Community Engagement in Europe
COVID-19 community response- - activities by the ICL Amsterdam HQ
During the COVID crisis period of H1 2020, ICL’s European headquarters initiated several initiatives to support the community:
- Donating remaining volunteer shirts to a hospital in Amsterdam (AMC). These shirts are used as extra cover under protective clothing worn by the physicians and nurses in the hospital.
- Every year ICL employees in Amsterdam traditionally receive chocolate eggs for Easter. This year, due to the lockdown, it was difficult to maintain this tradition. As a result, the chocolate eggs were donated to the Amsterdam Foodbank. Thousands of families in Amsterdam are dependent on the Foodbank and these families have no money to purchase items such as chocolate eggs during Easter. Hopefully, many of these families celebrated Easter with a smile.
- In coordination with MT, ICL donated chocolate Easter eggs to an elderly home, “de Schutse”.
Germany
ICL Ladenburg:
ICL Ladenburg sponsors the following events and activities:
- Fundraising campaign for animal-based pedagogy in the Mirabelle children’s home. Employees and residents of the children’s home, “Haus Mirabelle”, in Ladenburg have recently been experiencing how a dog supports educational work. With a donation from ICL Ladenburg and the help of animal protection association, Viernheim, the dog, Miri, is beginning a new life at Haus Mirabelle.
- Shelter for children in need
- Local kindergarten, playgrounds and local schools for sports and other activities
- University of Heidelberg
- Home for handicapped individuals
- Local community celebration (Ladenburg local festivities) and local sports events
- Donating to several charities
- Handball Grosssachsen, 2nd men’s team in the association league
- Soccer club FV Leutershausen
ICL Bitterfeld
- Building a new rest place at a scenic outlook in the nearby forest.
- Donating face masks for Corona protection.
Austria
ICL Hartberg (Prolactal)
ICL Hartberg sponsors Prolactal Hartberg (local professional football club) as well as other local events from the City of Hartberg, such as, family days, schools, city parties, bike races, etc.
In addition, donations are made to a children’s hospice.
The Netherlands
ICL Amfert Amsterdam
ICL Amfert Amsterdam partnered with the JINC foundation helping teenage students from neighborhoods with socio-economic disadvantage to discover their talents in the near future and to prepare for technical job opportunities of the future. ICL Amsterdam offers these young people the opportunity to visit the site for a mini-internship workshop, where they experience a short, powerful introduction of the day-to-day work at ICL Amsterdam, and the opportunities that the company could offer to young people.
In addition, a small number of individual students are personally supervised by an ICL coach that seeks to uncover talent by the student at specific types of work. The ICL coach then guides him/her and recommends further educational directions.
ICL IP Terneuzen
ICL-IP Terneuzen (IPT) sponsors the following events and activities:
Regional cultural events
- Festival Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (classical concerts organized over a two week period in various locations in the municipality)
- Zeeland Jazz Festival in Terneuzen. An annual event in the municipality.
- Graauw Rock Festival, an annual rock music event
- Shanty Festival, an annual folklore event in the municipality
- Festival de Ballade, a popular musical weekend organized by a local celebrity
- Local village festival markets in Terneuzen, Zaamslag, Biervliet and Sas van Gent.
Sports events
- Marathon Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, an annual sporting event, in which a number of employees participate, dressed in ICL uniforms
- Ride for the Roses, a national cycling event in the fight against breast cancer. IPT is represented by its cycling team dressed in ICL uniforms
Smaller activities and sports events (in which at least one of our employees is part of the organization team):
- Cycling tours, local football teams, swimming for handicapped children, athletic events, etc.
- The IPT site sponsors billboards at the local football and sports fields.
- Donation to the local Voedselbank. This organization provides food parcels to people in the community without sufficient means.
- Attending school information events. ICL IP Terneuzen’s EHS education officer, and/or Technical Ambassadors attend these events. To promote working in the chemical industry, and ICL in particular, the site distributes small gadgets or pens with the ICL logo.
Helping to educate tomorrow’s chemists
One of the challenges for ICL IP Terneuzen is to identify young people with a technical background. This is why ICL invests time and resources to interest students in local schools in the industrial sector, hoping to help educate tomorrow’s chemists!
ICL Waardenburg
ICL Waardenburg donated plants that were used in a fertilization field trail to elderly homes.
Belgium
ICL Grobbendonk
- Sponsoring several local sports and social events
- Participating in a local clean-up day during which employees collect garbage in the industrial zone during working hours
