At the heart of the programme will be an employee donation campaign to the ‘COVID 19 Emergency Appeal’ by the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), which is leading a wide-ranging programme to help combat the spread of coronavirus around the world. Siemens Gamesa will invite its employees to donate to the Appeal and has committed to matching staff donations.
In addition, Siemens Gamesa has pledged to fund the acquisition of 1 million euros worth of vital supplies to healthcare providers. This will include personal protection equipment such as masks and gloves that have been requested by several hospitals. These will be sourced using the company’s own procurement and distribution networks. The donations will be targeted to hospitals in communities in which the company operates and that have been particularly badly hit by the crisis. In the first instance these donations will principally made in Spain (Madrid and Bilbao), France (Le Havre), the UK (Hull) and the US (Florida, Iowa and Kansas). A significant reserve will be retained for deployment in other countries as and when there is demand as the crisis continues.
Given the likely lasting impact of the crisis, Siemens Gamesa will also refocus its existing corporate social responsibility plan, ‘SGRE impact’, to support Covid-19 recovery efforts. The Impact program allows the nominations of project from employees, who have now been invited to propose solidarity projects that fight the current crisis.
Finally, the company has also launched an educational program called ‘Teaching the Future’, whereby employees can record motivational videos on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, as well as digitalization or renewable energies. These videos aim to help students of all ages who are confined at home during the pandemic and give them a spark of motivation. The videos will be shared on the company’s website and social media networks.
“The coronavirus is both huge in its global reach but also very personal in its impact, touching us all” said CEO Markus Tacke. “I am proud that our staff are taking the initiative to lead our global response to this crisis and pleased that we will be able to play a role in the communities in which we have close links. As a company we will play our part to help combat the crisis and put us back on the path to creating a sustainable future”.
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