Page 10 - SAGT Sustainability Report 2021 2022
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8 SOUTH ASIA GATEWAY TERMINALS (PVT) LTD

CEO’S

MESSAGE

                                                                                                   SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

                                                                                                   Our corporate social responsibility activities
                                                                                                   are curated to support local communities
                                                                                                   whilst addressing key issues of national
                                                                                                   importance including offsetting the impacts of
                                                                                                   our operations.

In an industry that is traditionally male dominant, SAGT actively                                  Throughout the year, SAGT was committed
advocates the promotion of gender balance and inclusivity                                          to extending our support towards all efforts in
                                                                                                   the fight against Covid-19. Team SAGT and the
shift basis. I am pleased to note that 97%       works with 18 leading employers in Sri Lanka      Company were among the earliest contributors
of SAGT staff have been administered both        to implement measures proven to enhance           of funds by the voluntary donation of a day’s
doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. We are         employment opportunities for women.               wage, with a matching donation from the
currently in discussions to offer staff the                                                        Company, to the President’s COVID-19 Fund.
recommended booster.                             To further reiterate our commitment to address    On several occasions the company contributed
                                                 the inherent gender disparity in our operation,   Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to
In an industry that is traditionally male        we aim to increase the female participation       frontline and medical staff of designated
dominant, SAGT actively advocates the            within SAGT’s workforce from just over 4%         hospitals. SAGT also collaborated with John
promotion of gender balance and inclusivity.     at present to 20% by 2025. SAGT continues         Keells Foundation and Deutsche Bank to
A series of initiatives were introduced to       to work alongside state and non-state             fund the Molecular Virology Laboratory at
bridge the gap including an internship           stakeholders to lobby for amendments in law,      National Institute of Infectious Diseases
program targeting female students at tertiary    rules and regulations that presently inhibit      (IDH) to increase the testing capacity in the
education level to inspire potential candidates  female participation in many roles within the     country. Together with the Sri Lanka Ports
to take up employment at SAGT and within         port and terminal Industry in Sri Lanka.          Authority and other stakeholders in the Port
the industry. SAGT is also a member of the                                                         of Colombo, SAGT contributed meaningfully
‘SheWorks’ program, a flagship initiative        Zero incidences of environmental and social       to fund the setting up of an intermediate care
of the International Finance Corporation’s       non-compliances were reported during the          centre with one thousand beds, established by
(IFC) Women in Work program (WiW) which          period under review. The comprehensive            the Sri Lanka Army under the auspices of the
is aimed at increasing female employment         disclosure presented in the latter sections of    National COVID Task Force.
across the Country. The partnership, supported   this report provides more detail on all relevant
by the Australian and UK governments,            sustainability performance indicators.            Furthermore, SAGT presented computers,
                                                                                                   sports equipment, and an entertainment unit
                                                                                                   to the Mission to Seafarers; whose aim is to
                                                                                                   promote mental health and wellbeing among
                                                                                                   the seafarers whose travel movements were
                                                                                                   restricted due to the closure of borders etc.

                                                                                                   We are committed to playing our part not only
                                                                                                   as a business but as a member of society, and
                                                                                                   we will continue to support efforts to combat
                                                                                                   the spread of COVID-19 while enabling the
                                                                                                   movement of essential cargo around the world.
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