“We had supported bee colonies on Spolana’s site since 2018 when one of our colleagues came up with the idea to use the non-manufacturing part of our land for this purpose. We have ten bee colonies now. Besides delicious and healthy honey, this wonderful hobby also benefits children who attend honey harvesting each year,” says Piotr Kearney, an executive at Spolana.

Beekeepers at Neratovice-based Spolana have kept bees for seven years. The quality of their honey is best attested to by the repeated gold medal awards presented by the accredited laboratory of the Bee Research Institute. The acknowledgements go primarily for the outstanding honey quality based on tests in many categories, e.g., the overall aesthetic impression and physical and chemical properties.

“During honey harvesting, we showed the children the traditional beekeeping procedures and tools used to harvest honey. Healthy bee colonies, as we have here at Spolana, are not a commonplace now. Besides high-quality honey, we are delighted by the long-lasting health of our bees,” comments Lukáš Karlík, a beekeeper and director of Energy and Water Management at Spolana.

At the end of last year, local beekeepers opened a Honey Trail for visitors interested in beekeeping and honey harvesting. It starts at the fourth gate of Spolana’s production site (Libiš bus stop, Spolana 4) and continues across the Černínovsko natural reserve to the municipality of Libiš.

Spolana’s commitment to environmental initiatives extends beyond beekeeping. The company partners with the Czech Anglers Union and the environmental centre in Kralupy to restock the Elbe with fish. It also provides protection for peregrine falcons that regularly nest on the company’s site. In recent years, Spolana’s production activities have significantly reduced their environmental impact. The area around the production premises, particularly the final sedimentation tank, has become a sanctuary for many protected and endangered animal species. For example, the site’s cleanliness is attested to by the presence of Eurasian otter, common teal, common kingfisher, and Old World beaver, i.e., species that are highly sensitive to the quality of the environment.

SPOLANA s.r.o. is one of the largest chemical manufacturing companies in the Czech Republic. The only manufacturer of PVC and caprolactam also produces ammonium sulphate and sulphuric acid. It currently employs over 700 people. Spolana has been owned by the ORLEN Unipetrol Group since 2016. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and production, distributing and selling fuels and petrochemical products – mainly plastics and fertilisers. It is one of the major players in the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group includes refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes the ORLEN network of filling stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. ORLEN Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. It employs almost 6,000 people. In addition to its business development, ORLEN Unipetrol is proud to be a socially responsible corporation. Therefore, it pays equal attention to initiatives focusing on cultivating and supporting sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became part of the Orlen Group, the largest oil processor in Central Europe.