It is our firm belief that Corporate Social Responsibility, fully integrated into the pursuit of business objectives, will –in the long term– add value to our business and be appreciated and rewarded by our stakeholders.

No producer of construction materials can avoid having some impact on the environment and the communities in which it operates. At TITAN, we are determined to keep the adverse impact to a minimum, pursuing the principal “Do Less Harm”, while at the same time endeavouring to “Do More Good” by supporting and contributing to the wellbeing of our employees, local communities and society as a whole.

As expected the global financial and economic crisis impacted on our business in 2009. Steep declines in demand regrettably led to manpower reductions, which were treated in line with our values and commitments, with a view to minimizing and softening the negative implications.

Every crisis undoubtedly presents threats and entails risks, demanding strong leadership, correct assessment and effective management, but can also generate positive change, creating new opportunities to be seized and exploited. The current circumstances have done much to hone our management’s leadership skills and to enhance our organization’s capacity for change. Our efforts were recognized by Fortune magazine and Hewitt Associates, which in their 2009 survey, placed TITAN 1st in Europe and 8th in the world in the Top Companies for Leaders ranking.

During the year, we continued to make progress against our targets on most fronts, yet need to improve our social footprint.

With regard to safety at work, which remains at the top of our business priorities, it is encouraging to report an improvement in our performance for 2009, with no fatal or serious accidents and a Lost Time Injury Frequency Index lower by 23%. Furthermore, achievements such as the successful completion of the Beni Suef expansion project in Egypt where no lost time injuries were recorded in a total of 6.5 million working hours are strengthening our commitment to continuous self-assessment and self-improvement.

Similarly, we continued to enhance our environmental performance, improving energy efficiency and reducing our CO₂ and other emissions, in many cases reaching “best-in-class” performance in our industry.

Moreover, new partnerships addressing local issues have been adopted, such as the joint effort with the UN World Food Program to support better nutrition and education for more than 2,000 children in Egypt’s Beni Suef area, south of Cairo, as well as motivate families to keep children at school.

We are measuring our social and environmental footprint at all locations where the Group operates, taking mitigating action, evaluating what has been achieved so far and setting new targets for 2015, as laid out in the Group performance 5 year plan.

Continuous learning and self-improvement; listening to and communicating with our stakeholders; transparency and accountability in our policies, decisions and performance will -continue to guide our CSR actions in the future. We acknowledge the importance of external assurance in promoting credible accountability, and will again seek certification, first secured by the Group in 2007.

We have made considerable progress over the years in meeting environmental and social challenges and shall further pursue our efforts within the framework of our stakeholders’ engagement. We will continue our endeavours whatever the difficulties of the current business environment, however volatile the financial climate.

Dimitri Papalexopoulos
Managing Director