Responsible business and corporate social responsibility

Social and community programmes are implemented via the Bank Millennium Foundation and focus on the following three areas:

a) financial education – programmes for pre-school and school children:

• Financial ABC – flag-ship educational programme of the Bank Millennium Foundation. Launched in 2016, proprietary financial education programme for pre-school children prepared and implemented by the Bank employees in collaboration with an NGO. The programme objective is to explain to the youngest, through play and games, the basic financial concepts. During 236 workshops implemented under the programme nearly 6 000 children were trained from 70 kindergartens throughout Poland. To meet the programme objectives, a special set of educational materials was prepared – books featuring Mr. Sebastian presenting the contents, colouring books and stickers. These materials were created with the help of parents – Bank Millennium employees. The books will be available also in kids corners in the Bank branches. The programme is implemented under honorary sponsorship of the patronage of the Children’s Ombudsman and received positive opinion from Professor Marek Belka – the Chairman of the National Bank of Poland’s Management Board in 2010-2016. The work on developing concept for programme continuation is currently under way.
• BAKCYL – the financial education programme for lower secondary school students implemented in collaboration with the Warsaw Banking Institute. Since 2014, 39 voluntary workers from Bank Millennium have taught 173 lessons in schools in 9 Voivodships in Poland.

b) cultural education – promoting knowledge on arts and ways to invest in works of art. And promoting achievements of young Polish artists. In 2016, the Bank Millennium Foundation sponsored two educational events – Warsaw Art Fair and Young Arts Compass – ranking of the most promising young Polish artists.

c) employee volunteering – the Foundation runs the Millantrop programme. The programme involves provision of grants, by way of competition, to support implementation of social campaigns by Bank employees. Projects in the area of financial education, development of enterprise, inter-generation projects and projects for children and youth, supporting persons threatened by social exclusion and environment protection projects may be submitted for competition. Campaigns involving many volunteers and benefiting the greatest number of receivers and having long term impact upon local community stand the highest Chance to win. In 2016, the Foundation allocated 4 grants to support implementation of employee volunteering programmes.

Activities in the area of culture have been, for more than 25 years already, an important part of social involvement of Bank Millennium. This activity is planned on the basis of medium term action plans and the following assumptions:

• Bank prefers cooperation within multiyear plans, having clearly specified objectives,
• Bank supported programmes should enjoy a broad public interest and should be accessible through the media,
• Partners in programme implementation should include, primarily, institutions of culture, NGOs and media.

The most important cultural programme managed by Bank Millennium in 2016 was the documentary films’ festival Millennium Docs Against Gravity.

Since 2006 Bank Millennium has been a sponsor of the biggest festival of documentary films from all over the world organised in Poland and accompanying events (workshops, discussions, concerts). In 2016, the Bank was a title sponsor of the event thereby positively influencing the Bank’s recognition as a partner of the festival. Shows and festival events took place in 25 towns throughout Poland. The event promoting campaign was carried out with use of various means including, inter alia, posters in all branches of the Bank, texts in traditional and social media, and competitions with awards in the form of cinema tickets for clients and employees. We wanted to specifically recognise the latter by providing them with 1000 tickets for film shows. For more than a decade, the Bank has been also a founder of the main festival award. Millennium Docs Against Gravity communication continues throughout the year – by organisation of special fil shows in cinemas, distribution of DVDs among Bank partners and in the form of additions to nationwide press, promotions in the traditional and social media.

Other cultural events sponsored by Bank Millennium:

• Sacrum Profanum – one of the most interesting contemporary European music festivals. The festival won a large number of various awards ad recognitions and was entered into the official calendar of the Poland’s Presidency in the Council of European Union and it is recommended by prestigious music magazines. Festival events are covered, year by year, by more than 160 Polish and foreign journalists.
• Gdańsk Music Festival – since 2013 the bank has been a sponsor of a festival featuring outstanding classical music performances.

Bank Millennium promotes culture of innovation 360o. It means that we offer innovative solutions externally to our clients and internally – offering our employees with work culture fostering creative thinking. The Bank also reviews innovation trends in its environment. The Bank Millennium experts developed a report „Millennium Index – Regional Innovation Potential”, revealing disproportions in innovation development in Polish voivodships. As a partner of the strategic competition „Eagles of Innovation” the Bank also promotes innovation development in the Polish economy.

Bank Millennium was a Strategic Partner of the 2nd round of the competition „Eagle of Innovation”. The competition is organised by „Rzeczpospolita” daily. This year, companies entered into the competition competed for the title Sponsor of Innovation and an Innovative Project award. The competition, the chapter of which was composed of: Jadwiga Emilewicz – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Economic Development, Andrzej Gliński – Member of Bank Millennium Management Board, Alicja Adamczak – Chair of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, Marcin Chludziński – Chairman of the Industrial Development Agency Management Board, Krzysztof Skóra – Chairman of the KGHM Polska Miedź Management Board, Stanisław Dyrda, PhD. – Expert for Research and Development in the area of ICT in the National Research and Development Centre, Jerzy Kalinowski – Partner, KPMG and Marcin Piasecki – from „Rzeczpospolita” daily, had the objective to promote spirit of innovation and enterprise in the Polish economy. Distinguished guests of the competition final gala ceremony included, among others, Ms. Jadwiga Emilewicz, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Economic Development and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Science and Higher Education – Mr. Jarosław Gowin.

During „Eagles of Innovation” accompanying events we presented report prepared by Bank Millennium experts „Millennium Index – Regional Innovation Potential”.

Publication presents a ranking of voivodships by their innovation potential and described conditions fostering innovation development in Poland and worldwide. The Report was a contribution to a public debate on conditionality of regional development in Poland and on reduction of inequalities between regions. The Report contains analysis of factors promoting and hampering innovation development in each Polish voivodship. It also contains comments provided by a broad group of experts – economists, academics and practitioners – heads of the most innovative firms and government institutions (including, among others, Jerzy Kwieciński – Secretary of State in the Ministry of Economic Development, Andrzej Koźmiński – President of the Kozminski University, Agnieszka Hryniewicz Bieniek – Country Director Google Poland, Małgorzata Starczewska – Krzysztoszek – Chief Economist of the Confederation Lewiatan, Władysław Ortyla – Marshall of Podkarpackie Voivodship, Elżbieta Mączyńska – President of the Polish Economic Society). It is a very valuable publication constituting the source of knowledge for local government authorities on equal opportunities for regions in Poland.

References to the Report appeared many Times in national and regional media while the report itself was presented at the European Economic Forum in Katowice and Economic Forum in Krynica. This helped the question of innovation development in Poland to reach a broad audience rising their interest in the issue.

In 2016, Bank Millennium was a partner in events linked with matters of economy:

European Economic Congress – international forum to discuss new directions in thinking about economic future of Europe. The Forum brought together nearly 8 thous. guests from European countries and from Asia and Africa. Within two days, more than 120 debates were attended by nearly 700 lecturers while in European Start-up Days altogether 2 thous. guests were registered.

At the Congress opening celebration the Government was represented by the Prime Minister Beata Szydło, with Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the chief initiator of the EEC, prof. Jerzy Buzek, former Prime Minister and the President of the European Parliament.

Bank Millennium representatives also took part in the event – Chairman of the Management Board Joao Bras Jorge, Management Board Members: Andrzej Gliński and Wojciech Rybak, Head of the Structured Finance Department Tomasz Tomasiak and member of Millennium Leasing Management Board – Marcin Balicki. In the panel „Technologies, innovation market”, Mr. Joao Bras Jorge, Chairman of the Management Board presented the report prepared by the Bank’s expert team „Index Millennium – Regional Innovation Potential”.

Debates were covered continuously on Twitter and Bank representatives gave interviews to national and expert media including Gazeta Wyborcza daily and portal wnp.pl.

Forbes Diamonds – the Bank was a partner in the ranking „Forbes Diamonds”, awarding the fastest growing companies in Poland. In the ranking, organised for the 9th time, awards are given to firms selected from enterprises which in the last three years increased, most dynamically, their values. Awarded companies were divided into three categories according to sales revenues. In the current round of the ranking, more than 1,9 thous. enterprises were recognised i.e. 12 per cent more than year before.

Meeting s conducted during the „Forbes Diamonds” event provided opportunity to become acquainted with enterprises operating in a given region, to exchange experience and set up business relationships. Mr. Grzegorz Maliszewski, Chief Economist of Bank Millennium, took part in the event and discussed opportunities and challenges currently faced by companies.

Congress of Family Companies – Bank Millennium was a strategic partner of the congress organised by the Family Business Institute. In 2016 the event was organised under the slogan „Between tradition AND INNOVATION” and gathered 350 participants. In the course of two days, 15 lectures were presented, there were 6 panel discussion sessions focusing on themes connected with innovation, finance, law and management and participants could actively attend workshops.

Representatives of Bank Millennium were among lecturers: Maria Campos – Member of the Bank Millennium Management Board took part in the panel „Accelerating world is the world of new opportunities” and talked about contemporary world changes speeding up in effect of faster and faster growing technological capacities. Marcin Stefaniuk, Director of Factoring and Trade Finance Department, discussed new forms of family business financing focusing on options to use factoring and underscoring related benefits and risks. The Congress ended with gala ceremony at which a reward Family Business of the Year 2016 was handed out. The statue, in the category of large Family Company was given to FAKRO SA by Andrzej Gliński – Member of the Bank Millennium Management Board.

Next Generation Congress – the Bank was a strategic partner of the Congress „Next Generation – Strengths of the Second Generation”, an event organised by the Family Business Institute and addressed to successors of Polish family companies. During the event, Mr. Andrzej Gliński, Member of the Bank Management Board gave a presentation and the event was attended by representatives of corporate and private banking. Representatives of science and business also took part in the Congress Next Generation as well as more than a hundred successors to well known, large Polish family companies and smaller enterprises conducting their businesses locally.

The Bank periodically monitors consumption of energy, water, fuels, office materials and implements actions to reduce consumption of resources. Furthermore, the Bank’s offers environment supporting products e.g. WWF credit card, with part of revenue generated is transferred to WWF Foundation Polska or Leasing Eko Energia supporting investments in energy saving machinery and equipment. The Bank also promotes environmental friendly behaviour among employees and clients issuing brochures offering guidelines to resource saving and participating in the annual environmental campaign „Earth Hour” organised by Foundation WWF Polska.

Information regarding the bank’s compliance with CSR principles can be found in the Report „Responsible Business 2016”, prepared in keeping with Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Guidelines (GRI G4). The Report presents key aspects of the Bank’s impact upon sustainable economic, social and environmental development relative to main Stakeholder groups: Clients, Employees, Shareholders, Business Partners, Society and Natural Environment.

Bank’s compliance with sustainable development principles has been confirmed by external assessments. Since 2011, the Bank has been included in the RESPECT Index the Index of socially responsible companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The Bank was awarded with CSR Silver Leaf of POLITYKA magazine – awarded to companies implementing sustainable development activities.