LPG industry and the humanitarian crisis caused by war

A case study published in December by the World LPG Association in cooperation with the Polish LPG Organization aims to show the role that both the industry and our fuel played in the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion. Companies and employees showed unity and commitment to helping refugees from the first days of the invasion. Not insignificant was the fact that the industry also employed many people of Ukrainian origin before 2022.

According to official data published by the Polish Border Guard, during the first eight months of Russian aggression, Border Guard officers cleared more than 7 million people at border crossings on the direction from Ukraine to Poland. At the same time, more than 5.3 million people have already returned from Poland to Ukraine.

Due to their geographical proximity, Poland and Ukraine are deeply intertwined. Labor migration and the presence of workers of Ukrainian origin in the Polish labor market is a constant phenomenon, and Ukrainians have integrated well into Polish society. According to the UN Global Compact report United Business for Ukraine, an attempt to estimate the scale of business support for Ukraine, 97% of respondents were involved in some way in helping people from Ukraine: 81% of them declared in-kind assistance, 70% - financial assistance, and 60% - other forms of support, including volunteering.

LPG provided heating and hot meals for refugees crossing the Polish border. What was important here was that LPG's characteristics enabled rapid deployment of heating installations wherever they were needed, even without existing energy infrastructure. In the winter of 2022, the characteristics of LPG became even more important following reports of the systematic destruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure - LPG in such conditions is the optimal temporary solution, which was widely used in the past, for example, after the tragic earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in 2011.

Among the most important forms of LPG industry support for refugees were in 2022:

• Providing housing and heating for refugees,
• Providing fuel for field kitchens serving hot meals,
• Technical support for the organization of reception points and field kitchens,
• Organization of transportation of people, including families of workers, from across the border,
• Financial and in-kind assistance, both collected among employees and financed by employers.

Cooperation between companies and NGOs and humanitarian organizations was crucial to effectively reach where aid was needed. As an industry organization, POGP was involved in coordination efforts, bringing together all parties involved. The involvement of the Polish LPG industry in helping Ukrainians remains significant. The models and good practices of relief efforts developed can serve in similar crises in the future.

We would like to thank our members for their support in working on the text: AmeriGas Polska Sp. z o.o., Bałtykgaz Sp. z o.o., Chemet SA, DragonGaz Sp. z o.o., Gaspol SA and GOK Regler und Armaturen Polska Sp. z o.o..

Read more in the World LPG Association report.