Social Responsibility

Poland plans to implement construction projects worth PLN 800 billion over the next 12 years. However, only 16% of young people choose technical majors, and the number of vocational schools has dropped by 30% in the last 10 years. As part of an initiative under the auspices of the Polish Association of Construction Employers, the ERBUD Group has launched a project to improve the image of the construction sector, supporting young people in choosing construction professions through cooperation with universities and trade schools.

Are you planning any pay rises? Have you planned any lay-offs? What was the purpose of the change in the building construction segment?  These were the questions posed by the Group personnel during the first ever online townhall meeting with the management. The event was streamed live to all personnel members across the Group in Poland, Germany, Belgium or Lithuania. After a summing up of the last six months, dealing with strategy and development directions, the management announced the key events for the rest of the year. A lot of excitement was generated by a series of questions asked during the chat, after which it is clear that the next such meeting (scheduled for spring 2024) should last longer. We were delighted with the large turnout - in total, we recorded over a thousand logged-in accounts (although we know that most of you were watching in groups).

Our Group has a comprehensive offer with various types and forms of qualification upgrading, both during in-house and external training courses. During training sessions and courses provided by trainers, we aim at sharing the knowledge acquired by long-serving personnel members. This allows us to value our in-house experts, and on the other hand, ensure consistency of operations and information flow between areas. We also carry out a wide range of foreign language learning.

Some of the training programmes implemented in 2023 are specified below:

• ERWOMAN
• Practitioners for practitioners
• Site Manager Academy
• OH&S Co-ordinator Academy
• Law on the Construction Site
• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
• #ONDEBalance

Cycling sports are close to the ERBUD Group. In 2023, we organised the second charity bicycle rally called Tour de Erbud. More than 300 employees and their families in eight rallies, 1,000-metre each rode for ERBUD Group, which donated PLN 6.00 per km to the ERBUD Foundation. We supported our cyclists by providing special loops adapted to different skill levels. The largest group of participants gathered at the start line in Rzeszów, where as many as 70 cyclists took off.

Almost 30 personnel members from ONDE SA and IDE Projekt took part in the Walking Marathon in Wojcieszów in the Lower Silesia region, during which they covered 25 kilometres of picturesque trails in the Kaczawskie Mountains, while in Germany, IKR employees actively participated in the Goitzsche-Marathon in Bitterfeld, where the company also held its running relay.

At our company, care for employee health is a priority. In each Polish member company of the Group - with the exception of Satchwell Polska Toruń - we provide access to private healthcare for full-time employees, as well as those with other employment status. Additionally, in most companies, there is an option to extend the medical care to the employee's family members, giving them the assurance of comprehensive medical care package.

We provide sports packages and free access to a number of sports facilities, which can also be used by the employee's family. As part of the ERBUD initiative, we also subsidise the long-term rental of bicycles including maintenance services. At our German companies IVT Weiner + Reimann GmbH and ITV Menzenbach GmbH, employees benefit from a company gymnasium, and once a week they also have an opportunity to enjoy the services delivered by a physiotherapist.

In the "Build Safely" regional competitions for 2022, we won five first places, four second places, one third place and three awards. Tomasz Kłos, one of our construction site managers, also received a special individual award. The organizer of the Build Safely competition is the National Labor Inspectorate, and the partner is the Agreement for Safety in Construction. The competition recognizes the above-standard actions for OHS.

The year 2023 saw the kick-off of the first edition of our internal ERBUD 'Safe Construction' competition, in which all ERBUD SA, ERBUD Industry, ERBUD International construction projects took part. A total of 45 construction sites competed during in four-staged competition, where the level of safety in the implementation of the investment projects was evaluated - the winner in the finals was the construction project involving the Jaworska II Dormitory in Wrocław.

May saw the tenth edition of the Safety Week in ERBUD Group member companies, a part of the Polish Construction Safety Alliance. The campaign aimed mainly at promotion of the principles of safe work in the construction industry. The 2023 slogan was ‘Stop has power. I beware of and I don't get exposed.’ The various training sessions covered topics such as working at height, personal protective equipment (PPE), vertical transport and the use of formwork and scaffolding systems.

Since 2104, we have been active in the Covenant for Safety in Construction, an association of 17 leading companies in the construction industry that sets standards and solutions for safety. Together with the signatories, we organise Safety Week, an information campaign run on all construction sites belonging to the Alliance. Every year, thousands of workers take part in training courses, workshops, demonstrations.

At the Group, we aim at inspiring young people to take an interest in construction activities from an early age. In 2023, we organised a series of construction workshops for girls for the second time. Working jointly with the Copernicus Science Centre, we developed a mini construction site to promote construction among the youngest. By promoting the construction industry to a group that is yet to choose a profession, we are at the same time helping to break down stereotypes about women's opportunities in the construction market.

In 2023, we launched the ERWoman scheme, which aims to provide equal opportunities for women to access development schemes within the company. As part of this scheme, we have invited 30 female innovators from each of our companies in Poland. Their task is to develop ideas to improve inter-company cooperation, communication and information flow at the operational level. Participants in the meetings include engineers, works managers, contract coordinators, lawyers, occupational health and safety specialists, and process and digitizers.

In 2023, one of ONDE's HR team members received a unique accolade - he was accepted into the nationwide #inclusivemindfulness scheme. This is a unique mentoring scheme in Poland that aims to prepare people and businesses to actively include people with disabilities in their organisations. The scheme aims to support companies in creating a work environment that is welcoming and open to people with disabilities. As a participant in the scheme, a company employee receives mentoring support and the opportunity to participate in workshops on working with people with disabilities.

Sport strengthens and unites people. The Foundation therefore developed a concept to get the children under foster care interested and to incentivise them to be active through fun and competition. The Olympics was attended by children under foster care from orphanages in the cities of Chełmno, Elbląg, Kalisz, Morąg, Pasłęk and Zielonka.

Under the “Tutoring” project, we provide children under foster care with an opportunity to participate in tutoring classes in Polish, English and mathematics. Thanks to regular assistance, they continue their education by choosing university education after passing their secondary school leaving examinations.

The “Dreams” project closely linked to 'Tutoring' scheme is dedicated to foster children aged between 11 and 20, whose task is to demonstrate the application of English and mathematics in a practical manner. The major award are trips abroad to London and Bulgaria respectively.

In 2023, the ERBUD Common Challenges Foundation ran its first social campaign. During a street poll, passers-by were asked on what they would spend the sum of PLN 4 000, if they received it as a gift. The majority answered that they would spend the money on so-called whims - clothes, airline tickets or electronic equipment.  However, there was a completely different reaction when informed that this is exactly the sum of money a young person leaving  an orphanage is given in order to arrange their entire adult life.

Following the survey, the Foundation has set up a fictitious online shop that puts together listed products with a value close to a one-off allowance for a person getting starting an independent life. The aim was to provoke the visitors to think about whether to buy one of the 'whims' or to support, at least in part, a young person entering adulthood, for whom it is a huge challenge to get a job and find an apartment. Between the products, there are links to the ERBUD Foundation website with an option to support young people.