HOW THE FOUNDATION MANAGED 18 MONTHS OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS?
The Air Liquide Foundation has played its full role in the Group’s measures against Covid-19, when fundamental research and the acute need for industry skills came to the fore. The Chairman of the Foundation and a Shareholder representative for the Foundation talk about their actions.
JEAN-MARC DE ROYERE,
Chairman of the Air Liquide Foundation
French society was severely affected by the pandemic. How did this affect the Air Liquide Foundation?
Scientific research and professional integration, two subjects that the Foundation works on, really came to the fore with the Covid-19 crisis. In-depth fundamental research proved essential in overcoming the most difficult challenges, as the work on messenger RNA vaccines has shown. The crisis has also highlighted the need to attract young people to technical professions to “reindustrialize” certain regions. Foundations such as ours are essential supplements to public actions in “crisis recovery” as they encompass risk-taking, flexibility, quick decisionmaking, proximity and experience in the field.
In practical terms, where does the Foundation stand in the fight against Covid-19?
Since the start of the pandemic in March–April 2020, the Foundation has released funds to help better understand the virus and its long-term effects. We have supported eleven French and European teams from virology institutes and hospital research laboratories. These projects were carefully selected based on their research objectives and each team’s potential. The initial results are very promising and will feed scientific progress well beyond Covid-19. Alongside this, we have also made a special effort to support integration in industrial fields, signing long-term partnerships with four organizations in France. Finally, emergency humanitarian aid was launched to fund hygiene products, food and medicine. Aid was directed to around 30 projects in Africa, India and South-East Asia, as well as in France and throughout Europe.
What role can Shareholders play in the Foundation’s actions?
In a survey carried out in October 2020, the Shareholders showed their huge support for the Foundation’s focus areas. Their support for the Foundation is very important. We will regularly update them on our progress, so that the Air Liquide Foundation really is “their” foundation.
BERNARD VAYSSE,
Shareholder and member of the
Air Liquide Foundation’s
Communities Committee
Can you introduce yourself?
I’m 71 and I live near Rennes. I’m retired and am involved in various volunteering activities, in particular as a director at two organizations in the disability and mental health field. Fifteen years ago, I decided to become an Air Liquide Shareholder for three reasons: the soundness of the business, its choice to balance economic performance and sustainable development, and the central position of economic and corporate social responsibility in its strategies. I have also been a member of the Shareholders’ Communication Committee for two years.
What is your role in the Shareholders’ Communication Committee?
My role is to strengthen the links between the Group and its individual Shareholders and to improve how its messages are conveyed — in particular its commitments to long-term sustainable development and the treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes or respiratory insufficiency. In this regard, I contribute by drawing on experience from my volunteering and my professional life, particularly in the disability and mental health field.
As a Group Shareholder, what are your responsibilities at the Foundation?
I recently joined the Air Liquide Foundation’s Communities Committee. As a member of this committee, I help select development projects locally, in Europe and throughout the world. I represent the Shareholders when these projects that, first and foremost, support professional integration, are being chosen. These causes need to be connected to industry and the business world, which is what the Foundation brings them with the Air Liquide Group ecosystem.
