CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

Corporate citizenship focuses on how companies relate to external stakeholders, to the marketplace, to government and to society as a whole; how they measure and manage their performance as corporate citizens in matters relating to safety, health and environmental impacts; and how obligations are met to help all citizens become meaningful participants in South Africa's economy. Included here are AECI's employees and their advancement, particularly those from previously disadvantaged groups. In AECI, such matters are guided by a sub-committee of the Board which carries out its work in terms of clear guidelines.

Corporate social investment

AECI, a leading company in its core business of providing specialty products and services to customers in chemical-related sectors, believes that it has a responsibility to make a positive contribution to the lives of individuals and communities in South Africa. In line with this, the Company's corporate social investment (CSI) programme concentrates on assisting the communities in which it operates through investment in skills training, and early childhood and community development.

The CSI programme is deliberate, focused and progressive and, because it is viewed as a strategic function, is aligned to the Group's business objectives. Furthermore, the programme is guided by a formal policy framework with the objective that it be mutually beneficial to the Group and its relevant stakeholders.

Policy

AECI believes that being a responsible and contributing corporate citizen is an important component of the Company's mission and business strategy and, through its CSI programme, it is committed to empowering and uplifting specific disadvantaged communities in South Africa.

Specifically, AECI wishes to:

• make a measurable improvement in the lives and welfare of the disadvantaged communities in which it operates;
• address inequality in South Africa through the empowerment of these communities; and
• enhance the Company's image and reputation as a caring and responsible corporate citizen.

This focus is demonstrated by programmes, such as those that follow, for a direct investment of some R6 million in 2007.

The Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company has been supported for a number of years. It gives students the opportunity to develop skills, gain experience and improve overall as musicians, teachers, composers and performers. Experience and skills gained enable students to participate in further training and establish career paths. A pilot project for apprenticeships in instrument repair started in 2007 and two master technicians are training four students in building and repairing string and brass instruments.

The Africa Foundation develops craft markets near game lodges popular with tourists. Projects include training crafters in beading, grass weaving, leather articles, embroidery, fabric painting and candle-making. AECI supports the Mbhedula market in KwaZulu-Natal and the Welverdiend Craft Market, Mpumalanga. The projects empower and develop participants, increasing their earning potential and economic independence.

Project Literacy, a non-profit organisation, runs accredited Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) programmes. The "Run Home to Read" initiative encourages parents or caregivers to read to pre-school children to prepare them for school and enhance family communication. It has been implemented widely in Limpopo and, when additional funding becomes available, it will be extended nationally.

Siyabonga Africa. AECI partnered with this organisation for the first time in 2007. It has an innovative product that can assist in poverty alleviation. Acknowledging that bread is the staple diet for many South Africans, the organisation started its Bread Oven/Mini Bakery project in 2004. The objective is to teach unemployed and disadvantaged people bread-making and basic business management. Siyabonga Africa supplies gas-operated bread ovens that trainees can operate in their own communities. The result is immediate employment and an income opportunity. Not only are previously unemployed people now earning but schools, crèches and non-profit organisations are also using the system as a fund-raising tool.

AECI has funded two mini bakeries and another has been funded by AEL.

Sparrow Educational Trust. With AECI's continued support, intellectually-disabled young people are able to develop critical skills at Sparrow Schools. These skills position them to contribute positively to society. Activities centre around the provision of ABET numeracy and literacy training; vocational skills training in catering, motor mechanics, carpentry, clothing production, creative design and technology, and welding; computer literacy; entrepreneurship; and life skills training. Programmes are complemented by learner support services such as psychosocial assessments and interventions, participation in work experience initiatives, and cultural activities.

Sparrow liaises with various Sectoral Education Training Authorities (SETAs) to provide accredited programmes, thereby enabling intellectually-disabled learners to gain credits towards National Qualification Framework (NQF) certificates. This requires that all vocational skills curricula align with SETA standards and, in 2007, Sparrow's workshop facilities had to be extended to ensure compliance.

Business Against Crime (BAC). By end-2007, BAC had trained first level management teams at 35 police stations with the support and sponsorship of AECI and other companies. Training at the second and third levels has been undertaken in a joint venture between BAC and the Tshwane University of Technology. The objective is to assist police station management teams to lead, manage and motivate their staff better so as to deliver improved service to the public. The programme includes performance enhancement workshops to discuss the implementation of management methods, and to identify any remaining hindrances.

Imbali. In the Kylemore community at Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, unemployed people are trained in various skills in the arts and crafts sector. Courses are presented by the Department of Labour.

Early childhood development. AECI continued to support the Ntataise Trust, a service provider that operates a network of training facilities for aspiring caregivers. Furthermore, the Company supports a pre-school at Modderfontein and the Nkosi Neighbourhood Foundation, also in Johannesburg.

The Tiso AEL Development Trust, which is a shareholder in AEL, and the AEL social investment committee directed a number of social upliftment initiatives in 2007:

• support for Tembisa schools increased, with four primary and four high schools now being assisted in mathematics and technology learning;
• skills development through the employment of interns continues and, to date, four interns have been employed permanently by AEL;
• assistance for NOAH (Nurturing Orphans of Aids for Humanity) was extended to include a bread oven to augment the children’s food supply and to provide the organisation with additional revenue. AEL is also providing other staple food; and
• support for 11 CIDA students at tertiary education level, continued. Trained mentors have been allocated to them and students are employed by AEL in vacation periods. Often, on completion of their studies, they are absorbed into the intern programme.

A relationship with a secondary school in Tembisa was established to build a fully-equipped science laboratory. This project is seen as the start of a long-term relationship with the school.

At Umbogintwini, Heartland Leasing's CSI activities focused on donations to local schools and police stations, environmental education and job creation projects.