Responding to a crisis like the coronavirus outbreak requires a collaborative effort from individuals, companies, organizations and governments; every contribution is important to overcoming this challenge.
We are working to help meet the needs of communities and health care professionals fighting this pandemic on the frontlines while we remain focused on meeting energy demand.
Here are examples of actions we have already taken in Europe to help battle the effects of the coronavirus pandemic:
Belgian care group Santhea came to ExxonMobil with an urgent need for hand sanitizer. Santhea represents 37 hospitals, as well as around 100 care facilities and 30 mental health organizations in the South of Belgium and in the region of our European R&D hub, the European Technology Centre (ETC), nearby Brussels. All of Santhea’s facilities were beginning to experience shortages.
We donated isopropyl alcohol (IPA), which is the key ingredient to make hand sanitizer; working with Anno, a local customer, who took care of blending, packaging and delivering the hand sanitizers to Santhea. This will help protect 56,000 health care workers and their patients.
Sometimes the most effective contribution you can provide to a community quickly is supporting local collective response efforts. SARPOM refinery, a joint venture operated by Esso Italiana, has donated €37,000 to associations supporting two hospitals in its community – Ospedale Maggiore and Ospedale Fornaroli, located in Novara and Magenta respectively – for the acquisition of material for the treatment of patients affected by COVID-19.
Ensuring the continuity of vital public services is essential to keep our communities safe during this crisis. We’ve donated 90 laptops to public servants in the vicinity of our Gravenchon facility, Normandy, to ensure key workers can continue to serve the community from home.
Joining a Global Response
Our initiatives in Europe are part of ExxonMobil’s global response to the coronavirus outbreak. Our teams are working hard to help meet increased demand for products like medical hand sanitizers, alcohol wipes and disinfectant sprays. By increasing our manufacturing of IPA at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to its maximum output, we aim to continue to provide it to the customers and areas that need it most, including the state of New York – one of the hardest hit in America.
We’re also working with the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI) to redesign and manufacture re-useable personal protection equipment for healthcare workers, such as face shields and masks, drawing on ExxonMobil‘s deep experience in polymer-based technologies.
The coronavirus outbreak is developing every day, as are the needs it brings. At ExxonMobil, our people are working to contribute to the response in the communities around us.
