MYTILINEOS Holdings Sustainability Report
2014
MYTILINEOS Holdings Sustainability Report
2014
2
3
1. Message from the
Chairman
In a period of time during which the words "crisis" and "insecu-
rity" have become part of our daily life, it is important to meet
the demanding challenges that face us not merely adequately
but, first and foremost, in a way that balances economic growth
with social and environmental performance. In this sense, it is
with particular pride that I welcome you to the Sustainability Re-
port of MYTILINEOS Group for 2014, which has been upgraded
to the GRI-G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and presents
our overall approach to responsible entrepreneurship, together
with our performance and targets on individual sustainability
issues. These targets are fully aligned with the Principles of
the Group and are driven by our vision and strategy, both in the
short and in the long term.
MYTILINEOS Group, fully aware of its role as one of the world's
leading EPC contractors for energy projects, as Greece's largest
independent energy producer and the very first private supplier
of natural gas, and as the largest vertically integrated alumina
and aluminium producer in Europe, seeks to return, in terms of
sustainability, added value to society and to contribute to growth
in the best way possible.
For the Greek economy, the previous year was characterised
by fluctuations that were also significantly affected by political
developments. During 2014, Greece posted positive rates of
economic growth for the first time after six years in recession.
However, after October the economic and investment sentiment
in the country deteriorated significantly on the back of the political
instability, hindering economic recovery. Nevertheless, despite
the adverse conditions in the economy, which dampen prospects
across the board, MYTILINEOS Group, by applying its strict and
consistent strategy, remained on a positive course of growth.
Taking steady steps, guided by our vision for the future, we sup-
port the Greek economy and remain true to our non-negotiable
commitment to Continuous Responsible Development, ensured
through specific actions that support the Greek society, protect
the natural environment and promote good practices in our
companies' work environment.
Taking steady steps,
guided by our vision for
the future, we support
the Greek economy
and remain true to
our non-negotiable
commitment to
Continuous Responsible
Development.
The value of the Group's "social product" for 2014 stood in excess
of €260 million and was allocated to a number of business, social
and environmental investments, employee benefits and com-
pensations, payment of taxes and capital refund to sharehold-
ers. In fact, in the period from 2010 to 2014 MYTILINEOS Group
has already contributed more than €4.7 million to social support
initiatives, as well as to projects aiming to meet needs in local
infrastructures. At the same time, it has offered more than €45
million to activities concerning environmental prevention and the
maintenance of the environmental management system of its
subsidiaries.
Having our people as our first priority, we succeeded inmaintain-
ing all of the Group’s 2,500 direct and many more indirect jobs, in
a period of prolonged and strong economic recession in Greece,
focusing on supporting our local communities, from which orig-
inates 88% of our employees. We also maintain a supply chain
numbering nearly 4,940 individual suppliers. Demonstrating our
high sensitisation to the acute problem of unemployment, 40%
out of the 370 total new personnel hired during 2014 were young
people below 30. In parallel, we launched initiatives in support of
young graduates starting out on their career, such as the innova-
tive programme "ENGINEERS IN ACTION".
Additionally, we continued to implement initiatives in a
transparent, responsible and - above all - effectiveway, seeking to
ensure the involvement of all our Stakeholders in them. With this
in mind, the Group continued with its Stakeholder engagement
process, which was introduced for the first time in 2010 and relies
on two-way communication in order to incorporate the outcome
of the dialogue process into the Group's activities and business
strategy and, at the same time, disseminate best practices
across the entire Group. In 2014, a local Dialogue Forum was
held in METKA’s Volos plant for the fifth consecutive year, and the
electronic consultation process was adopted for the first time by
PROTERGIA and ALUMINIUM OF GREECE.
Finally, we take pride in the fact the MYTILINEOS Group was
one of the first 10 Greek companies to sign onto the UN Global
Compact "Call for Action" appeal against corruption and bribery,
as transparency and the protection of human rights are both
key pillars of the Group's corporate social responsibility policy.
For MYTILINEOS Group, Corporate Social Responsibility is not
a mere obligation imposed by national standards and interna-
tional regulations. It is a strategic choice whose philosophy we
are approaching with consistency and we implement using in-
novative methods.
Our intention is to move forward using the same methodical
and effective approach, setting ourselves specific targets for
the next three years: To remain committed to the target of zero
accidents and occupational diseases and attain the "zero acci-
dents" target; to increase our response to the the needs of local
communities in terms of infrastructures; to establish a compre-
hensive policy on the protection of human rights, supported by
relevant procedures; to ensure the commitment of our key sup-
pliers and business partners to the Group's Code of Conduct;
to stabilise and reduce emissions and waste discharges, espe-
cially in our metallurgy activities, focusing on the conservation
of the natural resources; and, finally, to enhance our corporate
governance processes.
In essence, by making the most of all the opportunities offered
and upholding the principles that maintain unbroken our alli-
ance with society, with our people and with the environment, we
are forging ahead with renewed dynamism and the aim to turn
challenges into opportunities that will benefit society, linking
business activity with the society’s true needs.
Evangelos G. Mytilineos
Chairman of the Board & CEO
MYTILINEOS Group of Companies
(G4-1)
