Air Liquide contributes to Guang’an’s fight against poverty

On September 27, 2020, the donation ceremony of the poverty alleviation project jointly sponsored by Air Liquide and the Department of European Affairs, Ministry of Commerce of People's Republic of China was held in the E-commerce Industrial Park of Guang'an District in Guang'an City, Sichuan Province. As part of this initiative, Air Liquide donated recycled computers and invited experts to provide career training for local residents, in line with Air Liquide Foundation's commitment to fighting poverty through professional integration.

Based on the actual needs of Guang'an District, Air Liquide donated 63 recycled computers to two local organizations to replace existing equipment and expand the capacity of local e-commerce training school.

Experts invited by Air Liquide conducted a two-day training for over 30 representatives from 16 towns, assisted by employee volunteers from Air Liquide who would also be part of a follow-up "Buddy Program". Based on feedback, Air Liquide will organize live-streaming Q&A sessions, complemented with on-line learning platform and one-on-one coaching session, to help the trainees to consolidate their learning.

Air Liquide will benchmark the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals for poverty-free, good health & well-being, and affordable & clean energy, to carry out relevant CSR (corporate social responsibility) projects and contribute to poverty alleviation, rural area revitalization and sustainable development in China.

Nicolas Poirot, Air Liquide China President and CEO, said: "As a responsible organisation, Air Liquide is committed to operating in a socially responsible manner, demonstrated through concrete actions. We are very honored to partner with the Ministry of Commerce on poverty alleviation and hope this cooperation project will be the first of many to help rural residents to enhance their competencies and catalyse a strong talent pool to boost rural economic development."

In 2009, Air Liquide China initiated the "Air Liquide Care" program, under which a range of CSR projects have been rolled out, including the annual tree planting activities "Green Action", "Safety Lectures for Kids", "First Respondents for Marathon", and "Air Liquide Computer Classroom", etc. Air Liquide has donated more than 270 recycled computers in 7 Chinese cities to contribute to computer education and social development in rural areas.