In 2009 the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW, hereinafter the “National Fund”) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Together with the Voivodeship Funds for Environmental Protection (WFOŚ) – it forms the backbone of the system for financing environmental protection projects.
The National Fund, which operates in accordance with the Environmental Protection Law, is a special purpose fund with legal personality and manages its finances independently. It finances tasks relating to environmental protection and water management from its own funds and from monies otherwise obtained. The National Fund is the largest institution in Poland that cooperates with international financial partners and handles foreign funds designated for environmental protection. In recent years the National Fund has had the important task of demonstrating its effective and efficient use of funds obtained from the European Union for the development and modernization of the infrastructure for protecting the environment in Poland. Coordinating ecological projects which have already obtained, or are in the process of receiving, financial support from the European Commission, and co-financing these projects from the resources of the National Fund, will help Poland achieve the environmental goals that result from its international obligations.
Impressive achievements in the years 1989-2009
Throughout the 20 years it has been in operation, the National Fund has made significant achievements in improving the environment of Poland. In the years 1989-2008 more than 14,000 contracts were concluded (mainly in respect of loans and borrowings granted through Bank Ochrony Środowiska S.A.), and almost PLN 21.4 billion was allocated to funding environmental projects. Expenditure on projects which were co-financed from the resources of the National Fund in this period exceeds PLN 76.5 billion. During that time, the largest amounts of money were allocated to the protection of water and water management and to the protection of air. These efforts have resulted in a perceptible improvement in the environment of Poland.
The National Fund: centre of excellence
The National Fund is not simply a provider of capital within the Polish environmental protection management and financing system. The Fund is also a centre of excellence in the field of implementing EU environmental projects; it initiates important social and economic processes, for example in respect of energy saving and the use of renewable energy sources, the National Fund helps shape public opinion in the area of ecology. It is also a credible and responsible partner for other financial institutions - both in Poland and abroad – that are already actively involved or are planning capital projects in the environmental protection market. The National Fund has recently implemented changes and tools to adapt to modern management standards. The creation of an open, competent, effective and efficient public institution is largely due to the National Fund’s employees, their professional approach, extensive knowledge, and long experience. Our staff is our most valuable asset.
Present-day challenges and the needs of the environmental protection market are obliging the National Fund to undertake further initiatives to co-finance a variety of projects, inter alia, introducing a broader system of additional funding of investment loans and borrowings and new priority programmes aimed at, e.g., reducing gas emissions from the economic sector, reducing energy losses in enterprises and public buildings, and financing energy effective investments. The National Fund is preparing to assume the role of National Operator of the Green Investments System as part of international trade in greenhouse gas emissions.