Responsible Mining—The Impact of the Mining Industry in Poland on the Quality of Atmospheric Air

Justyna Woźniak and Katarzyna Pactwa
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Justyna Woźniak: Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Industrial and GeoEconomics Division, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Na Grobli 15, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland
Katarzyna Pactwa: Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Industrial and GeoEconomics Division, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Na Grobli 15, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: This article addresses issues of air pollutant emissions by Polish mining industry leaders in the light of corporate social responsibility policy: Kombinat Górniczo-Hutniczy Miedzi Polska Mied? S.A. (KGHM), Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. (PGE). The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative regulates business activities at the level of environmental and social responsibility. Given the location of the “emission activities”, the level of pollutants (SO x , NO x , PM x ) generated by selected entities in the capital group over the years has been analysed. The aim of the article is to disclose relevant data on the emission reduction of entities as an expression of the actions of taking care of the environment and social protection. Evaluation of the extractive industry in the context of only interventions in the environment without emphasizing the economic and social significance is biased. Therefore, the level of emissivity of the whole economy has been verified against the background of the European Union. The article highlights the importance of coal power in two contexts: the production of electricity based on that fuel in controlled industrial installations and the uncontrolled use of coal in the municipal economy as a problem with a greater nuisance and impact on the quality of inhaled air. Analyses have shown that the widely understood mining industry is still a source of pollution, but power plants and processing plants have significantly reduced the volume of emissions over the years.

Keywords: mining industry; Poland; environment; air pollution; CSR; low emission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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