We have a long track record of making a meaningful difference through our community social investment (CSI) programmes.
In Kazakhstan, more than half of our CSI programmes are implemented through public-private partnerships in a way of formal agreements and memoranda of understanding signed annually by the Group and the regional governments.
We are active supporters and investors in healthcare initiatives across the markets where we operate, supporting the development of new facilities, renovations of existing ones and the purchasing of new equipment for hospitals. In Kazakhstan, our funding also enables specialists from various countries to share their experience with those who may not be able to access world-class healthcare.
ERG's Tugan Zher Programme is built via memorandums of cooperation with Kazakhstan’s regions on implementing social projects and is aimed for a more active participation of ERG’s employees in determining key social challenges and elaborating solution methods. One of the flagship initiatives in the country is an affordable housing programme, realised in partnership with local authorities and financial institutions in Kazakhstan, to provide 19,000 apartments (one million square meters) by 2020 for employees in the regions of Group operations.
ERG's Student Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Programme is a multi-year initiative to develop ‘ecosystems’ of talented entrepreneurs throughout the Group's operating regions. The programme was successfully piloted at Pavlodar State University, with assistance from the Kazakhstan Tel-Aviv University Friends Association. More than 5000 students across Kazakhstan already participate in this initiative.
ERG has also been helping to establish STEM Laboratories. These innovative institutions are increasing access to modern teaching methods and educational technologies for school children in ERG's remote operating regions in the country. The programme is being implemented in partnership with local educational authorities, including the Education Department of Astana, and educational charity Bolashak Engineering. The first Laboratory opened in February 2018 at a secondary school near Astana.
The Group implements programmes to support the broader ‘social fabric’ and quality of life of local communities, including sports centres, swimming pools, holistic therapy centres, and cultural and recreational areas. In 2017, this included the provision of funding for the construction and maintenance of health centres and medical centres near our operations in the Pavlodar and Kostanay regions.
In Africa, we support a number of education and infrastructure projects. In the DRC, in 2017 the company supported schools for over 10 000 children and provided medical assistance to more than 30 000 patients. ERG has also established solar-powered water supply installations for communities, bringing sustainable sources of clean water to around 8 000 people.
The company initiated the Clean Cobalt programme at the Metalkol facility to help ensure responsible cobalt production, improve local communities’ quality of life and support multi-stakeholder efforts to achieve responsible cobalt supply chain. ERG is currently implementing a pilot blockchain solution on the IBM blockchain platform at Metalkol RTR, aimed at enhancing traceability in the cobalt supply chain. The solution will help to ensure a responsible supply chain for lithium-ion batteries.
ERG is working with the Good Shepherd International Foundation. The areas of focus for this initiative include child protection, development of alternative livelihoods, women and child empowerment and capacity building. The Group also cooperated for the 'Children Out of Mining' programme with Pact, an international NGO, which focuses on supporting children that are working in mines.
We have a Privacy Statement and Cookie Statement to explain how we may collect and process your personal data and use cookies to provide you with a better and more personalised experience when browsing our website. To read our Cookie Statement, click here. The Privacy Statement is available here. If you click the box below, you accept the cookies.