Working for the Community

We work towards enriching the communities around us because we depend on them

We design, build and sell cables all across the globe. Wherever we go, we pursue socially responsible business by supporting the economic, social and cultural development of the communities where we work. Prysmian also helps to support social projects via the hours paid to employees involved in charitable activities.

Our Human Rights approach

Our commitment to Sustainable Development is to respect and protect the Human Rights of all our employees and those affected by our business activities. As a company that operates across the globe, we believe that safeguarding the dignity, freedom, and equality of all human beings is at the heart of who we are as a company. Accordingly, we reject discrimination and all illegal acts and activities. With this in mind, we operate within the general reference framework of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fundamental Conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and seek to uphold their recommendations across all our locations, implementing our approach to Human Rights.

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Our Social Initiative and Projects put people at the heart of our work

When Prysmian started looking at how we could contribute to communities, our departure point was simple: begin with our products. We believe energy and telecommunications access is fundamental to local communities' economic and social development. That's why our corporate citizenship and philanthropy activities aim to support this access -- especially in developing countries, where we acquire some of the raw materials that make up our cables.

We work with communities in line with our Mission, Values, and Code of Ethics.

The Group adopted a Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy Policy to identify activities that can help satisfy the needs of the communities through long-term initiatives aimed at solving socio-economic issues in areas where we do business and charitable donations.

In 2019, Prysmian Group donated €610,000 to local communities in cash and in-kind through cables to support initiatives worldwide.

Projects and contribution to the community

The Group adopted a Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy policy to contribute to the socio-economic development of the communities in which it operates. The policy identifies activities that help meet the needs of the communities in line with the Group's vision, mission, values, Code of Ethics, and policies. In addition, this policy defines the contributions, the guiding principles, operating methods, monitoring, and the modes of communication of the activities.

Prysmian contributes to communities through cash donations and in-kind assistance. Prysmian has sponsored several non-profit organizations in North America, such as the Lake Russell Tourism Coalition, the Freshwater Coast Foundation, and the Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission.

Nearly 40% of our philanthropy goes to Education and Youth, like the Comunità Nuova, chaired by Don Gino Rigoldi, chaplain of the "Cesare Beccaria" Correctional Institution for Minors in Milan (Italy), in order to support and assist its solidarity activities. The second-biggest category is Economic Development (18.7%). In this category, we supplied cables to one of Congo’s most important hospitals.

To find out more about our commitment to the communities around us, download our Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy Policy.

download our Policy

Looking to the Communities of the Future

Prysmian has joined the Solidaritas Foundation, a group of businesses to work toward achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Through Solidaritas, Prysmian organized several Corporate Volunteering events in 2019, whereby its employees donated their time during work hours to help the community.

With “Rise Against Hunger,” Prysmian management and employees packed 39,600 meals in May 2019 to be distributed in villages in Mozambique and Zimbabwe by nonprofit organizations. In June, a group of employees spent time handing out meals in the Fondazione Fratelli di San Francesco soup kitchen in Milan. In July, Prysmian staff took to the streets to pick up garbage surrounding its Milan headquarters. They collected 176 kilos of trash from a road and a bicycle path. These efforts are ongoing and will continue in 2020.

In July 2019, Prysmian employees, working in collaboration with Legambiente, donated a working day to the local community by cleaning a green space in the vicinity of the Milan HQ (Quartiere Bicocca): 84 kg of cuttings, 30 kg of glass, 25 kg of miscellaneous waste, 15 kg of building rubble, over 10 kg of the bulky waste and a battery weighing 12 kg. In total, 176 kg of waste was removed from the road and the cycle path.

SPAIN - project entitled “L’economat de VNG”

This project, developed in 2014, continued during 2019 in Vilanova, Spain, where a building owned by the Company in the town center was made available to Caritas to develop the “L’economat de VNG” project. This service distributes food to individuals and families to guarantee their primary needs and a minimum standard of life. However, the most interesting aspect of this social project is how it is administered: as in a supermarket, people can select the food they need most at any given time.

ITALY – Chiulo Hospital

Following the donation of cables by Prysmian, in 2019, the volunteers of Electricians without borders, a nonprofit group that improves access to electricity and water in developing areas throughout the world, completed the installation of a mini solar energy grid (delivering 50KW of power) at the Chiulo Hospital in rural Angola. This has improved living conditions in the area and contributed to the achievement of the UN goal of guaranteeing access to renewable energy (SDG 7).

FRANCE - “Electriciens sans frontières” project

Also in 2019, Prysmian France donated industrial cables to the NGO “Electriciens sans frontières” (ESF). These cables are used for numerous initiatives promoted by the NGO, which, founded in 1986, is involved in many projects, including the transmission and delivery of power to developing countries and communities afflicted by catastrophes. The organization employs over 1,200 volunteers distributed in 136 projects across 35 countries.

NORWAY - “Rett Fram Opplevelser”

Following on from 2018, Prysmian Norway continued to donate to the humanitarian organization “Rett Fram Opplevelser” the contributions intended for the Christmas presents of its customers, which now go to initiatives for children living in poor conditions.

ROMANIA – School for orphaned girls

Prysmian donated 350 meters of low voltage cables with copper conductors for the wiring of a new school for orphaned girls in the local community. The school will be administered by the Metropolitan “Buna Vestire” Church in Grãdinari, Olt.