Demonstrating social responsibility in rural China
Fuhong plant in China reinforced its links with the local community, by helping overcome a local water shortage and getting involved in traditional Chinese festival celebrations.
The Fuhong plant in Wang Cheng county has demonstrated Umicore’s social-responsibility credentials recently by building links with the local community. Wang Cheng county is a traditional canton in rural
The summer of 2007 however was a difficult one. Lack of rainfall over a prolonged period brought serious draught for the people here. With not a drop of rain the fields were dry, just as it was time to plant the new crop of rice seedlings. The seeds were planted in the fields, but without sufficient water they would die. The planting season would come and go, and a whole crop would be lost, a serious problem for a rural community.
Lack of resources blocked solutions
Sensitive to the local situation, Fuhong management invited the village leaders to discuss the problem, to see if there was some way to help. It quickly became apparent that there were two major obstacles to appropriate action being taken. First, the fields in the care of the number eight farming team around Fuhong could not be irrigated because of the low water level in the reservoir. Second, another farming team was also unable to carry out irrigation, because their pumps were broken.
Fuhong management realised that the plant had the equipment and the ability to help raise the level of water in the reservoir. After careful study and the drawing up of detailed plans, the plant general manager and his colleagues from the Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) and Human Resources departments implemented a long-term solution to the problem.
With the support of the business unit Zinc Chemicals, Fuhong plant donated 20,000 RMB to two of the neighbourhood farmer teams to enable them to purchase new pumps and to rebuild the irrigation canals. This move earned a great deal of praise from the local farmers, and was also recognised by a grateful village authority.
Getting involved in the Middle Autumn Festival 
So when it came to the Middle Autumn Festival in September 2007, an important day for the Chinese, Fuhong management decided that something should be done for the low-income families in the neighbourhood. Middle Autumn Festival is the traditional time for family reunion, when the whole family gets together to celebrate by sharing ‘moon cakes’, which represent love and care for others.
When Fuhong distributed the moon cakes to employees’ families to celebrate the festival, plant administrative staff accompanied by local village leaders visited all the low-income families in the area, bringing moon cakes and the traditional greetings to them. A simple act, but one that shared a little happiness with the wider community and bought smiles to faces. Well done Umicore Fuhong!
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Photo left: Commemorating the new water channel – (left to right) Cheng Fan (Fuhong Administration), Wei Zhao (Fuhong Administration), Yaohua Kang (Supervisor, Fuhong coal gas station), Xiangyun Liu (farming team leader).
Photo right: (left to rig ht) Linda Yin (Fuhong HR & Admin manager), the leader of villageand a local beneficiary.