Between July 9th and July 18th, at the UN headquarters in New York, more than a thousand representatives of 47 governments, businesses and civil society leaders met at the High Level Political Forum to summarise progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, a global plan to improve the lives of people around the world. During the opening session, Jadwiga Emilewicz, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology, presented the Report on the Implementation in Poland of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the plans for future actions to be taken in Poland through strategic projects in order to achieve individual SDGs. In her speech, Ms Emilewicz focused in particular on the ‘Constitution for Business’, the new model of public procurement, as well as Poland’s best practices in combating the global problem of air pollution.

At the invitation of Ms Jadwiga Emilewicz, the Forum was also attended by Grupa Azoty, a partner of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, which presented examples of its initiatives taken to achieve the sustainable development goals contained in the Agenda.

“It is a great honour to present Grupa Azoty’s initiatives to such prominent international figures. We are currently working on a new strategy, taking into account the impact on the achievement of six UN Sustainable Development Goals which are of strategic importance from the perspective of the fertilizer and chemical industries. We have defined three strategic pillars under which we set ourselves ambitious goals to reduce negative environmental impact, ensure safe production, implement innovation, and promote education for sustainable agriculture,” said Grzegorz Kądzielawski, Vice President of Grupa Azoty’s Management Board, during the HLPF in New York.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was announced on September 25th–27th 2015 at UN headquarters in New York. The ceremony was attended by over 100 heads of state and heads of government as well as representatives of religious groups, business and civil society. During the UN summit, world leaders adopted the document “Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which outlines the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Grupa Azoty Group is the undisputed leader of the fertilizer and chemical market in Poland and one of its key players in Europe. It is the second largest EU-based manufacturer of nitrogen and compound fertilizers, and its other products, including melamine, caprolactam, polyamide, oxo alcohols and titanium white, enjoy an equally strong standing in the chemical sector, with a wide range of applications in various industries. In May 2017, the Group unveiled its updated strategy until 2020. The key development areas cover completion of the Group’s consolidation, reinforcing its leadership in agricultural solutions on the European market, strengthening the second operating pillar through expansion of the non-fertilizer business, as well as generating and implementing innovations to accelerate growth in the chemical sector. The Grupa Azoty Group is the integrator of Poland’s chemical industry. By consolidating the plants in Tarnów, Puławy, Police and Kędzierzyn-Koźle, it has ensured that the key chemical companies have remained in Polish hands, while creating a number of cost synergies. By 2017, the consolidation of strategic procurement, production, maintenance, logistics and IT generated savings estimated at no less than PLN 710m. The integration has brought multiple benefits to the Polish economy, the Group as a whole, and its individual plants.