HSE
Helping Communities During the Coronavirus Pandemic
At Holcim Group, Health and Safety is a core value and integral aspect of the Group’s culture. Acting responsibly and with solidarity to protect our employees, business and community at large is a core commitment. As the world continues to grapple with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are enforcing a range of protective measures both globally and locally In order to help slow the spread of the disease and protect our teams all over the world. While the COVID-19 pandemic poses significant health challenges, its socio-economic impacts cannot be overstated. Thus, we launched the “Health, Cost & Cash” action plan for immediate execution in all countries in order to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our business.
Protecting our Staff and Partners
At Lafarge Egypt, Health and Safety is a core value and we are committed to ensuring the wellbeing of our employees. As the COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges, we acted quickly and with solidarity to protect our teams, employees, contractors and all our stakeholders in the face of the outbreak of the disease.
During stressful times and public health emergencies such as the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we prioritize the health and safety of our employees, customers, partners and community at large.
In light of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are committed to supporting governmental and public efforts that protect public health and safety. We ensure that we are in compliance with all government directives to help contain the spread of the virus and mitigate the multifaceted impacts of the pandemic. As part of creating shared values with society, at Lafarge Egypt we capitalize on our presence and resources to address social, environmental and stakeholder challenges.
We Walk Our Talk
Our Actions in Lafarge Egypt to Support our Communities
Our Measures
We adopted a range of local measures to protect our teams as well as support public efforts aimed at containing the spread of the virus. Said protective measures included stringent adherence to social distancing in our offices and well as production plants, the adaptation of our Health and Safety guidance to COVID-19 protective measures in all our facilities, the creation of a company-wide COVID-19 online resource centre that is readily accessible to all employees, the implementation of remote work arrangements and limiting travel whenever possible, and the promotion of digital (i.e. contactless) initiatives in our markets.
March 2020 - In line with the preventive measures taken by the Egyptian government to respond to the outbreak of the coronavirus, Lafarge Egypt, a member of Holcim Group, launched an initiative in the governorate of Suez in cooperation with the governor Gen. Abdel Meguid Saqr. The initiative provided thousands of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including masks, sanitizers and gloves to support the needs of the governorate. The initiative is motivated by our belief of the importance of private-public partnerships and the responsibility of the private sector towards its community.
March 2020 - Solomon Baumgartner Aviles, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lafarge Egypt, to the Cairo Now Program on Al-Hadath News Network, discussing the efforts of Lafarge Egypt to support the community against the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 2020 - Lafarge Egypt organized a drawing competition under the theme “Fighting Corona with Art!” for its employees' children to showcase their creativity and talent in expressing through art their perception of the pandemic. Many wonderful drawings were delivered. Nada Bakr was awarded 1st place, and the 2nd place winners are as follows: Asser Ahmed, Aya Ashraf, Hams Dewidar and Youanna Nader. Check out their creativity below!
April 2020 - Egyptian Food Bank and Regional Food Banking Network CEO, Dr. Moez El Shohdi, declared his gratitude to Lafarge Egypt in light of the strong partnership that has brought them together. Dr. El-Shohdi declared “Over the past decade, Lafarge Egypt has supported and collaborated with the Egyptian Food Bank providing extensive support and humanitarian assistance. In 2010, Both entities collaborated to supply underprivileged students with proper nutrition, Lafarge Egypt contributed in supporting a school feeding program to provide nutritious meals throughout the school year. In response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lafarge Egypt and the Egyptian Food Bank are capitalizing on their long standing partnership in supporting irregular daily workers through the provision of food assistance. Through the Egyptian Cure Bank, we are also cooperating to support the repair of medical ventilators in government hospitals. We look forward to future collaboration and we pledge to further our cooperation to support those who are suffering financially in Egypt, while investing in their long-term wellbeing and welfare.”
April 2020 - Solomon Baumgartner Aviles, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lafarge Egypt, praises the Government of Egypt for its diligence in containing the COVID-19 crisis and expresses his admiration for the resilience of the Egyptian people. He also highlighted the resilience of Lafarge Egypt in the face of the crisis and its determination to come out of the COVID-19 crisis stronger.
April/May 2020 - At Lafarge Egypt we constantly disseminate electronic surveys to our teams to share their feedback and evaluate our performance regarding the adopted protective health measures.
People for People Initiative
People for People is an initiative that encourages all our employees to voluntarily assist everyone in their communities who want to take the vaccine but are unable to use the announced communication tools.
Through this initiative we thrive together by supporting the health of our community and bringing an end to the pandemic.
How We Protect our Staff and Partners
At Lafarge Egypt, Health and Safety is a core value and we are committed to ensuring the wellbeing of our employees. As the COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges, we acted quickly and with solidarity to protect our teams, employees, contractors and all our stakeholders in the face of the outbreak of the disease.
Our measures
We adopted a range of local measures to protect our teams as well as support public efforts aimed at containing the spread of the virus. Said protective measures included stringent adherence to social distancing in our offices and well as production plants, the adaptation of our Health and Safety guidance to COVID-19 protective measures in all our facilities, the creation of a company-wide COVID-19 online resource centre that is readily accessible to all employees, the implementation of remote work arrangements and limiting travel whenever possible, and the promotion of digital (i.e. contactless) initiatives in our markets.
Because we care for our employees’ health
Solomon Baumgartner Aviles, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lafarge Egypt, sponsored an internal campaign at Cement Plant in El Ein El Sokhna to emphasize the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations as the most effective strategy to stop the pandemic. He was accompanied by a medical practitioner to answer all inquiries about the vaccine.
This resulted in increasing vaccine intentions and the registered number of Lafarge employees' applications to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Business Resilience Team (BRT)
In compliance with Holcim Group, the Business Resilience Team (BRT) was established, in early January 2020, to meet the confronted challenge. The BRT brought together experts from a wide range of sectors including HR, Health & Safety, Communications, Operations, Procurement, IT, Legal, Compliance, Security and Resilience to provide monitoring, guidance, advice and report on the preparedness of Lafarge Egypt. The Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP) is prepared using a four-levelled alert system with specific response plans and actions at each worsening alert stage. The BRT complies with national health regulations and requirements and the implementation of central guidance on a risk basis.
