The energy transition requires significant amounts of critical raw materials, with demand projected to continue increasing. Analyses indicate that the supply of these materials will fall short of the requirements for the energy transition plans based on renewable energy sources. To address this challenge, it is essential to examine the global value chains of critical raw materials and their intermediates, identifying the risks linked to concentrating downstream processes in countries that may not operate under market-oriented principles. Such countries could become “price makers” on international markets, influencing costs and availability. This article focuses on copper, a key raw material for the energy transition, and explores its global value chains in detail. It highlights the risks associated with copper extraction in regions with the largest identified deposits, such as South America and Africa, as well as challenges related to smelting and refining, which are predominantly carried out in China. Additionally, the article presents an analysis of the operations of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., one of Europe’s largest copper producers, headquartered in Poland but also active in North and South America.

The aim of this paper is to analyse and compare the process of distributing value to stakeholders in energy industry enterprises in the range of sustainable transition. The analysis focuses on the four largest energy companies in Poland: ENEA Group, ENERGA Group, PGE Group and TAURON Polish Energy. Directions of value distribution in these companies have been presented for the years 2009–2018. The paper identifies the main groups of stakeholders of the above companies, i.e., owners, employees, suppliers, capital providers, the state budget and the budgets of local government units. The value dedicated to these stakeholders was estimated based on the free cash flow (FCF) methodology. According to the presented analysis, in the years 2009–2018, the energy industry in Poland realised a total of 236.2 billion PLN for selected stakeholders. PGE Group generated the most financial benefits, providing nearly 120 billion PLN. The smallest value was realised by ENERGA Group in the amount of over 28 billion PLN. Identification of added value according to the proposed methodology may support the process of making decisions related to the continuation or cessation of energy-related activities in the light of continued or lost potential stakeholder benefits.

A business model is a “formula” for generating value in a company, and is considered a conceptual object that is part of a company’s intangible resources. It is a company’s unique recipe for sales, cost-effectiveness in operational terms as well as investment, and the financing of operations, both in the short and long term. Due to new challenges, such as sustainable development, faced by enterprises, as well as the new ways of creating and delivering value, such as the closed-loop economy, new concepts of business models are emerging. Presently, there are many different forms of decomposition of a company’s assets that will contribute to the process of creating more sustainable business models to ensure the achievement of cohesion in the financial, environmental and social areas. The purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical assumptions and practical solutions in the field of creating sustainable business models for enterprises by decomposing assets and changing their way of functioning to increase efficiency for stakeholders. The applied research method is based on statistical analysis, with the main focus on the analysis of the correlation between the prices of shares of a parent company and the prices of shares of a company separated from the existing structures.

The article analyzes the process of preparing annual technical and economic plans in the public sector, on the example of the mining industry. Qualitative methods in the form of in-depth interviews (IDIs) were used in the analysis, consisting in conducting extensive interviews concerning the analyzed issues with representatives of coal companies. According to the study, the main aspect in creating a TEP for the analyzed mining companies is coal production. Taking into account the market environment and the reality of Polish coal companies, it was concluded that the starting point for the development of the TEP should not be the coal production or the pursuit of maximizing output volumes, but the sales market and demand for the raw material offered by individual companies. Three dimen - sions of TEP planning were also proposed.

The article presents cost of equity estimation of capital groups from the fuel and energy sector, listed at the Warsaw Stock Exchange, based on the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). The objective of the article was to perform a valuation of equity with the application of CAPM, based on actual financial data and stock exchange data and to carry out a sensitivity analysis of such cost, depending on the financing structure of the entity. The objective of the article formulated in this manner has determined its’ structure. It focuses on presentation of substantive analyses related to the core of equity and methods of estimating its’ costs, with special attention given to the CAPM. In the practical section, estimation of cost was performed according to the CAPM methodology, based on the example of leading fuel and energy companies, such as Tauron GE and PGE. Simultaneously, sensitivity analysis of such cost was performed depending on the structure of financing the company’s operation.

The use of geothermal energy to produce heat and electricity has become increasingly important in recent years. This is mainly due to environmental issues and the need to ensure energy security. The aim of the article was to analyse and compare the ability to maintain cash balance of selected geothermal companies in Poland. The following were taken for verification: Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej PEC Geotermia Podhalańska S.A., Geotermia Poddębice Sp. z o.o., Geotermia Mazowiecka S.A., Geotermia Pyrzyce Sp. z o.o. and Geotermia Czarnków Sp. z o.o. The adopted research methodology, combining accrual and cash recognition, allowed the analysis of the ability to create cash flows and maintain cash stability in 2016–2019. The study used financial data from the financial statements of the analysed companies. The analysis shows that the highest cash flows from assets defined as Free Cash Flow to Firm FCFF (over PLN 11,318 thousand) and the highest cash flows for owners Free Cash Flow to Equity FCFE (over PLN 10,005 thousand) are generated by Geotermia Mazowiecka S.A. At the same time, the balance between cash flows meeting the inequality FCFF ≥ FCFE + FCD, where FCD Free Cash Flow to Debt, determines the ability of assets to generate cash covering the current distribution of capital for its donors. Consequently, there is an increase in the value of cash resources identified in investments in the management balance sheet. Such a situation occurred in the case of Geotermia Poddębice Sp. z o.o. and Geotermia Mazowiecka S.A. The reverse situation, i.e., FCFF < FCFE + FCD is characteristic for cash imbalance. In such conditions there is a decrease in cash resources identified in the management balance. This occurred in PEC Geotermia Podhalańska S.A., Geotermia Pyrzyce Sp. z o.o. and Geotermia Czarnków Sp. z o.o.