STRENGTHENING OUR SOCIAL FOOTPRINT

Ongoing engagement with local communities helps the Group build long-term relationships of trust with its stakeholders and prove the transparent and responsible attitude it takes daily towards them. Using diverse engagement tools, the Group gains a deeper understanding of the inhabitants’ paramount needs, evaluates them and plans its operations, accordingly, taking into account the most important topics of concern.
The Group supports local communities, having as its primary goal its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. The total sponsorships and actions organized by the Group for 2022, amounted to 5.1 million euros. The main initiatives and actions of the Group during the past year:
• Support of educational initiatives and scientific and research programs throughout Greece. These actions include, among others, the financial support of the «TUCer» team of the Technical University of Crete, «Greco Racing Team» as well as the «Lamborgenius Team» of the Chemical Engineering Department of the University of Patras, for their participation in global competitions.
• Actions to stop climate change and protect the environment. In this action, it also included the Group’s important initiative to convert the military airport of the 115th Combat Wing at Souda Air Base into a «green» facility. In 2022, the project progressed significantly and the 115 C.W. in Souda will soon be a Near Zero Carbon Emissions Airport facility with parallel coverage of all electricity needs by 100% from Renewable Energy Sources (Net Zero Energy Airport).
• Sponsorships for the promotion of cultural wealth throughout Greece. In 2022, the Group supported important archaeological and excavation actions, such as the underwater archaeological excavation research carried out in the maritime area of Kasos by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, in collaboration with the Historical Research Institute of the National Research Foundation, the research program of surface, geophysical and excavation research in the Acropolis of the Gla of Boeotia, the archaeological research at the site of Gourimadi in South Evia, as well as the preparation of a study of the understyling and highlighting of the ancient castle «Rizokastro» in the municipality of Kymi Aliveri.

Before initiating a project, the Group deliberates with local authorities, to inform interested parties and ensure that each project will create mutual socio-economic benefits. In the same context, the Group also conducts social impact studies preceding each new project, which include an assessment of the potential impact on human rights, local health data, and determines the local community and stakeholders with whom the Group will converse on issues that could potentially degrade the quality of life.

The Group’s diverse activities maximize any positive direct or indirect impact it exerts on local communities. In particular, from the initial construction phase, the development of infrastructure projects directly creates hundreds of new jobs and demand for products and services (including subcontracting) locally. The Group’s infrastructure and real estate activities stimulate local employment, directly by hiring workers from the local communities and indirectly through assigning work to subcontractors. They also create demand for construction materials and other raw materials, while the introduction of innovative technologies creates valuable expertise among the Group’s employees and business partners which is exploited and passed on to the Group’s interior and exterior environment. The Group’s activity in Clean and Thermal Energy promotes the production of energy from RES and reduces the needs for electricity generated from conventional sources, as well as the induced emissions of greenhouse gases, resulting in the protection of ecosystems in neighboring areas and upgrade of the inhabitants’ living standards. The construction and operation of waste treatment plants contributes to the upgrading of the aboveground (lakes, rivers, seas, and air) and underground (aquifer) natural environment and in particular to the improvement of the hygiene conditions in the local communities, while at the same time stimulates local employment and promotes awareness on environmental threats.

The Group consistently chooses cooperation with local suppliers, which amount to 6,056. In this way, it strengthens its direct and indirect socio-economic footprint throughout the supply chain, by supporting the areas in which it operates and stimulating local economies. Through the choice of cooperation with local suppliers, it creates positive effects beyond its direct activities, by creating new indirect jobs, while contributing to the strengthening of social cohesion and well-being.

The Group’s development of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) projects contributes to both direct and indirect benefits for local communities, including contributions and discounts on electricity bills, and a portion of the revenue at a rate of 3% of the gross annual revenue from each wind and hydroelectric project distributed to the communities hosting those projects. More specifically, during the reporting period, an amount of €6 million was distributed to the communities where the Group’s projects are hosted. Therefore, it is evident that the Group's activity in the development of RES projects is a socially beneficial action that actively supports the local economy and contributes to the promotion of sustainable development.