Development YES – Open-Pit Mines NO v. Group PZU S.A.

Development YES, a grassroots foundation working on anti-coal and anti-lignite activism in Poland, filed a specific instance against PZU in August 2018. The complaint concerned the indirect impact of the activities of PZU on climate change and lack of transparency in information regarding PZU’s CO2 emissions and the impact of financially insuring the coal mining sector in Poland. The Polish National Contact Point for OECD Guideines for Multinational Enterprises (NCP) in its initial assessment accepted the case and directed the parties to proceedings. Although the NCP classified the initial assessment and the proceedings until the final assessment, it advised against adopting such practice. Both parties were willing to engage in dialogue, and PZU submitted a letter committing to publish information relating to the environmental impact of its activities in their 2018 non-financial report. Subsequently Development-YES and PZU reached an agreement in April 2019. In its final assessment, the Polish NCP recommended PZU to continue to honour commitments made to Development-YES, with particular regard to disclosing relevant non-financial information in the future and adopting policies that respect human rights and the environment.