3.7. Social Activities

Interview with
the Director
for Public Affairs
and Government Relations
Dmitry Ermilichev

Does the Company look up to Uniper as a leader of implementation of sustainable development into all aspects of activities?

In terms of sustainable development, our controlling company has lots of traditions. Today, Uniper Group is different from other market participants not only due to the financial stability, strong connections with stakeholders, transparent business activities, and environmental protection, but also due to readiness to adapt to rapid global changes and to be a positive driver of such changes.

Uniper has approved the Sustainable Development Strategy that promotes long-term business strategy. Our colleagues from the controlling company have associated material aspects of business activities with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals applicable to the Group and defined Uniper’s strategic obligations on ensuring sustainability.

Naturally, we share and fully support all endeavours and initiatives of the Group associated with sustainable development since we have common corporate culture. Furthermore, we contribute to achievement of certain Uniper strategic goals associated with ecology, social responsibility components, and employee care.

Please, tell us about Company’s social priorities. How are they established and are they still relevant today?

From the very beginning, we considered ourselves to be a socially oriented Company, even from the business point of view: we generate electric power that is critical for all areas of our life.

We established our priorities long time ago and included them into the main goal of Unipro PJSC social responsibility, namely the increase in quality of life of people living in regions of our operation. That’s why the majority of our CSR responsibility is concentrated at the level of branches. Their social activities are aimed at healthcare, education, culture, and sports projects, as well as supporting veterans, low-income and disabled people.

Does Unipro PJSC use strategic partnerships in the operating regions?

Yes, we have a major project titled “Careers Start at School” that is implemented in all regions of operation of our plants. The project has simple philosophy: we arrange energy classes in schools and provide children with additional knowledge that helps them enter energy universities in our country, pay Unipro PJSC scholarships, sponsor education if needed and, as a result, get young experts at our plants.

E.g., Berezovskaya GRES already employs experts that earlier completed one of the most strong and progressive energy classes (Sharypovo). The project on young experts training here is also implemented on the basis of a strategic partnership agreement between the Siberian Federal University and Unipro PJSC.

We also have joint projects with regional authorities. E.g., in 2018, together with the administration of Yaiva Settlement (the Perm Krai), we participated in the regional program on reconstruction of external lighting networks. We constructed the electric grids of the settlement back in the 60s–70s, and they were long overdue for modernisation. Within its charity programme, Unipro PJSC donated RUB 1 mln, the regional authorities added RUB 3 mln, and in December 2018, the works associated with replacement of lamps and partial replacement of wiring were completed.

What are the largest federal projects that Unipro PJSC participates in?

First of all, it’s the long-term partnership with Galchonok Charitable Foundation. About 7 years ago, we decided to donate all of our budget for New Year presents for our partners to this foundation. Our partners got a postcard form us saying that together we helped the children who needed it. The donations are targeted: we ask the foundation to support children from our regions of operation, so that we could also support them, visit them, and give them presents.

Our oldest partner is the Illustrated Books for Blind Children Foundation. We finance expensive printing of books for children below 20% residual vision.

In terms of Unipro PJSC unique social investments, we should mention the Russian Composers’ Heritage Revival Project that we’ve been implementing since 2014 in cooperation with Orpheus classical music radio station. This year, we are reviving the heritage of Leonid Alexeevich Polovinkin, a Soviet composer. We are currently recording his works that were almost impossible to restore, most of which are either world premiers or first recordings.

Unipro pursues a broad range of social activities both inside and outside the Company. By implementing a variety of social projects, the Company contributes to improving the living standards of ordinary people and offers hope for a better future.

Unipro was awarded a diploma by the Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak for its proactive social policy, based on results of a competition to find the most socially-oriented power engineering company in Russia

Corporate volunteering

Unipro has implemented a programme of corporate volunteering since 2017 and the programme continues to expand. Company employees with a pro-active, social committed attitude and strong desire to help join the volunteer movement.

Unipro’s current volunteering projects include traditional blood donor days, help in preparing children from orphanages and low-income families for school, visits to orphanages, New Year gifts, charity fairs, and environmental campaigns. All of these practices are now established traditions at Unipro.

Unipro volunteers organised various trainings in fire and traffic safety, leadership, and social skills in 2018. Members of the volunteer movement also organised sports activities and intellectual games, and provided career guidance support to young people in regions of Company presence.

Achievements of Unipro volunteers in 2018

Donor Day was held for the 8th time, involving 264 employees who donated over 100 litres of blood, helping to save 200 lives

The Company sponsored eight campaigns to provide materials for school study to low-income and orphanage children: a total of 66 children were provided for

133 volunteers paid nine visits to orphanages, rehabilitation centres, and assisted-care facilities

The Company organised eight large-scale New Year parties for children from low-income families, involving over 130 employees and giving 169 gifts to the children

250 employees held 12 environmental campaigns to clean and restore infrastructure in local communities

The Company organised 16 charity fairs, raising RUB 158,000 for people in need. Unsold goods were donated to charities and relevant specialised institutions

Charity

Unipro has always been committed to initiatives that benefit deprived social groups and society as a whole. True to the traditions of Uniper Group, the Company focuses its charity and sponsorship programme on regions where it has business presence.

Unipro spending on charity and social projects, RUB mln
2018
154
2017
40
2016
34
Over 228RUB mln

Unipro has allocated to charity and social projects over the last 3 years

Key areas of Unipro charity work

Education

Health care

Culture and sport

Support for veterans, low-income groups and people with disabilities

Uniproshka for Kids

In 2018, the Company launched the “Uniproshka for Kids” project, which aims to instruct pre-schoolers and primary school children in safety basics.

The key objective is to encourage children to take a responsible attitude towards themselves and others. It is important to address dangerous situations that a child may encounter when he/she is alone (at home or outdoors), and to develop behavioural skills that children can use in their interaction with strangers.

The Press Service worked with professional psychologists to design various educational role plays for children: “stranger in the elevator”, “what to do if a stranger knocks at the door when you are home alone”, “what to do if a stranger breaks into your apartment”, “why you shouldn’t let strangers into your home”, “why it’s best not to talk to strangers in the street”, “what to do in case of fire”, etc.

The programmes used comics and cartoons to help children learn.

Project highlights, 2018:

Smolenskaya GRES

Road safety lessons at the Kolokolchik and Skazka kindergartens. Kind Uncle Misha (a traffic patrolman) and a racing car joined forces to explain to the children through play how they should cross the street at a controlled or ordinary pedestrian crossing, why it is dangerous to play near a road, and why they must always let emergency vehicles go first at pedestrian crossings.

At Ozerny secondary school lessons were provided on the best way to behave in various situations. The situations included getting lost in a street, in a shopping mall, or at a bus stop. The children thought about who to ask for help and what to say. Play leaders helped the kids to make a list of essential things to take when going to the woods. They enacted what to do in case they get lost, how to deal with stray dogs, and what you should never do if a dog shows signs of aggression.

More than two hundred pre-schoolers and school children took part in the project over a period of two days.

Surgutskaya GRES-2

Road safety sessions were provided in Surgut at the regional police training centre.

About 45 children attended lessons on keeping safe at home and outdoors, which were held in the assembly hall of School No. 19 The children watched videos and used play (led by play leaders) to learn about various important life situations: why you should always lock the door when you go out, why it’s important not to let strangers in, what tricks strangers may use to make a child open the door, etc.

Shaturskaya GRES

Children in first grade in the town of Shatura were given a lesson on how to react in case of fire. The children learned the essential “dos and don’ts” in case of fire and played a game to reinforce their new knowledge: the youngsters were invited to a “discotheque” and had to react appropriately when a fire alarm was sounded. The organisers made sure that every child knew how to behave in the danger situation.

The children also learned what to do if they get lost in a shopping mall, at a concert or in the woods.

Yaivinskaya GRES

In the town of Yaiva, Uniproshka took part in the Beacon of Hope arts and crafts festival for children with disabilities. Uniproshka worked with the Yaivinskaya GRES youth association to help the youngsters prepare their performances, entertained them during breaks and did everything to make the occasion a success.

All children find it challenging to perform at their best in front of an audience. It is all the more difficult for children with special needs, who have trouble integrating with society in everyday life. It is very important for these youngsters to gain confidence in themselves. Uniproshka did a great job helping the participants to feel more confident and making the day really special.

Berezovskaya GRES

Play leaders from Krasnoyarsk integrated cartoon characters into play routines, which taught primary school children how to cross the road safely. The children watched cartoons showing how cars and pedestrians must always give way to emergency vehicles, even at a green traffic light. Uniproshka took part in all the games. A lesson for older children (8–10 years old) taught them how to keep safe if they are home alone.

Uniproshka also paid a visit to children in care at the Sharypovo social rehabilitation centre.

Careers Start at School

Unipro has been implementing the Careers Start at School initiative since 2007. The initiative has set up power engineering classes in the towns of Sharypovo, Surgut, Shatura, Yaiva, and Ozerny where high-school students (grades 10–11) study mathematics, physics and computer science in-depth, and gain specialised knowledge for a future in the power engineering industry.

Employees of power plants tell the children what makes a career in their industry special, answer questions, lead tours around their place of work and tell children the history of Russian power plants. When they enter higher education, the youngsters can gain work experience at the Company’s branches and the best of them will be offered jobs when they graduate.

Unipro allocated over RUB 3 mln in 2018 to develop the Careers Start at School initiative. The money was used for educational equipment, upgrading of the curriculum, teachers’ payroll, lab activities and to fund incentives for the best students.

Over 3 RUB mln

Unipro allocated to the Careers Start at School initiative in 2018

Summer recreation for children

Unipro branches fund vacations and activities for children during summer holidays.

Yaivinskaya GRES organises summer activities for the children of employees at the Iskorka children’s camp (attached to the Energetik community centre in Yaiva). A total of 130 children were cared for at the camp in 2018.

Berezovskaya GRES prepared the Ingol children’s camp in the Sharypovo District for the summer season by providing hot and cold water supply to buildings and laying out playgrounds and sports grounds. The Ingol camp can now host up to 160 children in comfortable conditions. The local government agreed that 50% of places at the camp will be allocated to families of Berezovskaya GRES employees and Unipro will provide RUB 10 mln to prepare the camp for the holiday season over a period of 3 years.

Careers Start at School at Berezovskaya GRES

The power engineering class at Sharypovo Secondary School No. 8 was set up in 2012. In the space of 6 years, more than 100 boys and girls have been through the class, including 19 medal-winning students; 90% of those who studied in the power engineering class enrolled for higher-education programmes in engineering, including 35 school leavers who entered the Siberian Federal University (SFU).

The power engineering classes are managed as part of an integrated training programme for young specialists, based on a “school — university — enterprise” principle, under a trilateral agreement between Berezovskaya GRES, the thermal power generating faculty at SFU and Sharypovo Secondary School No. 8, and also under a strategic cooperation agreement between SFU and Unipro.

Teachers from the SFU faculty give year-round lessons to pupils in the power engineering classes, and in 2018 equipment purchased by the Company enabled staff at the faculty for automation of thermal power generating at Tomsk Polytechnical University to deliver lectures using teleconference technology. Tours of power plants help children to build on the theoretical knowledge, which they acquire at school.

Unipro has funded modernisation of the study process at SFU. The thermal power generating faculty now has three new labs and students are involved in projects as part of the CDIO international initiative to promote engineering in education.

Comprehensive partnership and financial support from Unipro help to ensure that children achieve high educational standards by the time they leave school, develop successfully in higher education, and graduate ready to become young professionals in industry.

The Unipro initiative to set up power engineering classes was highly praised by the power engineering community in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the experiment was replicated in other regions by Nazarovo GRES and Abakan TETs (both owned by SGC Group).

Health Care Projects

Unipro provides ongoing support to various medical institutions for renovation work and the acquisition of up-to-date medical equipment.

In 2018 the Company funded renovation of the outpatient clinic and catering section at Ozerny District Hospital No. 1. Other beneficiaries of funding by Unipro include Surgut District Clinical Hospital, the District Cardiology Clinic, and Surgut City Outpatient Clinic No. 1 (the Company invested about RUB 1.5 mln in these institutions from April 2017 to April 2018). Yaivinskaya GRES purchased a state-of-the-art X-ray machine for the local hospital, provided funding to the Kizel Association for the Blind, and supported the local boarding school.

Culture and Sports Projects

Unipro is involved in community life in the regions where it has business presence. Contributions by the Company include landscaping and renovation, and work to preserve historical and cultural heritage. The Company also supports and promotes sport as part of its charity and sponsorship work.

In 2018 the Company funded national and international cultural projects, including the Golden Mask Theatre Festival and the World Student Games.

The Company maintained its support for the local theatre in the town of Sharypovo. The local theatre company received funding from Unipro to take part in the Lobnya 2018 youth theatre festival, which was held last year in the Moscow Region. The Sharypovo company presented The Storm, a classic Russian 19th century play, which was acclaimed as the best large-format production at the festival. A member of the company also won the festival prize for best actress. Also in the reporting year Unipro sponsored the purchase of audio and broadcasting equipment for public celebrations and events.

In the reporting year, Berezovskaya GRES helped the Centre for Physical Education and Sports Training to organise the annual indoor football tournament for school teams, which is held to mark Power Engineers’ Day. 110 young football players took part in the tournament.

As a pillar of the local economy, Smolenskaya GRES is glad to provide support for sporting activities in its region, including regular assistance to the Smolensk Taekwondo Federation. The Company has purchased equipment for the local boxing club in Ozerny as well as models and other materials for the Odissey boat-modelling club.

Surgutskaya GRES-2 held its annual Surgut Ring athletics race. More athletes than ever before — 180 in total — took part in the race in 2018. The power plant also held two small ice hockey tournaments.

Berezovskaya GRES received a Letter of Appreciation from Natalya Petrovskaya, Mayor of Sharypovo, as thanks for the support provided for improvement work at Bely Park

Unipro PJSC Actively Participates in Preparations for the World Student Games

In March 2019, Krasnoyarsk hosted the 29th World Winter Student Games. Unipro actively participated in preparing the city’s infrastructure for the sports event.

On 25 October 2018, the grand opening of Pokrovsky Park, a new modern recreation zone located on the side of Karaulnaya Hill adjacent to Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel took place thanks to support from Unipro.

Landscaping work carried out at the park includes creation of pedestrian pathways, benches, and an area where local people can walk and train their dogs. Trees and bushes have been planted, and new landscape features have been created. An open-air amphitheatre with a stage and audience seating has been created for cultural and educational events. A playground for children of all ages has been built on the east side of the square.

A parking lot for 100 cars has been laid out next to the park, with a bus stop and amenities for disabled people.

A visitor centre has also been created for people using the park, with a souvenir shop, small cafe, and baby-care room.

Extensive work has been carried out to create a state-of-the-art lighting system for Pokrovsky Park. The system was designed by the company that created the lighting system at Zaryadye Park in Moscow.

Sergey Eremin, Mayor of Krasnoyarsk:

“The park will be a lively place, where residents and guests of the city can spend their free time. The new park on Karaulnaya Hill sets a new standard for urban landscaping, a standard that we will try to replicate at other public areas.”

Support for the Golden Mask Festival

The Company sponsored Russia’s Golden Mask Theatre Festival in 2018.

Two productions originally staged in Moscow were brought to Surgut as part of the festival programme: The Man from the Restaurant (Satyricon Theatre) and Pygmalion (Mayakovsky Theatre).

Maria Revyakina, director-in chief of the festival, said that Golden Mask would find it very hard to function without the support of major companies, such as Unipro. Golden Mask not only brings touring productions to the provinces, but also supports a range of creative and professional exchanges.

Over 80 employees of Surgutskaya GRES-2 saw the touring plays. Tickets were reserved for employees who distinguished themselves by a creative and pro-active approach to their work and to community life.

Support for Veterans of Wars and Armed Conflicts, Power Industry Veterans, Low-Income Groups and People with Disabilities

Every year, all the Company’s branches send greetings to WWII veterans and former employees of the Victory Power Plant, as well as provide them with financial assistance and organise special events. All former employees of Company power plants receive anniversary greetings.

In 2018 Surgutskaya GRES-2 supported veterans of local wars and armed conflicts by allocating RUB 100,000 to renovate the museum of the Brothers in Arms community organisation.

Shaturskaya GRES gives special recognition to veterans of local armed conflicts who are currently employed at the plant and pays for subscription to the local newspaper for all military and home-front veterans of WWII.

Yaivinskaya GRES holds annual celebrations to mark Victory Day, Power Engineers’ Day, and International Day for Older Persons, and provides gifts and food packages to former workers of the power plant.

Berezovskaya GRES bought gifts for 86 WWII veterans this year. Financial support from Unipro has made it possible for 112 senior citizens on low incomes to receive the Lights of Siberia local newspaper.

Unipro continued its cooperation with the Moscow Sledge Hockey Federation in 2018. The special mission of the federation since its foundation in 2012 has been the social integration and adaptation of people with disabilities through sport. The federation has helped to train young athletes of the Ladoga youth team, who take part in the Russian sledge hockey championships together with the Yugra adult team. The Company helps the federation to buy new sporting equipment, hold training camps, organise warm-up matches and prepare for the Russian championship, including provision of monthly stipends to athletes.

In 2018, Smolenskaya GRES financed repairs and purchase of new equipment for the Skazka and Kolokolchik kindergartens and renovated the literature, maths, and history classrooms at the Krasninsky District secondary school for children with disabilities.

Shaturskaya GRES gave support to a local boarding school for children with special needs and a social rehabilitation centre, enabling purchase of New Year gifts for the children, and also funded Kindergarten No. 5, School No. 4, Shatura Power Engineering College and a local high school. Shaturskaya GRES also held its regular charity campaign, entitled “Briefcase Full of Good Things” in 2018.

Help for people with disabilities in the Sharypovo District

Creating a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities is a topical issue in Russia, and accessibility is especially important for rural residents with disabilities due to the remoteness of administrative centres and sports and cultural institutions, as well as underdeveloped social infrastructure and healthcare services. Reinforcement of IT and communication technology is crucial for the sociocultural integration of people with disabilities.

Berezovskaya GRES took an active part in the social charity programme under the title “Sharypovo District — Territory of Equal Opportunities”, which has been underway for several years already, allocating RUB 700,000 to purchase computers for disabled people in rural areas and to reimburse taxi costs for children with disabilities living in outlying villages.

In 2013–2018 the Company purchased 88 laptops with modems for people with disabilities living in the Sharypovo District.

The Company funds 250–300 trips each year as part of its Social Taxi programme.

The Wind of Change club for rural families with disabled children was opened in 2018. The local administration has created and equipped a new facility for people with disabilities. Employees of Berezovskaya GRES provided funds to purchase sports equipment for adaptive fitness sessions.

Russian Composers’ Heritage Revival Project

In 2014, Unipro and the classical music radio station Orpheus launched the charitable Russian Composers’ Heritage Revival Project aimed to revive and preserve unremembered musical masterpieces and salvage valuable books and music sheets.

As part of the project, over 53 books were restored, including very rare publications of Music Theory and the Guide for Music History Learners by Arrey von Dommer, Practical Manual of Harmony by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, and others.

In 2018, the Company and the radio station started restoring the musical heritage of Soviet composer Leonid Alexeevich Polovinkin. The employees of the music library of Russian State TV and Radio Music Centre selected sheets of previously unknown by L.A. Polovinkin, and the hard process of restoration of works by this talented musician began.

Leonid Alexeevich Polovinkin, a Soviet composer and one of the leaders of Russian avant-garde music, was very popular in the second half of 1920s–early 1930s. His music was played both in our country and abroad. However, the fate of the composer and his heritage were rather tragic. In 1932, the Modern Music Association the members of which included Polovinkin was dissolved. His avant-garde music disappeared from the concert halls. Mr. Polovinkin had to radically change his music and genre, and lots of his works from 1920s–early 1930s were archived for decades went unknown, forgotten, non-published, or never performed. They include Prologue, a symphonic poem, Overture, Symphonic Etude and several parts of the largest symphonic cycle titled Telescopes, namely Telescope I and Telescope IV, a work featuring a large-scale concept and orchestra composition.

This music represents a unique stylistic combination of avant-garde music, constructivism, and futurism with elements of late Romanticism and neoclassicism. It features particular individuality, power, dramatism, and true human emotions. It is filled with living pulse and essence of the great and tragic era it was created in.

The works on restoration of music heritage of Leonid Alexeevich Polovinkin will continue in 2019.

Galchonok Charity Foundation

Unipro has provided support over many years to the Galchonok Charity Foundation for children with lesions of the central nervous system. The Company was among the first to support the foundation in 2012. Rehabilitation and health care is often a life-long journey for children suffering from infant cerebral palsy or the consequences of head injuries and prenatal infections.

During the time of cooperation the Company and the foundation have supported 30 families from different regions of Russia and ensured that the children receive the necessary after-care and rehabilitation.

Illustrated Books for Blind Children

Unipro’s Moscow office has funded the publishing of illustrated educational books for children with residual vision under 20% as part of its social investment programme.

The Company has maintained its cooperation with the Illustrated Books for Blind Children charity for more than 10 years. Thanks to Unipro’s help, children at specialised institutions in Smolensk, Perm, Surgut, Krasnoyarsk and Shatura have received about 2,000 sets of illustrated books for children with a visual impairment.

The books are published by the charity with support from Unipro PJSC and are intended for children aged 3–7. Each set includes a book with fairy tales by famous authors, as well as teaching aids.

Christmas Tree of Wishes

The Surgutskaya GRES-2 youth association carried out a special campaign, “Christmas Tree of Wishes”, as part of the “Contribution to the future” project. Father Frost (Russia’s Father Christmas) sent a reply and a gift in response to every single letter written to him by children at social institutions in Surgut.

As part of the “Christmas Tree of Wishes” campaign, the youth association made the dreams of 41 children come true.