• AEGEAN SEA: Free mastic trees to farmers in Chios
  • HEALTH: Multiple action program of providing free medical services and catering for people in need
  • AGRICULTURE: Domestic animal feed development for farming
  • RECRUITMENT – INVESTMENTS: 903,2 million euro in investments, 2-billion euro in salaries,  638,7 million in taxes and million euro in  employer fees 275,3 submitted by the group during the four-year period of  2008-2011. 2012 investments (September) are estimated in 101,5 million euro

 

The multi-dimensional Social Responsibility program of Marfin Investment Group (MIG) for 2013, under the name of “Responsibility Initiatives”, was presented by the Group President Mr. Andreas Vgenopoulos. The social responsibility program of the country’s biggest business group, commented Mr. Vgenopoulos, is based on multiple sectors and touches one out of three households of the country or 35% of the families with children. This is the population reached not only by at least one of the products or services offered by the group of companies, but also by the social responsibility initiatives. Gradually and systematically, the group of companies strives for returning a partial amount of the profits to its customers and to the society in general.

Except for its social contribution, financial contribution to the society and the Greek state based on the activities of the group of companies is really significant. In the four-year period of 2008-2011, the companies of the Group submitted 638,7 million euro to the state for taxation, 275,3 million euro for employer fees to insurance funds, while the contribution of employees to insurance funds are estimated as 157,5 million euro. During the time period in question, the income created, exceeding 2 million euro was distributed to the employees of the group.

Three special responsibility initiatives are announced today, of which “we are proud and we believe that they symbolize the effort of everyone working in the group for the country, the people, the labor, and the society” stated Mr. Vgenopoulos. To be more specific:

1st The Marfin Institution, in collaboration with Blue Star Ferries shipping company,  are making a significant contribution to the development of Chios, a place being in plight due to the disastrous fire that mainly affected the mastic trees, a unique source of prosperity in the area. The Marfin Institution aims at the protection of the unique famous product of the secluded island in question, by actively contributing to the regeneration of income lost. The Institution purchases 9,000 mastic tree saplings from the local plant nursery, which will be provided for free to the producers who witnessed their property being destroyed. The offer is symbolic and meaningful at the same time, as it’s some kind of investment for the future income of the farmers, but also for the increase of the turnover of the Mastic Producers Union of Chios. With this initiative, the Marfin Institution and Blue Star Ferries, give a message of hope and perspective for the development of each region, which can invest in well-known and dynamic products.

 

2nd The initiative taken by YGEIA group, which always stresses on the importance of social responsibility initiatives, is very important. The YGEIA group offers its long-term support to the FLOGA Association of Parents of Children Suffering from Neoplastic Disease, offering free radiation therapy to children, as well as the organization of soup kitchens, provision of healthcare material to the homeless and public schools, as well as treatment of patients facing serious financial problems.

As far as the extended support program of YGEA is concerned, taking action for the support of the homeless of Athens should also be mentioned, through the donations to the Center of Accommodation Support of the City of Athens, as well as through the event of solidarity, which took place last Sunday in the City of Perama, where more than 500 people participated in lunch organized in the Town Hall premises and gifts and food were distributed. The social responsibility program of YGEIA is complemented by actions such as supporting athletes of the Greek Paralympic Team, who make us proud and free vaccination and predictive tests to children and socially sensitive population groups.

The inhabitants of the small, secluded islands should have chances of access to the high-quality services of YGEIA hospital. The first telemedicine system installed in Tilos could become a model of contemporary services to other islands. The inhabitants of small islands during the winter and the visitors during the summer can have access to services offered by YGEIA free of charge, which are necessary even if they’re restricted to consulting as a second opinion in cardiological or other incidents.

The system installed in Tilos’ Generic Provincial Health Center with the aid of Singular Logic and the Biomedicine Lab of the National Metsovian University, was donated by YGEIA group.

The Telemedicine System can ensure real-time transfer of medical data from Tilos to the external departments of YGEIA, where specialized physicians follow up on the patients’ vitals, such as ECG, arterial pressure measurement, oxygen saturation, temperature and breathing pace, on a 24-hour basis. At the same time, it ensures communication via image and sound between the physicians in Tilos and the physicians in YGEIA, as well as patient image transfer to YGEIA consulting center in order to deal with each case. The equipment consists of a medical monitor of ICU standards, a portable computing system as well as a Telemedicine Application, which allows the documentation of the communication between the parties involved and ensures the smooth operation of the system.

 

 

3rdAnother initiative of responsibility comes from DELTA. It’s relevant to the GAIA program, which commenced in January 2012 and aims in the promotion of scientific research on animal nutrition, based exclusively on feeds produced in Greece.

DELTA, the biggest Greek producer of dairy products, in collaboration with the Athens University of Agronomy started the cultivation of 60 acres in the University Farm in Aliartos. A few days ago,   a mixed seed of vicia and barley took place in three different analogies for the production of fresh feed, which is going to be used for the nutrition of cows.

The University Lab of Physiology of Alimentation and Nutrition will analyze the feed produced in regular intervals, in order to assess its nutritional value and its optimal analogy of the cross-cultivation.

DELTA’s collaboration with the Athens University of Agronomy offers the opportunity for applied research and exploitation of its outcomes on a wide basis, since all the financial and technical information will be available for assessment and evaluation.

The Gaia program has already piqued the farmers’ interest, who are informed through meetings taking place in several regions.  The outcome of this initiative will lead to the improvement of animal feed and to the expansion of use of Greek traditional farming plants in the alimentation of dairy animals. Plus, the indirect benefits consist of the restriction of the reliance of farming on foreign animal feed and the utilization of farmlands, which remain uncultivated during the months of winter.

 

 

The MIG Group is active in more than 22 market sectors, with an annual turnover of 1,5 billion euro and it owns 15 factories and industrial facilities, 6  hospitals of  1.260 beds in total, 450 restaurants and cafes, 270 real estate properties in 17 countries, 36 shopping malls, 13 ships transporting 3,5 million passengers per year, 12 hotels of  2.545 beds in total and 24  aircrafts transporting 3,3 million passengers.

The investments of the group of companies in 2008-2011 are estimated as follows: Attica 263,3 million euro, ΥΓΕΙΑ  121,3 million euro, Vivartia 326,8 million euro, Singular Logic 16,1 million euro and Olympic 55,4 million euro. In 2012 (September information) the Group’s investments were estimated in 101, 5 million euro. The total number of employees, including partners, is estimated as 21.113 people (September 2012)

The Social Responsibility Programs implemented cover a wide range of activities. They’re taking place all year long, in every corner of the country and cover many aspects of the social life, such as:  Distribution of food and covering of healthcare treatment for people suffering from serious illnesses, discounts and offers of products and services to the unemployed and the homeless, support of foundations and charity organizations, participation in voluntary activities regarding the cleaning of areas and environmental protection. The employees of the group, with lots of care and sensitivity offer their assistance wherever it’s necessary and feasible.