In the Community, from the Community, for the Community

The social philosophy of GEFYRA S.A. is based on its corporate psychology, which in turn originates from the identity of the Project it manages.

As concessionaire of the “Harilaos Trikoupis” Bridge of Rion-Antirion, it undertook the design, construction and operation of the most complex structure ever built in Greece. The company was named after the nature of the project. It is a bridge that first of all has to bring people together. Therefore, it cannot be limited to just a name, “Bridge” (Gefyra), but also aim at bridging people and prove it in practice.

Therefore its corporate social philosophy is focused on the responsibility of proving  the utility of the project for the community, not only because its customers use the Bridge easily and safely, but also because the people in charge of the project show indeed that they are aware of the fact that the project was constructed in cooperation with the community that desired it, in order to improve its everyday life.

Our Company considers this belief as the best possible guarantee that the project it manages will leverage a sustainable development. A typical example is the willingness of the Company to contribute to the reduction of CO₂ emissions by deciding to use, for corporate purposes, vehicles with the least possible emissions, promoting the interoperability of electronic tolls and opting for an asphalt pavement made by a company which devotes 70% of its research activities to sustainable development focusing on the manufacture of innovative products aiming at reducing emissions both during their production and use phases. Finally, the building facilities of the Bridge in Antirion were constructed and are used having in mind the reasonable consumption of energy during the operation and maintenance period. 

The reasonable consequence of the above is that the social responsibility of the company may be summarized in the phrase “In the Community, from the Community, for the Community. This motto specified the way in which GEFYRA S.A. sees its moral obligations to the Community.

Living and operating in a local community, a typical instance in the Greek region, which anxiously requests more drastic and “intelligent” levers of development and with a manifest present in the local activities, the concessionaire of the Bridge has chosen the policy of proximity and closeness to the local community.

The officials of the company experience a relation of mutual acquaintance with (local) people and situations that put it in a continuous procedure (direct and indirect) of account rendering to the community. This procedure shall satisfy the expectations created by the construction of the project.

The social responsibility starts from the road safety conditions that the company guarantees to the users, and continues with the respect to the environment and the active involvement in the actions for its protection. It also takes a financial form, thanks to the discount products available to the local users, even if they are the minority.

Within the framework of Road Safety, GEFYRA S.A. makes its mark with its perfecting care for safe crossing, as it is always next to the user (patrols and rounds, customer service, electronic traffic monitoring and advices given through the electronic signs). In order to enlarge its possibilities, GEFYRA S.A. cooperates with bodies such as the Institute of Road Safety “Panos Mylonas”, of which is a member, and is committed to undertake more actions in order to inform the public and its staff. A typical example is the recent signature of the

Safety Chart, according to which the company is committed, voluntarily, to the following, for a period of 3 years:

• Co-operate continuously with the Institute of Road Safety “Panos Mylonas” in order to offer the appropriate information to the local community and schools, in a region such as Western Greece, of which the current road network is obsolete and therefore dangerous and increases the risks of road accidents,
• Present planned actions within the framework of an information program for students, farmers and elderly drivers, thanks to the distribution of at least 20,000 leaflets.
• Organize, every quarter, two-hour training courses for its staff with the assistance of the specialists of the Institute of Road Safety and publish articles on Road Safety on every issue of its internal newsletter “A walk on the Bridge”,
• Distribute all the leaflets on the Road Safety issue that are made available to it by the Ministry of Transport and Communication
• Multiply the road vigilance messages already emitted on the electronic signs of the Rion-Antirion Bridge 

In the field of Social Solidarity, GEFYRA S.A. undertakes actions within the framework of the program “Child – Diversity – Better Access”, offering serious financial aid to:

• Schools and institutions for handicapped children (e.g. EEEEK of Partas & Nafpaktos, “Agia Eleoussa” of Messolonghi & Agrinio, Primary School of Deaf People of Patras) for the organization of cultural and educational events such as painting exhibitions with works made by the students or production of shows and performances,
• Support of cultural events for children from social minorities and less favored districts of the Municipalities adjacent to the Bridge (Antirion, Etoliko),
• Support for drafting strategic designs for the accessibility of the disabled people (Association “Alkyoni” of Nafpaktos),
• Respond to the financial needs of the needy institutions which accommodate mentally disabled adults (IRIS House in Rion) or autistic children (EPSIPEA of Messolonghi) or disabled children (“Merimna Patron”),
•  Support the Achaia Annex of the Breast Cancer Patient Association “Alma Zois” thanks to the financial contribution and the development of communication actions such as the crossing of the Bridge by the Olympic Champion Athanassia Tsoumeleka, the members of the association, women from Achaia and Etoloakarnania and the athletes of the handball team “ASE ORMI”, Greek Champion and holder of the Greek Cup, sponsored by GEFYRA S.A.

The field of trust between the company, the local community and the greater social community sets off the correctness of the choice of “proximity and closeness to the local community”. Based on this policy, the officials of the company willingly exit the narrow framework of the office where they simply examine requests for sponsorships and send reply letters and checks. The social responsibility of GEFYRA S.A. starts from the personal knowledge of the official in charge of a “dossier”. This knowledge was acquired thanks to onsite visits, discussions with the representatives of bodies and simple interested fellow citizens and to sufficient personal research. The personal presence and the direct contact in view of the monitoring and support action from the beginning to the end, shape the public opinion regarding the company as well as the trusted relation between the company and the community.

The criterion of this policy is the support actions undertaken by the citizens who “from the superfluity of their heart and the little they have” lead the community “one step forward”. Consultation with groups of citizens (e.g. neighbors disturbed by the noise of the vehicles crossing the Bridge) and the consistency regarding the commitments undertaken by the company (i.e. installation of silencers and noise barriers) creates a positive image about the social responsibility of the Company and the observance of its commitments.

The trust between the company and the employees is ensured first thanks to the strict observance of the legal labor obligations of the company. In addition, the company guarantees self-development conditions to the employees free of charge, by offering foreign language courses, facilities for leaves and working hours in order to allow its employees to make postgraduate studies, while it offers catering coupons and transceivers for use along the tolled motorways. In addition, it favors their participation in welfare institutions. Finally it awards pecuniary prizes to one social and one environmental institution in which some of its employees participates in and are the ones to nominate for the awards..

The duration of all the above actions depends on their evaluation. In case these actions are considered, by the competent bodies, serious in terms of management and social acceptance, they are renewed. Their evaluation coincides with the drafting of the annual budgets, at the end of each year. Moreover, the amount of the expenses made reaches almost 30% of the total annual budget of the Communication Office, to which the Corporate Social Responsibility belongs.

In accordance to the philosophy of VINCI Group, major shareholder of GEFYRA S.A., which is based on the principle “Real success is the success you share”, we search for synergies with bodies promoting actions of social responsibilities of joint interest. Moreover, the synergies’ criterion is the participation of the various bodies representing the community itself. A typical example is the BLUE COMMUNITY platform that GEFYRA has instituted with the Sailing Clubs of Patras, Rion, Nafpaktos, Messolonghi and the Research Institute ARCHIPELAGOS in view of conserving and saving the dolphins of the Korinthos and Patras Gulfs. As a result, the community is encouraged to participate in similar actions, which are organized with the seriousness of an emblematic company and are viable thanks to the support of this company.

A wider social benefit that could arise from the adoption of methods, tools and best practices regarding the implementation of actions, as those implemented by GEFYRA S.A., would be a wider “front” for the improvement of the social conditions and relations between the business world and the community.

This is the aim of GEFYRA S.A., which functions and lives ‘in the Community, from the Community, for the Community”. The relevant “know-how” of GEFYRA S.A. is very welcomed, and this is particularly encouraging not only within the framework of the local community, which has only a few companies with a similar philosophy, but mainly on the national level, where big corporations do business and the specialized observers of the Corporate Social Responsibility act.

The Management of the Company considers the year 2008 as a milestone since it would be the first year of implementation of a well studied and planned policy meeting the modern requirements, which put our company among the most important nuclei of social responsibility.

For more information on the CSR actions of GEFYRA S.A., visit the NEWS page of our website, where you can find details about each one of them.