Our Corporate Responsibility charter in Eastern Europe and the Middle East extends beyond internal measures aimed at benefiting our employees and embraces 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 last year 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 feel that our role extends beyond the value of our products and services to include a wider contribution to healthcare in general. Hence our involvement in the childhood cancer foundation KRTEK in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1999, this charitable organisation raises funds and heightens public awareness regarding the issues facing children suffering from cancer. These funds support the work of the Paediatric Oncology Department at the University Hospital Brno, dedicated to research for comprehensive cures for infants, children, teens and young adults with cancer.

In Poland, we support the BOLD project (Burden of Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease). Under the umbrella of BOLD, around 2,000 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease were examined in southern Poland in 2006. Similarly in Poland, we were involved in tests to treat newborns suffering from respiratory problems with inhaled nitric oxide in 2007. At the request of medical specialists from various hospitals, we supplied our INOmax® product for this purpose. And we have been working with the Krakow medical emergency centre since 2004. This involves supporting their annual competition between national and international emergency teams through funding, organisational aid and medical talks.