South & East Asia RBU
Revealing exceptional cultural diversity, the countries and almost 2 billion inhabitants of South & East Asia are spread across the region’s largest, most populous country, India, to the buzzing city-state of Singapore, the smallest nation in South & East Asia.
This region is regularly devastated by natural disasters such as strong earthquakes, tsunamis and widespread flooding. Here we contribute as quickly as possible to emergency aid operations, supplementing relief projects with long-term community support programmes.
We donated money and relief supplies to the tsunami victims in 2005, and we also donated to the relief efforts following one of the most recent catastrophic earthquakes in the region which took place in May 2006 on the island of Java in Indonesia.
Measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, the quake’s epicentre was under the Indian Ocean seabed around 25 kilometres from Yogyakarta city on the southern side of Java. The quake claimed over 6,000 lives and left more than 36,000 people injured.
Around 1.5 million people were left homeless, mainly in the Bantul and Klaten districts. A few days after the quake, we sent three emergency teams to the area around Yogyakarta to provide food and other relief supplies to our employees and their families.
Donations from regional management and employees meant that the employees affected were able to quickly rebuild their homes. We also supported public rescue centres, public health authorities and three elementary schools with both financial aid and supplies. Our response to this earthquake also included a substantial donation to the Indonesian Red Cross.
Looking beyond disaster relief, we are also engaged with various charitable causes and make regular donations to non-government organisations such as Concern India Foundation, Cry and Helpage, and Utsav Children Cultural Group. These foundations are committed to improving quality of life for children, the disabled and the elderly.
In January 2007, we supported victims of flooding in southern Malaysia, concentrated mainly in the state of Johor, with around 15,000 school books, 300 uniforms and 30 school bags. In the summer of 2007, we sponsored an event for underprivileged families in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, through which we collected donations of clothing, furniture, toys, etc.
Greater China RBU
Environmental protection is high on the agenda in the rapidly developing Chinese region. Here, we feel a particularly strong commitment to act responsibility and proactively put measures in place to stave off climate change and protect the environment.
Sustainable growth in the Chinese region hinges on the ability to successfully tackle the energy dilemma. Continued economic growth will not be feasible without a workable energy policy.
Thanks to our extensive experience in hydrogen technologies, we are ideally positioned to deliver solutions leveraging hydrogen, as a zero-emissions energy carrier of the future.
We built the first hydrogen fuelling station in the up-and-coming economic hub of Shanghai. We worked with China’s renowned Tongji University and Shell to realise this milestone project.
This project is part of a scientific development programme spearheaded by the Chinese Ministry for Science and Technology and is aimed at advancing the commercialisation of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in China.
Fully operational since October 2007, the station is set to supply three hydrogen-powered buses and up to twenty more vehicles with compressed gaseous hydrogen.
Linde is responsible for the entire hydrogen logistics chain, including compression, storage and fuelling technology as well as the delivery of the gas.
The hydrogen station is the Shanghai government’s first step towards creating a complete network of hydrogen stations that will fuel buses and other vehicles.
Eastern Europe & Middle East RBU
Our Corporate Responsibility projects in Eastern Europe and the Middle East focus heavily on know-how transfer and HR development programmes. As part of our Group-wide management training activities, we organise various management development programmes at regional level.
These include the Leadership College and Management College programmes, both of which are geared towards bringing together high- potential managers from all over Eastern Europe and providing them with intensive training.
Leadership College focuses on strengthening participants’ leadership qualities. Presentations on current regional topics and challenges held by the relevant regional managers give the participants additional insights and momentum.
Management College is aimed at younger, up-and-coming employees (between 25 and 35) and particularly talented employees from operational units in the region. Throughout this programme, participants develop professional management skills and are prepared to realise their future managerial goals.
Our Corporate Responsibility charter in Eastern Europe and the Middle East extends beyond internal measures aimed at benefiting our employees to embrace a wider commitment to society as a whole.
In Poland, for example, we help fund the “Prometeusz” foundation for disabled people and low-income families every year. We were presented with an award from this foundation in 2006 in honour of our ongoing commitment.
In Romania, we promote training in the skilled trades by sponsoring welding courses at the National Institute for Welding.
As a supplier of medical gases and equipment, we are also engaged in a variety of healthcare projects in this region.
