsibility. The first question was whether the operators were aware of the CSR and then whether they applied measures in favour of the CSR. It was only then that the qualitative question arose of what a company implements in this area, how it does it and what impact it has. For formal reasons and in order not to discourage respondents unnecessarily, the benchmark for gender, age, education, etc. used in research was omitted.

The questionnaire included five questions, namely:

1.

Are you familiar with the concept of corporate social responsibility?

2.

How can this concept be defined?

3.

What activities do you associate with corporate social responsibility?

a.

Charitable purposes (social assistance)

b.

Emergency assistance

c.

Protection of the environment

d.

Other?

4.

Does your company meet the objectives of CSR in the above-mentioned area? How?

5.

What are the benefits for your company of implementing CSR?

The starting point of the discussion on the application of CSR principles at the local level was the entrepreneur’s approach to the concept. Question 1 “Are you familiar with the concept of corporate social responsibility?”; approximately two thirds of respondents answered yes. Is it a high percentage? Apparently no, which was also confirmed by the answers to the following questions in the survey, which means that the idea of CSR needs to be popularised. There were fewer respondents, as only about 50% of respondents from Lublin city and the larger cities in the region reported using CSR (question 4) and even fewer (42%) in small towns and rural areas. Therefore, there were hardly any differences in the responses according to the location of the company. These results cannot, of course, be regarded as highly representative, but the quantitative survey suggests a trend even if the companies are randomly selected. Incidentally, it should be noted that corporate social responsibility was earlier promoted in Lublin city under the Swiss–Polish Cooperation Program, although this action concerned recycling.

Qualitative research leads to more interesting conclusions. There were several. In the beginning, it was an intellectual task to define the concept of CSR (question 2). It was shown that fewer people are able to deal with this issue than those familiar with the term “CSR”, although these figures roughly corresponded to the number of companies applying CSR principles (see the

Table 2. CSR knowledge, ability to define and apply (% of respondents).

Location	Knowledge of CSR (%)	Ability to Define (%)	Applying CSR (%)
Lublin city	69	43	46
Towns	62	52	56
Other settlements	66	38	42
Total number of respondents	448

Source: [58].

). The review, therefore, confirms that local entrepreneurs are generally unaware of CSR.

This project has shown that there is still little awareness of CSR objectives at the company level. The majority of respondents saw CSR as support for the people in need but felt that this should be provided by the state and NGOs. For some respondents, CSR is associated with charity, especially in crisis situations, and with the involvement of the company’s employees in solving problems in the local community and in solving problems related to workers’ rights. Unfortunately, the topic of sustainability was secondary in the interviews (recycling, energy saving). The results show that education needs to be fully supported if CSR is to become ubiquitous and even mandatory.

5. Discussion

Renewable energy plays a strategic role in the decarbonisation process to combat climate change, as it plays an increasingly important role in electricity markets. When assessing what Poland has achieved in order to provide affordable and accessible clean energy for all, it should be noted that the changes that need to take place in the Polish economy are incomparably greater than in other EU countries. Achieving these objectives requires not only substantial financial resources but also responsible decisions, because changes affect many citizens (especially coal workers), as well, six regions are linked to coal. It is estimated that, by 2030, approximately PLN 300 billion could be made available for national transformation and approximately PLN 60 billion for coal conversion. EU funds, from the Just Transition Fund, Cohesion Policy, and the Facility for Reconstruction and Resilience, can play an important role. National funds are also to be involved, and a special role in this area is already played by programs implemented by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and district funds, the Modernization Fund and the Energy Transformation Fund [2].

We are currently in a difficult time in which we have to counteract both the risks of negative climate change (long-term objective) and the protection of citizens’ health (short-term objective COVID-19 goal). Although we know little about the post-pandemic period, this will certainly be a shorter episode in world history than the reversal of the negative climate change we are already witnessing. However, with the rapidly increasing number of illnesses and deaths, it is difficult to imagine that we would wait (at individual and company level) without doing anything but calmly pursuing our statutory goals. Therefore, the involvement of energy companies in the activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the field of material aid to hospitals, local communities or philanthropic activities, was very clear [8,69]. However, it must be emphasised that policies to promote affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) do not differ significantly before and during the pandemic.

Perhaps it is because this is still a margin of activity for companies whose main task is to supply energy. Another reason is the different approach (lack of standardisation) of Polish energy companies to the implementation of good CSR practices, unless they refrain from reporting on good practices, even though they are being applied by them. However, studies carried out by Stuss et al. on the example of the largest Polish energy companies with international status show that there is a standard approach to CSR in all Polish energy companies. The three largest energy companies (Enea Group, Tauron and PGE) assessed that the way they build their CSR strategies is based on: formalised CSR concept, published CSR reports, disclosure of CSR information on the company’s website, CSR activities for stakeholders, content of CSR certificates and CSR awards [26].

The question arises as to why affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) stands for only a small proportion of CSR activities of energy companies (10–12%) as an objective of good practice. To demonstrate good CSR practices, they combine SDG7 with different objectives. Why? Is it just a marketing measure? To answer this question, it is worth looking deeper. However, it seems that: CSR “concept is still understood by many as sponsorship and philanthropy. The main barriers to CSR development in Poland include lack of qualified staff, inability to see the direct effects for business, poor incentives from the state administration, insufficient time, and limited financial resources” [2,36]. Tylec’s study [40] shows that the exchange of good practices, the expectations of stakeholders (in line with the expected image effects) and the dissemination of CSR through the media are the three most important factors for the development of CSR engagement in Poland, bearing in mind the need to follow Directive 2014/95/EU [34]. The factors hampering the development of CSR in Poland are repeated statements in another study that it is a lack of knowledge and funding [40]. Based on the surveys carried out in the Lublin district, we believe that the lack of knowledge and capital is the main obstacle to the development of CSR in Poland for small and medium-sized enterprises. Similar to Witek-Crabb [38], we do not believe that large publicly owned listed companies (and most of those who enter good practices in the energy sector into the Responsible Business database) have a problem with lack of knowledge [70], perhaps with a lack of capital, which is worth checking in future studies. Tylec’s study [40], pp. 269–270, based on surveys among entrepreneurs in the period 2016–2020 reporting good practices to the Responsible Business Database (the same used in this study), shows that “some entrepreneurs/managers are aware of the importance of socially responsible activities, their impact on business performance and their impact on business performance integrates them into management strategies. At the same time, there are companies and managers who come closer to Milton Friedman’s statement that the company is primarily responsible for achieving economic objectives. Contrary to literature studies, the surveys (which target a selected group of entrepreneurs) in Poland do not confirm that CSR is generally recognised as a concept of governance, is strategically important or has been given even more prominence in recent years”. It is important that in 2020, only 4% of respondents believed the company benefitted from CSR, compared to 17% in 2018. The lack of a budget for socially responsible measures was confirmed by 8% of respondents in 2017, 21% in 2019 and 11% in 2020. At the same time, 40% of respondents were unable to estimate the value of the CSR budget [40], pp. 268–269. Has the pandemic affected the financial problems of non-financial bravery? In view of the existing ambiguities, the investigations should be continued.

Regarding the impact of CSR on a company’s finances, there is an interesting work by Chodnicka-Jaworska [71] that is based on data from 9521 European companies and examines the impact of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG)) on corporate returns during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was shown that prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, more attention was paid to ESG factors, and during this crisis, investors often viewed investing in ESG as being at risk of losing money. In the sub-sectors, the factors from groups E and S showed the greatest significance. At the same time “sectors react differently to ESG scores. The most sensitive are the energy, industrial (on social responsibility), materials, and utility sectors. This is strictly connected to regulations related to pollution reduction as well as energy and water conservation” [19,71]. Boldeanu et al. [72] demonstrated, that the pandemic had a significant negative impact on European electricity companies (in terms of abnormal returns) but the impact was more pronounced for renewable electricity companies than for traditional ones. However, contrary to the results of Chodnicka-Jaworska [73], which confirmed the impact of ESG measures on energy sector credit ratings and confirmed a significant impact of ESG on energy sector credit ratings during COVID-19, these authors obtained different results. After the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, they investigated which pillars influence the company’s performance. They also showed that it is consistent with the current literature, which states that ESG factors were irrelevant during the pandemic on stock returns. This relationship is, therefore, to be regarded as unclear and requires further investigation and the application of different assessment methods, from quantitative to qualitative.

Particularly “in the case of the Polish energy sector, the expectations that the declaration of compliance with CSR rules will translate into an improvement in the level and stability of profitability and stock market quotations of companies are not confirmed. In the case of this sector, changes in the strategic conditions of its functioning play a more important role than social responsibility” [19,74]. These may be factors influencing the decisions of large energy companies to reduce their participation in CSR good practices. Although the number of initiatives proposed is no fewer or even greater than before the epidemic (chapter 3), the financial cost and commitment of employees is not in line with the fundamental changes expected in the European decarbonisation policy.

Codogni [75] distinguished four levels of commitment, attitudes of enterprises, and issues related to corporate social responsibility, with Polish participation in types 2 and 3:

• Obstructionism—enterprises do as little as possible to solve ecological and social problems.
• Defensive attitude—the organisation respects only the applicable law but otherwise does nothing for the local community or the natural environment.
• Adjustment attitude—regarding CSR, the organisation fulfils its basic legal and ethical duties and, in some cases, goes beyond those duties.
• Active attitude—the organisation perceives itself as a citizen and actively seeks ways to contribute to the social good.

Witek-Crabb [38], based on the analysis of the content of the website, carried out a comprehensive diagnosis of the CSR maturity of Polish companies based on the conceptual model of CSR maturity, which consists of three perspectives: process maturity of CSR, formal maturity of CSR and development maturity of CSR. Between 2016 and 2017, the CSR practices of 93 listed companies from nine industries were analysed. The main finding was that the CSR practices of Poland are still quite low: 47% of companies implement incidental CSR, 30% tactical CSR and 23% apply strategic CSR. She found that the CSR maturity level is company-size- and industry-dependent. “The most mature CSR practices in the studied sample were implemented by the banking and energy sector companies. Average results of companies in these industries place them on or close to the strategic level. […] In these enterprises, CSR is a part of the business strategy and daily operations. CSR activities are planned, and their results are monitored and measured” [18,38].

However, it should be emphasised that in the field of environmental CSR in Poland, there was more intensive activity than the database of good practices suggests. Studies based on annual reports of leading oil, gas and mining companies (PKN ORLEN, PGNiG-Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazowe and KGHM Polska Miedz) show their strong commitment to environmental CSR: environmentally friendly initiatives and projects. areas for the environmental protection were as follows [76]:

• application of environmentally friendly technologies and techniques to reduce the negative environmental footprint;
• reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases (decarbonisation);
• regularly monitoring and reporting the outcomes of the environmental activities,
• including the use of natural resources, the level of emissions and waste;
• aiming at the achievement of the maximal ecological neutrality, including the use of water;
• increasing the involvement in the area of the closed circle economy, the development of distributing infrastructure for alternative fuels (e.g., electrical energy, bio-fuels and hydrogen);
• conducting and participation in R&D projects in terms of new technologies;
• identification and fulfilment of legal requirements and other regulations, undertaking remediation and reclamation measures.

It seems that these are main activities aimed at eliminating or minimising the negative impact of the company’s activities on the natural environment. Initiatives to change the company’s strategy for affordable and clean energy play only a minor role at present.

The strategic challenge for Poland (as mentioned before) is to abandon coal as an energy source and replace it with renewable energy sources, nuclear energy, hydrogen, etc. These first—renewable energy sources—now account for almost a third of the total installed capacity of all energy sources. Currently, the sun is the largest renewable energy source in Poland [77]. Photovoltaics are the most popular on a smaller, even individual scale, such as in households, schools, nursing homes, medical clinics, which significantly affects the dispersion of energy sources in Poland. This preference is reflected in the analysis of the local initiatives taken (Section 4.1 and Section 4.2). Essentially, local energy independence will reduce energy costs and ease of access.

This is beneficial not only because of the need for renewable energy but also for unforeseen phenomena such as epidemics (with disruption of the supply chain) or impending political conflicts [78].

The main obstacles to the development of renewable energy are limited opportunities for companies to finance investments, legal support schemes, administrative and procedural difficulties and problems in the operation of transmission networks. In some cases, the current regulation hampers the development of renewable energy sources, as evidenced by wind energy. Wind energy can become a leading renewable energy source in the short term and provide more energy than photovoltaics. However, the obstacle is the so-called distance law, which affects the development of new wind farms. This is a consequence of the application of the “10H” rule, i.e., the possibility of setting up wind turbines at a distance of at least 10 times the height of the power plant at maximum rotor height. It is easy to calculate that with a wind turbine of 150 m, the minimum distance from residential buildings is 1500 m. This barrier will be removed by an amendment to the law that provides for a minimum distance between the windmill and the buildings of only 500 m.

Another important requirement for increasing the share of renewable energy sources is cable pooling, i.e., the possibility to share the energy infrastructure between different generation sources, e.g., integrating photovoltaics to a wind farm. Additionally, the idea of industry with its own renewable energy sources, without the transmission grids (which in Poland are congested and need to be modernised) is also examined. This would eliminate state intermediaries, which in practice, leads to lower costs for industry [78].

6. Conclusions

The authors have focused on the energy sector, represented in Poland mainly by large companies with state capital listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The companies face the far-reaching goals to change the energy profile of Poland into a more pro-environmental one, moving away from coal towards clean, easily accessible and, ultimately, cheaper energy sources. These targets are set for all EU countries for the coming years and decades, as Europe is the first continent in the world to have declared itself climate neutral by 2050. The transition to a climate-neutral economy is both an urgent challenge and an opportunity to ensure a better future for all. In this context, it became necessary to analyse the progress made by the Polish energy sector towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 7, i.e., securing energy through the application of good business practices. As the plans may have changed or slowed down due to the urgent risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, supplementing the analysis with a more detailed analysis of the situation over the period 2020–2021 has led to cautious conclusions.

In answering the first research question, we found that the number of good local practices reported is very low. As of 1 January 2022, the administrative structure of Poland consisted of 16 districts, 314 counties and 66 county-level towns, 2477 municipalities (including 302 urban municipalities, 662 urban–rural municipalities and 1513 rural municipalities) [79]. The fact that only 41 good practices were reported is a symbol of this state of matters. This means that municipalities do not have such plans or do not report such practices. The information obtained from databases allows us, on the one hand, to monitor the activity of energy companies on their territory. It is interesting to see whether the wishes of local authorities are in any way compatible with the sustainable and responsible management of energy companies. After compiling the data from the two databases [52,54], it seems that there is a discrepancy between the plans of local governments and large energy companies. Local government officials plan infrastructural investments in renewable energy sources or energy efficiency, as they serve the residents of the administrative unit. The aim of energy companies is to improve the image of the company or, more generally, to fulfil the task of adapting the country to international climate policy. Although these goals can be achieved, they rarely are. CSR activities are more closely correlated with public relation, as other authors have already mentioned [80].

In the search for an answer to the second research question, we have noted the important philanthropic activity of energy companies, but unfortunately, many good practices in the field of clean and accessible renewable energy are not impressive and insufficient to meet the objectives of EU climate policy. Despite the increasing number of reports and good practices reported, the phenomenon is unsatisfactory.

However, the impact of the pandemic on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals 7 in the area of CSR is not a hindrance. It is even possible to speak of some intensification of efforts to close this gap during the pandemic. Combining SDG7 with many other SD targets in a project, however, implies an image rather than an actual activity. Or, according to the results of the attempt to answer the fourth research question, the entrepreneur does not have the knowledge to integrate himself into the concept of corporate social responsibility. This is also confirmed by the literature. A certain facilitation is the dependence of CSR in Poland on the European Union guidelines and legislative solutions. Moreover, Tylec’s study [35] shows that the least barrier to the implementation of socially responsible business (and of constantly decreasing importance) is legal regulations.

Hypotheses 1, 2 and 4 were confirmed in the work. The hypothesis 3, stating that the role of the epidemic in the work on the responsible approach to the implementation of SDG 7 in Poland, remains unconfirmed.

The current COVID-19 pandemic still is in progress and continues despite the government replacing the epidemic in Poland on 1 April 2022 with an epidemic emergency. The consequences cannot be predicted reliably. In the case of the Polish energy sector, however, the impact of the epidemic was overshadowed by other events, the most important of which was the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. This is, of course, a problem not only for the Polish energy sector but also for the global one. This is just one of many pieces of evidence of the strategic importance of the energy sector in the broadest sense, and there are still many uncertainties worth constantly examining. For this sector, the studies must be made available as soon as the analytical data are available. In our case, updated information for 2021 was published in the second database released at the end of May 2022 and was immediately incorporated into our analysis.

However, the conducted analysis has its limitations. First, it is based on good practices declared voluntarily by companies. Of course, the validity of the statements is verified by the appropriate authority. Still, it can be assumed that some good practices are not reported by companies. Presumably, however, this applies to a small extent to large companies in the energy sector, for which it is in a good interest to demonstrate such practices.

The subject of this analysis is currently undergoing major changes due to the simultaneous occurrence of many modifying factors (epidemic, war, the fight against global warming and environmental pollution). Therefore, it is worth continuing research on good practices related to the energy sector in conditions of rapid changes. Another issue worth attention is the circular economy, an increasingly topical subject both in the world and in the European Union, undertaken in analyses concerning many sectors [81,82], including energy. In a circular economy, it is necessary to focus on the use of renewable energy sources that do not contribute to increasing environmental pollution. Our further research steps go deeper in this direction.