The 2018 Air Liquide Foundation Awards recognize scientific research and the commitment of Group employees
- Research
The Air Liquide Foundation Awards honor the most innovative organizations among those supported by the Foundation. For this second edition, two scientific organizations were singled out in the Research category for their projects promoting the Environment and Health. New this year, the 2018 Awards for Social Commitment honor the engagement of Group employees working alongside associations on citizenship projects supported by the Foundation. In all, six employees and six organizations received awards. The Group's employees also awarded a special "Coup de Coeur" prize to a project supported by Air Liquide employees, presented by Benoît Potier, the Chairman and CEO of Air Liquide, during a special ceremony held in Paris on February 5, 2018.
Since it was founded in 2008, the Air Liquide Foundation has been supporting research in the areas of the Environment and Health, as well as contributing to local development in countries where the Group does business. Since its inception, the Foundation has supported 284 projects in 50 countries thanks to the involvement of 345 employee sponsors who recommend and support these projects.
The 2018 Awards for Research, which were handed out in the Health category by Diana Schillag, European Healthcare Operations Vice President at Air Liquide and in the Environment category by François Darchis, Innovation and Development Vice President at Air Liquide, supervising the Sustainable Development program, honored:
- The Université Paris Descartes for its research into the lung damage associated with a rare disease, systemic scleroderma1,
- The Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) of Paris for its research on the capacity of the Vietnam mangrove to capture CO2.
In addition to the grant already made by the Foundation for these projects, the winning organizations will each receive a prize of 10 000 euros.
For this second edition, the 2018 Awards for Social Engagement, handed out by Bénédicte Faivre-Tavignot, Professor of Strategy and Social Innovation at HEC-Paris, singled out six projects that were sponsored by Group employees and supported by the Foundation between 2014 and 2016 around the world:
- Promoting access to healthcare for Chinese migrant children in Shanghai (Shanghai Roots & Shoots Association) - Sponsor: Angela Hua, Air Liquide Engineering & Construction Shanghai
- Support for the training center for dogs that offer support and guidance for disabled people in Brittany, France (Handi’Chiens Bretagne Association) - Sponsor: Guénolé Le Calvez, BiotechMarine (Seppic)
- Renovation of a maternity ward in the Sine Saloum Delta, Senegal (Voiles Sans Frontières Association) - Sponsors: Elisabeth Ndiaye Ndong and Marie Ba Lacouture, Air Liquide Sénégal
- Construction of a middle school in Zinado and weaving training courses in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (Zinado 2000 and Afrika Tiss Associations) - Sponsor : Harouna Badini, Air Liquide Burkina Faso
- A career training center for young adults in Delhi, India (Life Project 4 Youth Association - Sponsor: Roshan Ekka, Air Liquide India.
New this year, Group employees gave out an “Employees Favorite” award to two colleagues - Elisabeth Ndiaye Ndong and Marie Ba Lacouture - to honor their commitment to renovating a maternity hospital in Sine Saloum delta, Senegal (Voiles Sans Frontières Association’s project).
Air Liquide Foundation
With a budget of 3 million euros over five years, the Air Liquide Foundation develops philanthropic initiatives in three areas: scientific research for the preservation of the environment, scientific research aimed at improving respiratory function, and support for micro-initiatives encouraging local development in countries where the Group is present.
1 A rare disease whose cause is unknown and that leads to a progressive fibrosis of the skin and multiple internal organs, including the lungs. This damage to the lungs is currently the main cause of mortality linked to systemic scleroderma.