Employees of OMV Serbia afforested Cestobrodica for a better environment

• OMV employees planted spruce on an area of 1 ha close to Cestobrodica 
• This new forest processes about 180t CO2
• With this afforestation, OMV Serbia employees contributed to the socially responsible activity 

Employees of OMV Serbia in cooperation with PE “Srbijasume” planted 2000 of spruce seedlings on surface of one hectare in the area of the Cestobrodica in Eastern Serbia. With this activity they symbolically contributed to the fight against climate change and to the need that more intensive afforestation Serbia reaches the desired forest cover of 41.4%. This OMV employees’ activity is only one in a series with which company wants to contribute to raise the quality of the environment.

According to official data, South-eastern Europe, including Serbia, is one of the most endangered regions affected by the global climate changes, primarily due to an increase of average annual air temperature and irregular precipitation. In the last decade, the process of drying up of vegetation has been increasing rapidly, and the occurrence of natural hazards that cause enormous damage to forests throughout Serbia are more and more frequent, causing ecological damage to the whole country. A black pine forest completely destroyed by ice damage in 2014, which was the biggest disaster for Serbia's forests in its history, symbolically was repaired by this activity. 

“OMV Serbia's socially responsibility also implies an accountabilty towards nature. Afforestation and the preservation of Serbia's forests gives us the opportunity to help the fight against climate change. Planting those trees is the best way to provide our personal contribution to the environment. Our survival depends on it that every person has at least one tree planted during its lifetime. I am happy because employees responded with great enthusiasm to the call for the afforestation campaign,” said OMV Serbia General Manager Narcis Popescu.

Spruce (Latin Picea abies) is a coniferous tree, over 40 m high, with a diameter of over 1 m, with a regular pyramidal canopy. In Serbia, it is most represented on Tara, Golija, Zlatar and Kopaonik mountains. In combination with fir and beech trees, it makes the most valuable forests in Serbia in ecological and economic sense, and at the same time it is the most important commercial conifer species. Under the forests of spruce in Serbia, there is an area of 86,000 ha, or 3.6%. The spruce forests, despite relatively modest representation, enrich the forest fund and represent one of the most important elements of highland areas.

Artificially raised spruce forest, on a surface of 1 ha, processes about 180 tons of carbon dioxide, so the role of forests in purifying the polluted atmosphere is more important than its role in oxygen production. Forests are known to play an important role in preventing the formation of torrents, soil erosion, and forests are the best and cheapest filter for drinking water. This newly raised forest located along the main road Paracin - Zajecar will reduce noise, sediment dust, increase the silence and positively affect the health of people.
 

Background information:
OMV Serbia d.o.o.
OMV entered the Serbian market in 2001. Headquartered in Belgrade, OMV Serbia currently has 61 filling stations and holds around 10% market share in Serbia. 
The OMV stations are multifunctional service centres - filling stations for people and vehicles. OMV customers are provided with fuels, lubricants and car wash services; in addition 56 VIVA shops offer snacks, refreshments and a broad range of additional services. OMV Serbia directly employs 46 people and has created more than 800 jobs via its network of filling stations. 

OMV Aktiengesellschaft
OMV produces and markets oil and gas, innovative energy and high-end petrochemical solutions – in a responsible way. With Group sales of EUR 23 bn and a workforce of more than 20,000 employees in 2018, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies. In Upstream, OMV has a strong base in Romania and Austria as part of the Central and Eastern Europe core region as well as a balanced international portfolio, with Russia, North Sea, Middle East and Africa as well as Asia-Pacific as further core regions. 2018 daily production stood at approximately 427,000 boe/d. In Downstream, OMV operates three refineries with a total annual processing capacity of 17.8 mn tons and more than 2,000 filling stations in ten countries. OMV runs gas storage facilities in Austria and Germany; its subsidiary Gas Connect Austria GmbH operates a gas pipeline network in Austria. In 2018, gas sales volumes amounted to around 114 TWh. Sustainability is an integral part of the corporate strategy. OMV is set to invest EUR 500 mn in innovative energy solutions by 2025.

For further information, please contact:

OMV Public Relations: Andreas Rinofner
Tel.: +43 1 40440 21357
e-mail: public.relations@omv.com

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