Local area and Communities

Liguria has historically been ERG’s geographical area of reference since the time of its foundation.

Since the 1970s, when the ISAB Refinery was started up, Sicily, and in particular the communities of Syracuse, have become the area where the Group’s interest and actions are centred, both in terms of investment and also in terms of developing social projects to meet specific expectations.

Contributing to the sustainable development of the area is one of the social responsibility commitments undertaken by ERG.
This commitment is realized in the first place by carrying out activities in a transparent way and then by developing practices that are more and more efficient at controlling the impact of these activities.

Supporting the communities, to which ERG feels that it too belongs, is guaranteed through focused social initiatives which reflect the Group’s corporate values.

ERG has organised its own social responsibility initiatives into three broad areas of intervention, which reflect the requirements expressed by the stakeholders involved:

  • protecting and safeguarding the environment and health
  • culture and knowledge 
  • young people and sport  

Four years ago, in order to deal with the requirement of taking the local community’s needs into consideration, ERG launched a more organic and structured management of the procedures for local stakeholder dialogue and involvement by setting up a dedicated organisational Division.

Community initiatives

 

RAO, Rete di Assistenza Oncologica – the Cancer Support Network  During 2010, the three-year collaboration programme saw the completion of the reorganization of the Oncology ward of the “Di Maria” Hospital in Avola, one of the centres (together with Augusta and Lentini) of the cancer care network. ERG’s support also led to the construction of the clean room for the production of anti-cancer drugs. The RAO project and the collaboration between ERG and the Provincial Health Authority of Syracuse for its construction, were also protagonists at the “Dal Dire al Fare” (From Saying to Doing) Social Responsibility Show, organized at the Bocconi University in Milan. The collaboration between a private enterprise and a public authority for an extremely innovative initiative like the construction of a cancer care network, was indicated as a model of success in the field of Social Responsibility initiatives in the community.
Foundation for the South Through the San Martino Cooperative ERG co-finances the project entitled “Percorsi di Integrazione e Transizione verso l’Autonomia per l’Autismo e il Disagio Psichico” (Pathways of Integration and Transition towards Autonomy for people with Autism and Psychic distress).
“Saline di Priolo” Nature Reserve ERG and ISAB contributed to the project for the promotion, divulgation and management of the site of the Oriented Nature Reserve of Saline di Priolo Gargallo through the reconstruction of the old windmill present up to the seventies and functional to maintaining the level of water in the damp area during the summer period.
Safety Project In collaboration with the National Fire Brigade, the company organized a workshop to illustrate the terms of the ERG Safety Project and to contribute to increasing the community’s awareness of health and safety issues. The workshop was also attended by representatives of the Civil Protection and the local authorities.

Science Festival  In 2010 ERG continued its participation in the Science Festival as the Main Sponsor: the event represents an important workshop for exchanging and divulging information and meeting up where private individuals can satisfy their curiosity and see significant scientific discoveries close at hand. The Festival was also one of the opportunities for ERG to put its idea of a sustainable enterprise into practice.
INDA Foundation
 		 ERG is the first private organization to become a sponsoring member of the Foundation, which, since 1910 has organized series of classical plays at the Greek Theatre of Syracuse. Every year, ERG enriches the series of performances with a relational event dedicated to stakeholders and partners coming from all over the world.
Restoration of the Church of San Filippo Apostolo ERG and ISAB supported the restoration of the works of art and the construction of some technological systems in the Church of San Filippo Apostolo, in Giudecca, Ortigia, Syracuse, reopened to public services after sixty years.
2010 ERG Almanac The publication of the “ERG 2010 Almanac”, a collection of about 2,000 news items from the province of Syracuse, represented the production of a tool for getting to know the local area. The volume contains not only the list of news items in the typical layout of an almanac but also a series of articles written by opinion leaders and opinion makers, which provide further elements for understanding the events of the year set in an overall view of the local situation.
University of Catania At the headquarters of Confindustria Siracusa (Syracuse Confederation of Italian Industry), ERG and ISAB organized a series of training sessions on environment and workplace safety, in collaboration with the Criminal Law professors at the faculty of Law of Catania university. The series of meetings (held over a period of five days) was attended by representatives of the Ministry for the Environment, the Universities of Catania and Verona, as well as experts in the field and professionals.

The “Archimedes ed Electra” Trophy
 		 The nineteenth edition of the “Archimedes ed Electra” Trophy saw the participation of about 600 primary and middle school children from the province of Syracuse in an event that is organized and sponsored by ERG, has become a “classic” on the panorama of children’s sport and is linked with a competition centred on the educational value of sport. The tournament meetings were held at the ERG Sports Centre in Via Piazza Armerina, Syracuse, managed by the ERG Amateur Sports Association, which, following its restoration, has become an important social meeting point in town
Sponsoring Rinascita Melillese ERG is the jersey sponsor of the sports club Rinascita Melillese, which plays football in the championship known as First Category, for the season 2010-2011.
Junior Achievement Italia – Sustainable economy: “The Economy and I – Community and the Environment” ERG continues to collaborate with Junior Achievement Italia, within the scope of which training has been developed for middle school students: “The Economy and I. Community and the Environment” is a role-playing game played in the classrooms of the schools of Melilli with a view to stimulating awareness of the relationship between the local economy and community.
Bussola project and “Job Orienta”  In agreement with the University of Catania and the Provincial School Office of Syracuse, ERG and ISAB held a series of meetings with teachers from the schools in Syracuse with a view to creating and strengthening the skills of teachers in university orientation. Through this initiative and the participation in the “Job Orienta” event, held in Catania, ERG and ISAB reached their objective of helping young people – with the educational mediation of their teachers – in the important choice of their future university faculty and getting to know companies’ needs in terms of human resources.
National Electricity Day The ERG Group took part for the fourth time in the event organized on a national level by Assoelettrica (Italian Association of Electricity Enterprises) by welcoming visitors at the ISAB Energy plant in Priolo Gargallo, for the National Electricity Day. The aim of the initiative is to bring industrial companies based in the area together so that they can get to know one another.
Trogylos Priolo ERG continues to support Trogylos, the women’s basketball club that plays in division A1, in its activities, sharing its sporting successes but also, and above all, the ethical values of sport.
ERG sports centre ERG financed the restoration of the Sports Centre in via Piazza Armerina in Syracuse, thus recovering an important recreational area for the town.
Drivemotion: safe-driving project for young people
 

ERG supported the “Guida sicura per i giovani” (Safe Driving for Young People) project conceived by the Centro di Guida Sicura Drivemotion (Drivemotion Safe Driving Centre) for high-school students in Genoa who have just passed their test. In line with the operations included in the National Road Safety Plan and laid down by the European Commission, the course turned out to be a safety awareness campaign concentrating on the correct use of cars.
The project, which met with great success, reached the objective of training more skilled, mature and responsible young drivers above all aware of their own limits in controlling the vehicle in critical situations.
Stelle nello Sport (Sports stars) ERG took part as a Gold Sponsor at the 11th edition of “Sports Stars”, a project conceived to promote sport in Liguria.
Under the guidance of Coni Liguria and Coni Genoa, “Sports Stars” involved all sports federations and clubs in Liguria, fans and sportsmen in a get-together mainly to have fun but also to promote the local sports activities.
The project promoted the values of sport through the performances of champions and young children, without losing sight of the important charity objective set: to collect funds for the Gigi Ghirotti Association in Genoa, which provides free home and hospice care to terminally ill patients.
Ravano ERG Tournament 
 		 The “ERG Ravano Tournament” is the largest school tournament in Europe, organized for children in the fourth and fifth years of the primary schools in Liguria and southern Piedmont. It is an opportunity for a huge number of children to meet up and play football, volleyball, basketball and rugby, united by a strong team spirit. The 2010 edition set new records with more than 4,000 children from 350 different primary schools taking part.
One of the most important features of this edition, as of earlier editions, was the Fair Play Cup, awarded to the team that distinguished itself for its sportsmanlike behaviour, in line with the basic principles of Sport and the Tournament.