The Grupa Azoty Group at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
In 2020, the activities we engaged in connection with the pandemic focused on three areas: safety of our employees, safe continuity of production, and assistance provided to third parties.
In 2020, the activities we engaged in connection with the pandemic focused on three areas: safety of our employees, safe continuity of production, and assistance provided to third parties. In March 2020, i.e. at the very beginning of the epidemic, special teams were established at the Grupa Azoty Group companies to coordinate activities in all areas of response to the effects of the COVID-19 situation.
Appropriate communication and reliable information:
- coronavirus information and recommendations on employee behaviour prepared by experts were published on the intranet and via company radio;
- we prepared instructions, recommendations and guidance on how to avoid infection.
Safe working conditions at our plants:
- we restricted access to our plants, allowing it only to individuals delivering the necessary raw materials and collecting products;
- we conduct employee temperature checks;
- we installed disinfection points and containers with disinfectant in different parts of the plants;
- we switched to remote work wherever possible;
- internal meetings and meetings with external partners are held using remote communication tools;
- we limited paper document circulation to the necessary minimum.
BEST PRACTICE
We have offered additional benefits to our employees who had to take care of their children at home during the pandemic. Those with children aged eight to twelve (i.e. older than children qualifying for benefits paid by the Social Insurance Institution) could take additional days off for which they received 80% of their regular remuneration.
- The Grupa Azoty Group as a whole donated over PLN 4 million for the fight against coronavirus. The money was spent to support hospitals, healthcare establishments and sanitary services, primarily in those regions where the Group companies operate. The donations were provided either in cash or in kind (and included specialist medical equipment, medicines, and hygiene products).
- In April 2020, we started manufacturing our own original disinfectant based on internally-produced hydrogen peroxide. A new product named PULSEPT, manufactured by Grupa Azoty Puławy, quickly received approval from the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products.
- We joined as a strategic partner the webinar 'Safe Chemical Industry – Safety at the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic' organised by the Polish Chamber of Chemical Industry.
- Grupa Azoty Police supported the Foundation for Polish Values in supplying eight Polish centres in Lithuania with 10,000 surgical masks, 2,000 cloth masks and more than 10,000 litres of hand disinfectants, as well as hand gel for children and sports and educational equipment.
BEST PRACTICE
During the pandemic, the hospital in Kędzierzyn-Koźle operated as an isolation hospital treating only patients infected with or suspected of being infected with SARS-CoV-2. It turned out necessary to decontaminate water that could contain micro-organisms. The problem was solved by Grupa Azoty ZAK by supplying the medical establishment with sodium hypochlorite, which is normally used by the company to condition water in its systems. Sodium hypochlorite is a proven solution that kills bacteria, viruses and fungi, and has been applied to safely treat the hospital effluents.
BEST PRACTICE
The Research and Development Centre of Grupa Azoty in Tarnów began the production of antiviral gloves. The ‘safety glove’ is impregnated with silver, a material which has been long and widely used to fight viruses and bacteria. The Centre also joined the #DrukarzeDlaSzpitali (#PrintersForHospitals) initiative, donating Tarfuse 3D printing filaments to make protective shields and goggles for hospitals. Filaments were also donated to support the project to build @VentilAid, Poland’s first ventilator. This open source project is being carried out by Polish engineers and designers sharing documentation of the ventilator so that it can be made anywhere using a 3D printer and some very basic parts.
The Tarnów-based company also helped secure means of transport for medical facilities in the region by lending seven passenger cars to them.
