Keep growing in times of pandemic
The unstable environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged businesses’ commitments to their values and their ability to adapt to unprecedented conditions. In 2020 EVRAZ was able to further establish itself as a responsible business by focusing its efforts on stakeholders’ well-being, carrying out environmental initiatives and serving local communities. The Group did not stop on its achievements and upheld the same attitude throughout 2021.
Keeping the health and safety of our personnel as our top priority, EVRAZ has been contributing to the development of healthcare facilities to combat the repercussions of the pandemic by facilitating the construction process and supplying medical equipment. Following the US$3.12 million construction of the hospital for treatment of infectious diseases in Novokuznetsk we launched a new coronavirus treatment facility for our personnel within the Urals Vladislav Tetyukhin Medical and Rehabilitation Centre in 2021. The investment of US$271,540 has created a facility with the capacity to treat diseases and ensure full recovery for up to 25 people.
COVID-19 vaccination came to play an important role in the way the company has been coping with the pandemic. The Group’s approach to encouraging vaccination among its employees can be regarded as positive — with an idea of leading by example, the first 150 volunteer vaccinated employees were the executives. Additionally, EVRAZ launched a promotion campaign that included online meetings, informative articles in corporate publications, and a monetary incentive in form of a lottery for the vaccinated employees. As a result of the initiative, half of our personnel were vaccinated by the summer of 2021, and towards the end of the year, this number rose to 80%. The vaccination was delivered in specially designated rooms that met all requirements of sanitary standards by qualified medical specialists. Currently, EVRAZ is making an emphasis on revaccination, the rate of which now stands at 25%.
The first COVID-19 Vaccination Awareness Day took place at the Urals division on 2 February 2021. The meeting was opened by Denis Novozhenov, Vice President of the Urals division, who described the current situation with COVID-19 and the actions taken. He also highlighted the importance of vaccination within the divisions. “Preventing a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is primary today,” Denis added.
Executives of the division and chief medical officers of Kachkanar and Nizhny Tagil medical institutions provided employees with all the necessary information about COVID-19, including the composition of Sputnik V, effects of vaccination and whether the elderly can receive a dose. The participants received some valuable insights from the executives who shared their vaccination experience.
The meeting was held online via the Zoom platform and lasted for about two and a half hours instead of an hour and a half as planned.
EVRAZ has been closely working with both state and private healthcare bodies to monitor the spread of the virus and thus ensure timely and appropriate action to the possible consequences. Measures, such as two-week post-travel self-isolation for employees and contractors, have been put in place since the start of the pandemic and were strictly adhered to throughout 2021. Our facilities have been equipped with thermal imagers and pyrometers at entrance points and the employees have been provided all the necessary equipment to ensure safe access to their workplace, where regular systematic sanitation procedures are carried out. Until 31 March 2021 our employees could consult with doctors in Moscow clinics online free of charge (for registered users) as well as receive professional medical advice via the “Doctor Nearby” mobile app. Furthermore, for greater awareness and more streamlined communication on coronavirus-related topics, relevant information on our corporate website is always kept up to date, while our hotline service has been modified to address coronavirus-specific questions.
Along with the rest of the world, since the surge of the virus EVRAZ has shifted towards teleworking and has been steadily improving the quality of remote work and training. Today, nearly all communication between our top-level management and employees is conducted online. To guarantee a smooth transition to working online, we have supplied our personnel with best-suited hardware and software and held psychological assistance for our workers and their families.
To address the effectiveness of online training and enhance learning processes, EVRAZ has introduced a new system called EVRAZ-Navigator — the platform contains tailored online courses and seminars as well as information on upcoming events. Another noteworthy effort is that the major events, which had to be cancelled or postponed in 2020 to ensure employee safety, such as mass business and corporate entertainment events, were held online in 2021. This included an online New Year’s celebration and our annual Corporate Award.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, EVRAZ has spent over US$1.37 million to finance anti-coronavirus commitments and has further plans to uphold and enhance its safety measures in the near future. These plans involve improving our cooperation with healthcare organisations in the communities where our enterprises are located, ensuring quality medical services for our employees and their families.
