INTRODUCTION

The energy industry is considered to be the world leader in implementation of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Recently, the development of CSR activities by Polish companies in the power engineering sector has been visible. Power engineering, as a part of the energy industry next to gas and fuel – oil sector, faced dynamic changes in the business and social sphere which necessitated the companies to adapt to the expectations of their stakeholders. There appeared the need to consider the idea of responsible business and initiatives for the sake of sustainable development. Polish energy companies, including power companies, attempt to take this tendency into account in their strategies.

The purpose of the article is to present and systematize selected aspects of CSR activities implemented by power companies in Poland. The emphasis was put on identifying these activities and the tools used in their implementation. The realization of the purpose was possible as part of the review of selected CSR programs implemented by power companies and the studies conducted by the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO).

1. THE CONCEPT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Corporate social responsibility comes from the concept of sustainable development which is understood as inevitable and desirable economic development which does not irreversibly disturb the human environment, does not lead to degradation of the biosphere and which reconciles the laws of nature, economy and culture [PricewaterhouseCoopers 2010].