Glencore Global Community Fund
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented challenge for all of us, including our colleagues, families, local communities and society at large. As a responsible operator, our top priority is to protect the safety and health of our people and the communities that host our businesses.
Glencore operates more than 180 sites and offices in over 35 countries. The scale and diversity of our operations means that the impact of the virus varies by location. In addition, many of our operations are located in remote areas with limited public health care systems. Our teams are working closely with governments, health agencies and others key responders to identify their needs to provide the most effective response possible.
To support their efforts, today, we are announcing the launch of the Glencore Community Support Fund.
The $25m fund is designed to be flexible and responsive and complement existing efforts by our local teams to provide the support their communities most need at this time. It will initially prioritise assistance to local health authorities and community organisations to help them respond to the immediate impacts of the crisis. Imperatives such as access to clean water, hygiene products and medical equipment will be important in some regions. In others, our efforts may focus on enabling students to continue learning, despite schools being closed.
In addition to the $25m that we’re allocating from today, our offices and assets have been mobilising their skills and resources to provide local in-kind support where we have the capacity to do so. We have also been adapting and tailoring some of our existing social investment programmes to address the changing social needs during the crisis. In the longer term, we will also transition to a recovery focus in light of the expected socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.
Ivan Glasenberg, CEO, Glencore commented:
“We have all witnessed the rapid spread of the virus, and the increasing need for support worldwide. That’s why today, we are announcing the Glencore Community Support Fund. Our assets and offices are best placed to respond to COVID-19 in their regions and this fund will support actions that are designed and implemented locally, in collaboration with the organisations on the front line.
We hope that these efforts will help ease the burden on our host communities as we work together towards a common goal of combatting the impact of the coronavirus”
Our response to date
Since the beginning of the year, we have introduced a number of precautionary measures across Glencore’s industrial assets and offices to help protect and support our workforce. These include:
- Systematically identifying higher risk groups and taking the appropriate steps to protect them, as necessary.
- Asking anyone who works for us to stay at home if they feel unwell and to seek medical advice.
- Implementation of enhanced hygiene and cleaning measures; introduction of temperature screening, where appropriate.
- Restrictions on non-essential visits to offices and assets.
- Restrictions on all non-essential travel.
- A Health Advisory channel for our people to seek advice and support.
We have formulated our response in partnership with our expert medical advisors, International SOS, taking into account advice from governments across the countries where we operate, and global bodies such as the World Health Organization.
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