In order to fight off the Covid-19 pandemic, and to support the communities in every country where it is present, the Group is mobilizing by adopting a solidarity plan. Presentation.

As a committed, socially responsible and corporate citizen, Eramet has been working hard for several weeks to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus by setting up all the necessary preventive measures to protect the health of its employees and their families, as well as through internal support initiatives at every level of the company.

 

Christel Bories

 

Eramet Chairman and CEO

We need to show patience, courage and solidarity, and this is how we will be able to maintain our commitment to responsible growth over the long term. Within the new Eramet that we have been building for more than two years, we have made corporate social responsibility central to our strategic choices, in the firm belief that the mining and metallurgical industry of tomorrow must be exemplary in this respect.

Implementation of a Group solidarity plan

This effort has entered a new phase with the creation of a solidarity plan backed by the allocation of an exceptional budget of 1.5 million euros and the redirecting of initiatives to support communities around the mining and metallurgical Group’s sites. In all, Eramet will be able to spend around €10 million to fund practical efforts to combat the spread and consequences of the pandemic through health care projects (prevention and support for the health services sector) as well as economic and social support.

In order to make a personal contribution to the solidarity plan, the Group’s executives have decided to take a pay cut in April and May 2020:

  • Christel Bories, the Group’s Chairman and CEO, has decided to forego 25% of her pay and to contribute this amount to the solidarity plan.
  • The members of the Executive Committee decided to forego 10% of their pay and contribute it to the plan.

The members of the Board of Directors also supported this effort by foregoing 10% of their annual pay, which will contribute to the plan.

This extraordinary effort is consistent with Eramet’s strategy for local communities, to which the Group devotes a total of 13 million euros on average per year. In 2020, a large part of the Group’s efforts will thus be devoted to the fight against the pandemic, particularly through a significant increase in health spending and initiatives to provide economic and social support to communities.

Local social solidarity projects

Meanwhile, several other projects are under way at the various sites where the Group operates, materializing the solidarity commitment of Eramet’s employees. For example:

  • In mainland France, the Group’s various sites have donated health care kits (including more than 80,000 surgical masks, hand sanitizers, gowns and overalls, etc.) and 3D-printed protective visors to health care facilities near the sites;
  • In New Caledonia, SLN is helping to keep vulnerable or isolated people supplied, particularly in several towns on the east coast (Kouaoua and Houaïlou);
  • In Gabon, Comilog is working to support the health measures taken by the local authorities with, for example, mobile hand-washing units set up in the town of Moanda; Setrag transports the Gabonese government’s medical equipment free of charge in order to make it available to the population;
  • In Senegal, our teams have donated equipment to the health districts near the Group’s sites and are staying in close contact with the communities in order to identify their needs (foodstuffs, masks, etc.);
  • In Argentina, the Group provided medical and protective equipment as well as screening tests in the province of Salta; the teams also distributed essential products and basic foodstuffs to the local population;
  • In Indonesia, in partnership with its Chinese partner, Eramet provided protective equipment and medical supplies.

Also, in Gabon, New Caledonia and Senegal, the Group used local sewing workshops to produce non medical face masks for the needs of its employees and local residents.

In carrying out its social solidarity activities, Eramet will be partnering with local governments, local health authorities, medical institutions, charities and community organizations. The Group will be drawing on the support of major partners in the regions where it is operating, particularly the “Tous Unis contre le Virus” (“All united against the virus”) fund, the Red Cross, the Pasteur Institute and local NGOs such as Enda Lead Francophone Africa.