More than 100 thousand people took part in three stages of the nationwide EcoTest, which tested the knowledge of ecology among Poles. According to its promise, for each test taken, Wirtualna Polska will designate PLN 1 for afforestation and support for the Forest Forever foundation. The Great Wirtualna Polska Forest Planting campaign was planned for October 29th in Olędy near Siedlce.
The goal of the EcoTest was to test the knowledge of ecology among Poles and, in further steps, to promote environmentally-friendly conduct and to educate. The test covered such issues as: water saving, electromobility, waste management and air quality. At the very beginning, WP to donate 1 zloty for afforestation and forest care for each completed test. Therefore, more than 100 thousand PLN will be donated for this purpose in the first stage.
The Wirtualna Polska Forest Forever with the area of 1 ha will be planted on October 29th in Olędy, the township of Mordy near Siedlce. It will be a natural, biodiverse, deciduous forest. The dominant species will be oak and hornbeam. Annually, 1 hectare of forest absorbs approx. 7 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.
"100 thousand responses in a survey is an excellent result. Thanks to this information we got to know the priority topics in the field of ecology that must be addressed. This is part of our mission as a socially responsible medium," says Joanna Pawlak, the CEO of Wirtualna Polska Media. "The money spent on afforestation and ecological education will be our investment in the natural environment and the future of our planet. We are aware how important biodiversity and protection of ecosystems is, so we will continue these activities in the coming years." adds Joanna Pawlak.
The 101,017 responses in three stages of the EcoTest were used to draw up a report on environmental awareness of Poles. It was divided into topical categories: Water, Energy savings and air quality, Recycling and food management.
The average EcoTest score is 61 points. The Poles found the questions in the 3rd wave of the test the easiest and those in the 2nd wave the most difficult. Overall, the best performers were males (64 points on average), people aged 25-44 (62 points) and residents of the largest cities with population over 500,000 (61.5 points).
The survey was under the patronage of: the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, the Positive Ideas Foundation [Fundacja Pozytywnych Idei], and the Forest Forever Foundation [Fundacja Las Na Zawsze]. The substantive partner of the test was the Clean Air Foundation [Fundacja Czyste Powietrze], which is the creator of the TOGETAIR Climate Summit.
The nationwide EcoTest was one of the stages undertaken as part of the project named "WP Naturally". Since the beginning of 2021, all energy purchased by the company has been covered by guarantees of origin from renewable sources. In July, Wirtualna Polska purchased the second photovoltaic farm in the Lower Silesia region, as a result of which green energy currently covers nearly half of WP’s power requirements for its server centers. Moreover, a number of measures promoting ecology and protection of the environment is undertaken under the "WP Naturally" program On the WP Home Page, a meter shows by how much CO2 emissions dropped in comparison to 2020 owing to WP’s operation of solar farms and shift towards zero emissions. Users of the WP Home Page and over 20 services owned by Wirtualna Polska may switch to dark mode. It enables, among other benefits, lower energy consumption in devices that use OLED displays, such as mobile phones. The nationwide EcoTest was another step in a journey to increase Poles’ awareness of ecology and environmental protection.