GasTerra applies the following definition of corporate social responsibility:
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an approach to business in which quality of life, respect for the environment and added value for society informs all company attitudes and activities.
Commitment to the community
GasTerra also has a commitment to the community in which it operates, independent of any links with gas or energy. To this end, it supports community relations which tie in with the societal role it fulfils in the northern Netherlands region.
Martini Hospital Groningen
In 2006, GasTerra sponsored the construction of a special wing for the new Martini Hospital in Groningen. It consists of a unit which can be used by patients, hospital staff and visitors alike. Located in a garden at the heart of the new building, the new area will provide a space where people can relax, sit and reflect, hold meetings and presentations and meet visitors.
The new wing will take the form of a multifunctional unit, the aim of which will be to promote a smooth return to everyday life, aided by a rapid recovery. Hence the fact that such areas are referred to as ‘healing environments’.
Groninger Museum
GasTerra has made further progress in its support for the Groninger Museum, thanks to the creation of a fund to sponsor a major new winter exhibition at the end of this year. GasTerra previously made substantial financial and organisational contributions to exhibitions of work by Repin and on the artistic world of Diaghilev and his ballet festivals. Both exhibitions and their associated programmes generated major economic, social and cultural benefits for the northern Netherlands region and the city of Groningen in particular, attracting international interest.
Galili Dance
Also in the field of culture, GasTerra contributed to an event to mark the 10th anniversary of the northern Netherlands dance company Galili Dance, which celebrated its jubilee with a première in The Hague of a specially devised programme entitled
Heads or Tales.
‘Pracht en Kraal’ GasTerra co-sponsored the ‘Pracht en Kraal’ exhibition in Amsterdam’s Tropenmuseum [Museum of the Tropics], partly as a way of publicising its new name.
These three cultural sponsorships were matched by two others on the sporting side.
Energy Valley Eurovoetbal Gasterra extended its sponsorship of the Energy Valley Eurovoetbal international junior football championships and agreed not to use its own name in deference to that of Energy Valley. The competition is one of the leading European football championships for the under-20s and has an importance that extends beyond the northern Netherlands region.
House of Sport
GasTerra also sponsored the ‘House of Sport’. This initiative is entirely dedicated to promoting sport among young people, and aims to encourage more physical activity at schools, based on the introduction of the ‘Groninger Sportmodel’. Developing natural talent is a parallel aim.
GasTerra pursues opportunities for sponsorship almost entirely for social reasons rather than commercial gain.
