SOCIETY

BUSINESS: 468 PRACTICES


TOPIC: Initiatives on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Initiative

Our Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Our Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
SUBMITTED FROM:

TITAN CEMENT COMPANY S.A.

Building on 120 years of industry experience, TITAN cement company S.A. is one of the leading producers of cement, ready mix concrete, aggregates and ready mix dry mortars in Greece with 64 production and distribution facilities. TITAN cement company S.A. is a member of TITAN Cement Group, who serves customers in 25 countries, in four continents. In a world of increasing complexity, we are adapting and evolving to serve the needs of society, while contributing to sustainable growth with responsibility and integrity.

Read more:  www.titan.gr


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Objective Action

To protect our people, to work with local communities and to ensure our business continuity.

 

Target Audience

1. Employees

2. Local Societies

3. Society as a whole

4. Shareholders

 

Duration

Over a year and counting.


Description

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which emerged in the countries where we operate in March 2020, our key priorities across the Group have been to protect our people, work with local communities and ensure our business continuity. More specifically:

We protect our people with immediate actions aimed at prevention and preparedness

The health and safety of our employees is at the core of our philosophy. We care about our people and have set as our top priority the protection of their health and our contribution to the fight against the spread of the pandemic.

- Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the situation

- Early adoption of increased hygiene measures

- Providing medical and psychological support

- Remote work and online meetings

- Taking additional measures to protect our workers in the factories

We work with local communities and stand by our stakeholders

With a strong sense of social responsibility, we stand with local communities in all the regions in which we operate and stand by them in their efforts to address their most urgent needs during the pandemic.

To support public health and prevent the spread of the virus, we donated medical equipment that was in short supply and encouraged the adoption of good hygiene practices in local communities. In addition, we provided essential items to the most vulnerable groups most affected by the crisis. We have taken supportive actions with the aim of contributing to the sustainability of our partners' and contractors' businesses.

Looking ahead, we will continue to work with our partners and adapt partnership plans with local communities to better meet the needs and priorities as they are shaped today.

We have ensured our business continuity

The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant, albeit uneven, country-by-country impact on demand for our products. The TITAN Group delivered a strong performance in 2020, despite the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The continued operation of the construction sector was deemed necessary in most markets and all the Group's cement plants in all the countries where we operate continued to operate, adjusting their production to the levels of market demand.

By constantly adapting to the evolving situation we stay alert and prepare for the next day. We maintain our flexibility in order to make the required adjustments depending on the developments of the pandemic.


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Impact on Society

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, TITAN has reacted immediately, utilizing not only the experience and reflexes it has for emergency management, but also the DNA of solidarity that is intertwined with its history. From that first phase, it appeared that the sectors that required the most intensive activity were health, digital communication and support for the most vulnerable groups of the population. More detailed:

Sanitary equipment

The TITAN factories in Drepano, Elefsina, Efkarpia and Kamari immediately responded to the invitation, offering necessary health equipment to hospitals, services and organizations that were on the front line to deal with the pandemic.

Their total offer was over 1,000 special breathing protection masks, 85 pairs of safety glasses, 3,700 pairs of disposable gloves, 25 special Tyvek overalls and 30 protective aprons, many specialized machines as well as almost 600 bottles of antiseptic which were distributed to Social Structures and Services . Especially at EKAB, personal protective equipment and special uniforms were offered through a joint action of the Drepanos and Kamari factories, with the coordination of the latter. In addition to the provision of this equipment, many other actions were carried out, such as:

- Emergency Voluntary blood donation by the employees of the Thessaloniki factory, during which 198 units of blood were collected and 28 units were collected from the Drepano factory which were given to the Blood Donors Association of Patras.

- Donation of a special device for monitoring vital functions in patients hospitalized in the ICU of Papageorgiou General Hospital of Thessaloniki.

- Concession to the Municipality of Elefsina, a TITAN water carrier for the city's street disinfection needs, as well as a special machine (loader), together with its operator, to cover the needs of the Recyclable Materials Sorting Center, due to the absence of staff who were absent with special permits.

- Donation of a quantity of ready-made concrete to the Kos Hospital for the construction of a 70 square meter base, with the aim of installing a hut where tests for Covid-19 will be carried out.

Facilitation of distance learning and digital communication

Distance education was one of the unprecedented, especially for younger students, solutions that had to be implemented. For this reason, the factories in Drepano, Efkarpia and Kamari responded to the needs of children attending schools in Arachovitika, in the Municipalities of Pavlos Mela, Oreiokastro, Lagada, and Ampelokipi, as well as in Dervenochoria, offering 15 computers and almost the same number of monitors, keyboards and mice. Accordingly, the experience of using computers or other "smart" devices to process transactions that greatly facilitated their daily lives was unprecedented for our fellow human beings, who are older and therefore less familiar with technology. To these residents of its area, the Drepanou factory offered training and technical support services for internet issues, while also donating a television set to the Fire Department of Western Greece for conducting teleconferences.

Support for vulnerable groups

All units of TITAN, INTERBETON and collectively the employees moved immediately to support families and people most vulnerable in the particularly adverse conditions created by the appearance of the coronavirus. Support for vulnerable groups was expressed in the form of an "umbrella" of protection, which mainly concerned the supply of food and bottled water to hundreds of families, in various areas, from Thessaloniki and Drepano, to Elefsina and Magoula, Dervenochoria and Zoforoi, Voni and Apostoli villages in Heraklion, Crete.

It is characteristic – and touching – that, in Eleusis, the shift workers offered the price of their Easter meal for the needy families of the area, providing 50 gift vouchers for a local supermarket, which were distributed through the Thriasio Field Volunteer Association. -

Organizations' and Churches' meetings were also strengthened: in Elefsina, the Pyrunakeo Philanthropic Foundation - "Love Center" and the church of Ag. George, as well as the sissites in the Holy Churches of Agios Athanasios Evosmos, Ioakeim & Anne, Agia Irini Chrysovalantos and Agios Georgios Efkarpia of the Holy Metropolis of Neapolis-Stavroupolis.

In addition, the Drepanou factory offered firewood and containers of olive oil from the factory's olive grove, as well as 600 kg of food to feed stray animals in the Municipality of Patreon that were also in danger. But she also undertook an important initiative: the psychological support of lonely elderly people from the social worker of the factory, as for them the conditions and especially the interruption of the physical presence of their loved ones were very difficult to manage.

This year, Environment Day, traditionally celebrated by Titan, took a different form to thank and honor all those – doctors, nurses and all nursing staff – who selflessly entered the front line of the fight against the coronavirus. Thus, on June 5, the factories of Efkarpia, Elefsina, Kamari and Drepano symbolically offered a total of 5,500 flowers and plants to the G.N. hospitals. Papanikolaou and G.N. Papageorgiou Thessaloniki, G.N. of Thriasios Elefsina and University of Patras, with the message "A small gift of life for you who fight daily for the lives of all of us",

Direct actions for employees and partners

Alongside the actions towards society, TITAN took intensive measures from the first moment for the protection and safety of its employees, applying the instructions of the General Secretariat of Civil Protection and the National Public Health Organization. A special crisis management team was immediately activated which, with the significant contribution of Occupational Doctors, adjusted the operation of the Company (movements, meetings, meetings, trips, etc.) in accordance with the orders of the authorities and systematically informed the employees. At the same time, it was very impressive that, an organization that had little previous experience in teleworking, managed within a short period of time to equip itself with machines, systems and tools that ensured effective collaboration.



Initiative Location

All areas where the TITAN group operates.


Working with Organization

Cooperation with local authorities, public health agencies and social organizations.


Workers Participation

Management and employees organized initiatives in all the Company's activity centers with the aim of contributing to the many and urgent needs created - and are still being created - by the reality of Covid-19.

It is worth mentioning the honorary award given to the Efkarpia factory and its employees in the context of the "Heroes of COVID-19" event in Northern Greece, for the actions undertaken with the aim of supporting society during this difficult period. On the same evening, medical and nursing staff, frontline workers, political leadership, local government, teachers, parents, but also businesses that with their actions emerged as heroes and are an example to be emulated, were awarded. The event was organized by the journalistic group "Macedonia" and was placed under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior of Macedonia Thrace, the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the Region of Thessaloniki and TIF - Helexpo.


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