Today, activities carried out with a view to the future are an integral part of socially responsible business. Of course, the awareness of how much mankind is responsible for the world in which we exist, grew with the development of civilization. However, the final formulation of the principles, on which the strategy of the common future should be based, was developed relatively recently, at the end of the 20th century. The World Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by then Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland, has voiced a basic message: sustainable development is about satisfying the needs of people without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs. This concept is inextricably linked to environmental and demographic issues and takes into account economic, social and environmental aspects.
Today, the world’s respected business institutions, when considering possible cooperation, are the first to ask about a contribution a company makes to social existence and ways of implementing the goals of the UN Global Compact. In the opinion of Western counterparts, those companies that have an answer have a much higher level than those that do nothing in this area. But this is not the main thing. The main thing is that the actions of the company you work at actually benefit people in the long term. This is a truly competitive advantage.
The first thing for Farmak is the fact that we produce modern, high-quality and affordable medicinal products. This is the main task of our Company. Business and social aspects here are closely intertwined. We manufacture high-quality medicinal products for Ukraine and more than 20 countries. And all these medicinal products are manufactured on the same manufacturing lines with GMP certificates from both Ukrainian and European inspection bodies. Honest work, transparent reporting, favourable conditions, decent salary – we build business according to social rules. In addition, we build it in accordance with the requirements of the environment. We expand manufacture and at the same time – we reduce the impact on the environment. So, the purification equipment at our plant in Shostka is so perfect that 99% of all effluents from pharmaceutical (!) manufacture are produced by the boiler plant. That is the modern treatment facilities do not allow harmful substances to be released into the air or into the water.
The “Eco-School” project is very important for us. We decided to bring the idea of respect for the environment to schoolchildren, because the foundations of the world are formed since the early age. The youth need to know the truth and realize that the consequences of negligence towards the natural resources will affect not even the future, but the existing generations. The first step is understanding the magnitude of the problem. No less important is the fact that children learn to implement their eco-ideas in practice through familiarization with project management. The activity of the youth is not limited to the projects they seek to implement at their schools. When we hear that one of the Eco-School students initiated the replacement of all lamps for energy-saving ones, the other suggested parents to make a heating audit of the house before starting the repair – we understand that we achieve our goal. Today’s schoolchildren are not consumers, but partners of the ecosystem.
Just as taking care of the environment is not limited to the activities of the enterprise itself, healthcare is not only the manufacture of the necessary medicinal products. Medicinal products are designed to fight diseases, and we also strive to protect from them. This is what our comprehensive promotion of a healthy lifestyle is aimed at. Sport plays a significant role here. We have partnership relations with the Ukrainian Football Association of Physicians. We also organize runs designed to draw attention to the fact that health is a choice available to all. Sports events taking place in Shostka are not only available to professional athletes, those are not exhausting half-marathons or marathons. The proposed distances can be covered even by older people, the main things are having fun, interest, and enthusiasm. The age of the participants is really inspiring – from 10 to 93 years. We plan to hold similar sports events in Kyiv. Also our employees actively play football, volleyball, basketball… And everyone knows: that everything we do, we do for the sake of health.
Along with physical health, mental comfort is an equally important component. And this concept is associated not only with a purely personal sphere, we are talking about the sense of need for society…
Projects that can be conditionally categorized as “Corporate Volunteering” are aimed at social and social self-realization. We cooperate with many charitable organizations and foundations; we join this noble endeavour ourselves. For example, today we are talking on the World Down Syndrome Day. The funds raised at our company from the campaign of selling colourful socks, will be donated for the organization of classes for Children of the Sun who require special attention because of their diagnosis.
And we have a huge number of donors at our Company! For the entire period of the campaign – 300 volunteers, almost 170 litres of blood. And they are only people who donated blood at Farmak, however many donate blood and outside the Company.
Impressive numbers showed our traditional campaigns of cleaning the city – the employees have collected 3,000 tons of trash, provided 2,000 kilograms of oxygen by planting trees.
Recently, we have started to cooperate with Charity Fund “Tabletochky”. Now, our sports teams do not just run, but also raise funds for the needs of sick children who are under the care of the Fund. Every month, up to 400 children seek help there. Funds are used not only for the purchase of medicinal products, but also for palliative care. Sometimes we are talking about the purchase of special equipment for treatment.
Of course, we do not forget the military. At the request of our employees once again the campaign of day during which we work for army was held. This time we spent 1 million 800 thousand hryvnias on the equipment for our border services.
I am quite sure that if we now invite those who want to run, they will contact us immediately.
Here is another recent remarkable case – we offered our colleagues to help the animal shelter. It was a Sunday, the weather was freezing, we had to go as much as 50 km from Kyiv. However, there were about 15 people willing to sacrifice their weekend for hat. So far, almost 10% of employees have been involved in active corporate volunteering. And that’s a lot. But we set more ambitious goals and dream that 70% of Farmak employees will be involved in volunteer activities.
We hope for further development and expansion of the Eco-School project in the regions. We have great hope that it will be joined by other socially responsible companies that care about the future of Ukraine and the whole planet. We have big plans for sports events that will take place not only at the national level, but also in the regions. So, generally, we can confidently say: to be continued!
