Thanks to the second edition of the “Business vs smog” programme, nearly 18 thousand children and young people found out how to fight air pollution

The “Business vs smog” employee volunteer programme was created at the initiative of the consulting company PwC, under the auspices of Krakow Smog Alert and the ASPIRE Association. The aim of the project is to raise awareness among children and young people about smog and clean air.

A total of 29 organisations took an active part in the second edition of the “Business vs smog” programme: ABB, Airly, Akamai, Alexander Mann Solutions Poland, Amer Sports, Amway, Aon, Assa Abloy, CANPACK Group, Capita, Cisco Systems, Ecolab, Euroclear, Herbalife, Hitachi Vantara, HSBC, IAG GBS, Innogy, Jacobs, Krakow Smog Alert, Maxima Europe, Motorola Solutions Polska, PerkinElmer, PwC, Sappi, State Street Bank Polska, ASPIRE Association, WilsonHCG, and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. The programme was implemented under the honorary patronage of the Małopolskie Province Marshal.

From October 2019 to the beginning of March 2020, volunteers-employees of all the partnering companies conducted training at schools and kindergartens, explaining what smog is, how it forms, and how it can be prevented. In total, the training courses were attended by almost 18 thousand children from educational facilities located in 91 towns and cities.

Smog is also an ever greater challenge for employers. Nearly 2500 people participated in a survey conducted in the autumn of 2019 among the employees of the “Business vs smog” partnering companies. As many as 68% of them admitted that they are considering changing their current jobs due to poor air quality in the town or city where they work. At the same time, nearly 80% keep track of information about the air quality at their place of residence, and 87% believe that the actions of public stakeholders regarding air quality improvement are insufficient.