The Grass Professor.

Scott Brooks, British groundsman known as The Grass Professor

2
min 2020

INEOS Football invests in three new pitches to help OGC Nice raise its game in training

ONE of the oldest football clubs in French history has rebuilt its three pitches from scratch with the help of a British groundsman known as The Grass Professor.

Scott Brooks, who has worked at the national centre of the English Football Association, arrived at OGC Nice in January with high expectations for himself and also the club, which finished fifth in Ligue 1 last season.

“The grass was not very healthy at all,” he said. “And two of the three pitches couldn’t meet the performance level that I felt was required for a professional athlete.”

By performance level, Scott means a pitch that allows players to train and play without getting injured.

“A poor pitch is probably more than half of the reason why a player would get injured,” he said. “And the injury rates here were very high.”

Today all three pitches have been replaced with surfaces that allow the club’s talented players to train harder, for longer.

“We should now start seeing fewer injuries and fitter, healthier players,” he said. “Players need to come off the pitch tired after giving it everything, but without any pain.”

In doing so, OGC, which was founded in 1904, has also become the first French club to use a hybrid pitch - part synthetic, part real grass.

The grass is built on a layer of gravel and two layers of sand, each one levelled with a laser.

The top level of fine sand is mixed with an organic product that is derived from animal dung to provide the grass with the nutrients it needs to grow.

It is also the first French club to adopt a new, more efficient watering system, which uses 30% less water.

“They use the system to watermelons in Brail which has a similar, dry climate, so I am hoping it will work well here,” he said.

What Scott had discovered on his arrival at OGC Nice was a very basic irrigation system fed from the mountains.

“It doesn’t rain very often here but when it does, we get a month’s rain in a day,” he said.

Today, holding water tanks have been installed.

“If there is a problem with water in the city, we will have enough water stored on site to keep the pitches alive,” he said.

That matters in a part of the world where growing grass isn’t easy.

“I actually think the South of France is one of the most difficult climates for growing grass because we never really have perfect weather for a prolonged period,” he said.

“The pitches might be very, very good in April or May, or again in October, but they're not perfect every month for the season. My biggest challenge is creating a pitch that's good for every month of the season.”

Scott has also increased the pressure of the water so that it covers the whole surface of the pitch evenly.

“I can put the sprinklers on just five minutes before training and everything will be perfect,” he said.

In the past, the pitch needed to be watered for about 45 minutes before the players came out and often during training.

Bob Ratcliffe, CEO of club owners INEOS Football, described Scott as meticulous, dedicated and determined. “He has a wealth of expertise which should help the team at OGC Nice,” he said. And that’s Scott’s goal too.

“If you think the team performed very well this season, just think what they can now do next season,” he said.

OGC Nice is one of the founding members of the French football league and has four league titles to its name. But the club’s last cup triumph was in 1997.

Patrick Vieira, who has played for Juventus, Inter Milan, Manchester City and Arsenal, is head coach.

Scott said Patrick, who is considered one of the best players of his generation, would also struggle to achieve results on a poor pitch.

“The pitch is critical if you want a player to achieve his potential,” he said. “A good quality can give a player the confidence to try new things in training.”

Today there is very little difference between the training ground and the pitch inside the stadium at Allianz Rivera. And that’s how it should be, says Scott.

“Consistency is key in the pitches that you train on and the pitches that you play on,” he said. “That's the whole point of home advantage. If you train on the pitch all week and you go and play on the same pitch at Allianz Riviera, then you'll adapt very quickly and your performance level will be higher.

“If you trained here on a very good pitch and then went to a stadium and the pitch wasn't at the level of the training pitch, then it takes you 10, 15 minutes to adapt to it and that could be the difference between winning a game and losing the game.”
www.ogcnice.com

Football kicks off again

INEOS’ two top football teams are now back in action. But for now, FC Lausanne-Sport and OGC Nice are playing all their matches behind closed doors due to COVID-19.

“We have missed being on the pitch so it’s brilliant to be playing again,” said OGC Nice coach Patrick Vieira.

“But we do feel that lack of atmosphere. It’s tough to play in these conditions.”

Later this year FC Lausanne-Sport, one of the oldest football clubs in the world, will move from its home of 66 years to a new 12,000-seater stadium.

INEOS Football, which bought the Swiss club in 2017, said it had created an exciting atmosphere for both players and fans.

The Tuiliere complex boasts nine pitches – two grass and seven synthetic.

These extra pitches provide training and match facilities not only for Lausanne Sport, but also for other local Lausanne teams.

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INEOS keeps its focus

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Wind of Change

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INEOS explores all avenues to cut CO2

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Hydrogen Economy

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It was the diesel fuel that burned for up to 10 hours after the airship caught fire.” Chris believes it’s now time for governments – whose countries are all waking up after months of lockdown – to give hydrogen a chance and build a hydrogen-powered, low carbon economy. “This cannot just be about restarting the economy,” he said. “This is an opportunity to reset it.” In 2015 challenging climate change goals were agreed in Paris by 184 countries.“If we go back to growth based on using cheap fossil fuels, we will not meet those targets set by Paris,” he said. “And we will lock in a set of lifestyle choices that will ultimately be bad for the economy and bad for the environment.” Chris is not blind, though, to the needs of the chemical industry and views it as part of the solution, not the problem. “We will need fossil fuels in the future,” he said. “They will be part of the mix. But hydrogen is the missing part of the equation.” In 2050, the committee wants a third of Britain’s energy to be provided by hydrogen – the equivalent to the amount of energy generated by electricity today. “Hydrogen is the Heineken of fuels because of all the parts it reaches,” said Chris. “We can use it to heat homes and power transport and industry.” What’s really refreshing is that the committee understands how INEOS can help to create an economy run on hydrogen. “INEOS will be with us on this journey,” he said. “It just needs to make sure it explains its role in the climate change debate so the public understands too.” INEOS-owned INOVYN produces thousands of tonnes of hydrogen a year as a co-product, and INEOS sites in the UK, Germany and Belgium are all involved in hydrogen projects. The company is also a member of the North West Hydrogen Alliance, which believes hydrogen is a workable, economically-viable alternative to fossil fuels. INEOS is keen to invest in the infrastructure so hydrogen can be captured and stored but it needs to know there is a market for it. The committee, which advises the government on what it needs to do to achieve its climate change goals, said government investment in companies like INEOS and the public’s buy-in were vital. “In the UK we already have the building blocks to do this,” he said. “But everyone will have a part to play in this. We need government to lead the way.” Ironically COVID-19 may have given hydrogen – which produces zero emissions when used as a fuel in cars - a brighter future. Nationwide lockdowns to stop the spread of COVID-19 have drastically reduced air pollution in many cities across the world. Without cars on the streets, the smog has given way to clean air. “We really are on the cusp of something really important and some interesting transport choices,” he said. With social distancing, more and more people are being told to avoid public transport. “If we go back to cars we are going to have very congested roads,” said Chris. “But if we start cycling and walking more and working remotely, we could make an enormous difference.” What hydrogen lacks, he says, is a champion. “Unfortunately, we haven’t got a charismatic promoter of hydrogen,” he said. Chris suspects most cars in the future will be electric, rather than driven by hydrogen, but he believes the opportunities for HGVs and buses and planes are enormous. “Hydrogen looks increasingly like the best answer for HGVs,” he said. Next year the UK will host the UN climate change conference and will be president of the G7 summit. “We will need global co-operation and it will be interesting, post COVID-19, to see what happens then,” he said. “But I think the collective penny has dropped. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and we cannot achieve net zero emissions without it.”

2 min read

The Hydrogen Olympics

Japan had hoped to showcase the power of hydrogen at Tokyo Olympics JAPAN had intended to showcase hydrogen at this year’s Tokyo Olympics. Organisers had planned to use it to power 100 fuel cell buses to shuttle athletes and visitors to venues around the city. Up to 500 of hydrogen-fuelled cars had been due to ferry around staff and VIPs and the thousands of athletes from around the world would have been living in a village, partly powered by hydrogen. “With all the world watching the Games, Japan knew that this would have been a great opportunity to focus attention on hydrogen as a viable source of clean fuel,” said Paul Humanic, a process manager at US-based energy company Nexceris. Japan had also planned to use hydrogen to light the torch and the cauldron for the first time in Olympic history. The Games may have been postponed this year due to the global pandemic but Japan is hoping it will have the chance to stage the most environmentally-friendly Games in history in 2021. “Japan wants hydrogen to be the legacy of its Olympics,” said Paul. Hydrogen has been used, for over 40 years, in vast quantities by industry in many parts of the world, and as a fuel for space exploration. Both have developed the infrastructure to produce, store and transport it safely. It’s the wider general public that needs to be convinced of its benefits. “Many countries are now funding research into hydrogen generation through electrolysis so that hydrogen can be generated on site where it is needed, and can supplement the grid during peak times,” said Paul. But over the past decade, Japan – through necessity – has become one of the champions of hydrogen and fuel-cell technology. After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster, Japan shut down many of its nuclear power stations and switched to fossil fuels imported from abroad. With little energy security and independence, it is little wonder that it is investing so heavily in creating a hydro-gen-powered economy. “Even if next year’s Games are cancelled, Japan will most certainly continue down this road,” said Paul. “It may be many years into the future before hydrogen is a viable energy alternative on a country-wide scale but Japan will continue working to commercialise hydrogen technologies and phase out fossil fuel and nuclear technologies.” Japanese car manufacturer Toyota, and a key sponsor of the Tokyo Olympics, believes that hydrogen represents the future of motoring. Its car, Mirai, is the world’s first, mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The hydrogen is stored in carbon fibre fuel tanks. Oxygen from the outside enters through the Mirai’s front air vent. The hydrogen and the air travel separately to the fuel stack where electricity is generated through a chemical reaction. Best of all, the only emission is water. For now, though, Japan waits for news of whether it can host next year’s Olympics and show off what hydrogen can not only do for the economy, but also the huge difference it can make to the environment. “We see these Games as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase on an unprecedented scale what the transition to a sustainable society can look like,” said Mori Yoshiro, President of Tokyo 2020.  “With all the world watching the Games, Japan knew that this would have been a great opportunity to focus attention on hydrogen as a viable source of clean fuel,” – Paul Humanic, Process Manager at Nexceris Mirai Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has built the world’s first, mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

2 min read

F1 IS SAFELY BACK ON TRACK

Formula One is back in the driving seat. And the best F1 team in the world, Mercedes-AMG Petronas, have started as they mean to go on – out in front. Valtteri Bottas won the opening race at The Austrian Grand Prix, teammate Lewis Hamilton, who narrowly missed out on a place on the podium in the first race, won the second – and they showed no holding back in the following races. The two drivers are racing in cars with a new colour scheme throughout this delayed 2020 F1 season to show their support against racism all forms of discrimination. They are also wearing black. “We’ve always been clear that racism and any form of discrimination have no place in our team and in our society,” said a team spokesman. At The British Grand Prix at Silverstone, a new name was added to their F1 cars – INEOS Hygienics. The launch of the new business was announced at the event by INEOS, which is the team’s Principal Partner. The Hygienics business was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to supply thousands of hospitals with des-perately-needed hand sanitiser. Since then it has grown and is now supporting all INEOS’ elite sports teams – in motor racing, cycling, sailing and football. “It is fantastic that we’re back racing and it’s only possible due to the stringent protocol measures that are in place across sport, including team members prioritising hygiene,” said Toto Wolff, Team Principal of Mercedes F1 “The INEOS Hygienics range of hospital grade sanitisers is helping to protect the team, and has given us the confidence to get the job done at the factory and on the track.” Other elite performance sports teams using INEOS Hygienics products include Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team, OGC Nice, and Sir Dave Brailsford’s newly-renamed Tour de France team, the INEOS Grenadiers. “Hygiene is a top priority because it ensures we lose no training time or competition due to sickness,” said Sir Dave. “It is fantastic that we’re back racing and it’s only possible due to the stringent protocol measures that are in place across sport, including team members prioritising hygiene,” – Toto Wolff, Team Principal of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

2 min read

Track And Race

INEOS TEAM UK, Britain’s challenger for sailing’s coveted America’s Cup, is now in New Zealand after one of the best summers of sailing ever as a team in the UK. The team have now finished sailing in the UK. The first AC75, Britannia I, is on her way on a ship, and Britannia II has now been flown to Auckland on an Antonov cargo plane. The COVID pandemic has thrown a number of challenges the team’s way over the past six months. “It forced the team to slow down and think about its priorities,” said skipper Sir Ben Ainslie. “In particular how to make the most of the time we had before the 36th America’s Cup.” From May through to August, however, the team had a brilliant sailing period. “Getting out on the water regularly has been so valuable because the learning curve on these brand new AC75 boats is so steep that every time they sail, we learnt a huge amount,” said Ben. To achieve as many sailing hours as possible meant keeping the team fit and healthy. Britannia had to be modified so that the team could train safely while complying with the rules around social distancing to avoid the transmission of COVID-19. An electric grinder did the work of two men so that the team could cut down on the numbers on board. But that wasn’t all. The team – on and off shore – wore Henri-Lloyd face masks, used INEOS hand sanitisers, and were fitted with devices that monitored where they were at all times. “We could monitor our personnel, look at our practices and make changes to ensure everyone was as safe as possible,” said Ben. The Safeguard devices, developed by Mafic, are part of INEOS TEAM UK’S new ZERO COVID Days strategy which focuses on hygiene at home and at work. “Mafic adapted their technology and devices to our working environment within a matter of weeks,” said Ben. The devices were worn on the team’s arms, inside their pockets or hard hats. “From the movement of someone’s head we can understand what that person is doing, whether it is welding, grinding, or operating machinery, and we can know their exact location,” said CEO Will Woodhead. “That gave us a second-by-second position, which we could then use to map any social distancing breaches.” Those breaches can then be reviewed and assessed to understand where improvements can be made. Mafic was founded with the mission of making workplaces safer. “I’d seen accidents happen too many times,” said Will. Ben described the devices as a game changer for the team. “It has been a difficult time but very productive time for the team,” he said. The team has worked well on the water and on the drawing board. INEOS TEAM UK and team software design partner Coderus have also developed new software that can take a design, add it to a model of the whole boat and then test it to see whether design change will make the boat faster or not. If it’s faster, Chimera can then prepare the model for a full simulation run across many different boat designs Chief designer Nick Holroyd said ideas could be tested quickly and accurately – and encouraged rather than limited innovation. “The America’s Cup has always been a design and technology contest as much as a sailboat race,” he said. “So this is even more important, given the rules have banned testing in wind tunnels and towing tanks.” Teams have also been banned from sailing more than one boat at a time. “In doing so they have banned all the normal ‘real’, as opposed to virtual, methods of development,” said Nick. “The previous gold standard of development, two-boat testing, is no longer possible.” But Coderus CEO Mark Thomas was not fazed. “The system improves efficiencies and capabilities and allows the team to be able to push the boundaries even more,” he said. The team will be on the water in Auckland in their new AC75, Britannia II, in October. “That will give us a two-month period of productive sailing before we head into the Christmas regatta, which will be the first time all these teams have lined up together,” said Ben. “It will be a fascinating period. Given this is such a new class of boat, there may well be some big differences between the teams.” INEOS TEAM UK cannot wait to set sail in the Waitemata Harbour. Beautiful as New Zealand is, they know that they are there for only one reason – to win the America’s Cup for Britain.Discover more: INEOSTEAMUK.COM

3 min read

High Fliers

  BRITANNIA II has been built to fly. But on September 28, 2020, it wasn’t the might of skipper Sir Ben Ainslie’s men lifting the 75ft race boat out of the water during a training run for next year’s America’s Cup challenge. This time, it was the job of a 33-year-old Ukrainian cargo plane to fly the team’s second race boat, RB2, to the starting line in New Zealand. “This was a real milestone moment for us,” said Grant Simmer, CEO of INEOS TEAM UK. “We are on the home stretch now.” Britannia II had been helped on to the Antonov cargo plane for the start of its four-day, 12,200-mile journey to New Zealand by The Grenadier, INEOS’ purpose-built 4 x 4. Grant was full of praise for project director Dave Endean and his team for building the boat and safely transporting it from the team’s UK HQ in Portsmouth via truck to on to New Zea-land via plane – and all on schedule. “It’s been an incredible effort from the entire team,” said Grant. “We are all very proud to have been able to get this boat built on time while navigating our way through COVID restrictions.” The 24-hour flight from Stansted Airport in the UK had included two stopovers in Dubai and Indonesia. After the boat landed at Auckland Airport on October 1, the team’s second race boat was taken by road to their newly-constructed base on Wynyard Point to be finished and commissioned. “RB2 is a huge development on our first boat,” said Grant. Dave said it had been a huge operation. “The logistics of moving an entire America’s Cup team, including two AC75 boats, to New Zealand are not insignificant and it has taken a lot of time and hard work to make it hap-pen,” he said. The fruits of their labours will hopefully be borne next year when Britannia II takes to the water to win The America’s Cup. As far INEOS TEAM UK is concerned, there is no second.The Grenadier helps Britannia II aboard the 33-year-old Ukrainian cargo plane for the start of the boat’s 12,200-mile journey to New Zealand “It’s been an incredible effort from the entire team. We are all very proud to have been able to get this boat built on time while navigating our way through COVID restrictions.” – Grant Simmer, CEO of INEOS Team UK

2 min read

The Grass Professor.

INEOS Football invests in three new pitches to help OGC Nice raise its game in training ONE of the oldest football clubs in French history has rebuilt its three pitches from scratch with the help of a British groundsman known as The Grass Professor. Scott Brooks, who has worked at the national centre of the English Football Association, arrived at OGC Nice in January with high expectations for himself and also the club, which finished fifth in Ligue 1 last season. “The grass was not very healthy at all,” he said. “And two of the three pitches couldn’t meet the performance level that I felt was required for a professional athlete.” By performance level, Scott means a pitch that allows players to train and play without getting injured. “A poor pitch is probably more than half of the reason why a player would get injured,” he said. “And the injury rates here were very high.” Today all three pitches have been replaced with surfaces that allow the club’s talented players to train harder, for longer. “We should now start seeing fewer injuries and fitter, healthier players,” he said. “Players need to come off the pitch tired after giving it everything, but without any pain.” In doing so, OGC, which was founded in 1904, has also become the first French club to use a hybrid pitch - part synthetic, part real grass. The grass is built on a layer of gravel and two layers of sand, each one levelled with a laser. The top level of fine sand is mixed with an organic product that is derived from animal dung to provide the grass with the nutrients it needs to grow. It is also the first French club to adopt a new, more efficient watering system, which uses 30% less water. “They use the system to watermelons in Brail which has a similar, dry climate, so I am hoping it will work well here,” he said. What Scott had discovered on his arrival at OGC Nice was a very basic irrigation system fed from the mountains. “It doesn’t rain very often here but when it does, we get a month’s rain in a day,” he said. Today, holding water tanks have been installed. “If there is a problem with water in the city, we will have enough water stored on site to keep the pitches alive,” he said. That matters in a part of the world where growing grass isn’t easy. “I actually think the South of France is one of the most difficult climates for growing grass because we never really have perfect weather for a prolonged period,” he said. “The pitches might be very, very good in April or May, or again in October, but they're not perfect every month for the season. My biggest challenge is creating a pitch that's good for every month of the season.” Scott has also increased the pressure of the water so that it covers the whole surface of the pitch evenly. “I can put the sprinklers on just five minutes before training and everything will be perfect,” he said. In the past, the pitch needed to be watered for about 45 minutes before the players came out and often during training. Bob Ratcliffe, CEO of club owners INEOS Football, described Scott as meticulous, dedicated and determined. “He has a wealth of expertise which should help the team at OGC Nice,” he said. And that’s Scott’s goal too. “If you think the team performed very well this season, just think what they can now do next season,” he said. OGC Nice is one of the founding members of the French football league and has four league titles to its name. But the club’s last cup triumph was in 1997. Patrick Vieira, who has played for Juventus, Inter Milan, Manchester City and Arsenal, is head coach. Scott said Patrick, who is considered one of the best players of his generation, would also struggle to achieve results on a poor pitch. “The pitch is critical if you want a player to achieve his potential,” he said. “A good quality can give a player the confidence to try new things in training.” Today there is very little difference between the training ground and the pitch inside the stadium at Allianz Rivera. And that’s how it should be, says Scott. “Consistency is key in the pitches that you train on and the pitches that you play on,” he said. “That's the whole point of home advantage. If you train on the pitch all week and you go and play on the same pitch at Allianz Riviera, then you'll adapt very quickly and your performance level will be higher. “If you trained here on a very good pitch and then went to a stadium and the pitch wasn't at the level of the training pitch, then it takes you 10, 15 minutes to adapt to it and that could be the difference between winning a game and losing the game.”www.ogcnice.com Football kicks off again INEOS’ two top football teams are now back in action. But for now, FC Lausanne-Sport and OGC Nice are playing all their matches behind closed doors due to COVID-19. “We have missed being on the pitch so it’s brilliant to be playing again,” said OGC Nice coach Patrick Vieira. “But we do feel that lack of atmosphere. It’s tough to play in these conditions.” Later this year FC Lausanne-Sport, one of the oldest football clubs in the world, will move from its home of 66 years to a new 12,000-seater stadium. INEOS Football, which bought the Swiss club in 2017, said it had created an exciting atmosphere for both players and fans. The Tuiliere complex boasts nine pitches – two grass and seven synthetic. These extra pitches provide training and match facilities not only for Lausanne Sport, but also for other local Lausanne teams.

2 min read

INEOS Grenadiers look to the future

THE INEOS Grenadiers may have missed out on victory in this year’s Tour de France. But the riders, who had become accustomed to winning, continued to show incredible grit and determination after team leader and defending champion Egan Bernal was forced to abandon the race after 16 stages. “They immediately went on the offensive,” said Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford. That persistence ultimately paid off with an emotional victory on stage 18 as Michal Kwiatkowski and Richard Carapaz took a 1-2 finish. But sadly, this year, it was not meant to be, with the glory going to Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) instead. “The Grenadiers will be back to target that yellow jersey again in 2021,” he said. Dave, whose team have won seven of the past eight Tours, went on to praise Egan Bernal who became the first Columbian to ever win the race last year. “In victory and defeat he showed us what a true champion looks like,” he said. “He is determined to come back even stronger in 2021.” Team INEOS had been renamed The INEOS Grenadiers at the start of the Tour following the unveiling of INEOS’ no- frills, unbreakable 4 x 4, The Grenadier. The team’s four Grand Tour winning champions, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal and Richard Carapaz, unveiled the new team kit from Castelli and newly-branded Pinarello DOGMA F12 at the Allianz Riviera, alongside two prototypes of the Grenadier vehicle which gives the team its new name. The Grenadier is the rugged 4 x 4 utility vehicle engineered and manufactured by INEOS Automotive, designed on purpose to be a highly capable, go-anywhere, hard-working vehicle. “The INEOS Grenadiers is a new name but one that sums up who we have always been,” said Sir Dave. “It is a new partnership but one that epitomises our existing team values – ambition, grit, determination, resourcefulness, tenacity and passion.” He added:  “This is a deepening of our relationship with INEOS and a brilliant example of how being a part of the INEOS group presents so many opportunities for us to be greater together. “Just like the Grenadier, we are a team built on purpose. We know what we need to do and have the right team to get the job done. We are here with a clear ambition and are going all in to make it happen.”

2 min read

INEOS’ lifeline to charities

SMALL charities, supporting those hardest hit by the global pandemic, have recently been thrown a lifeline by INEOS. Over the past few months, employees at INEOS’ sites across the world have been tasked with finding out which local charities and community groups near them are most in need of emergency funding. “Often a small donation can make a huge difference to these organisations, which are doing vital work in our communities,” said Ursula Heath, who has been co-ordinating the INEOS Community Fund. “So we decided to create a £1million charitable support fund, administered through several targeted grants of up to £10,000, to organisations where this would allow.” As INCH went to press, 159 organisations in 15 countries, including the UK, America, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Singapore, China and Canada had all been helped following requests from 67 INEOS sites. “We were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response of our employees and the volume and quality of grant applications,” said Ursula.The £1m international INEOS Community Fund was established by INEOS owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Andy Currie and John Reece as the world began to lock down in response to COVID-19. Among those to benefit have been food banks, care homes, domestic violence shelters and poorer families needing help to pay their basic bills. One food bank charity – the Restos Du Coeur branch based near Tavaux in France – said its charitable donations had fallen from €8,000 in March 2019 to just €80 in March 2020. “We are delighted to be able to help them,” said Thibault Pagnot, Communications manager at INOVYN at Tavaux. The Food Bank in Singapore was given £10,000 by INEOS Styrolution to support its ‘Feed the City – Takeaway’ scheme. “We have seen a surge of people in need with a daily request of more than 12,000 cooked meals,” said Ms Nichol Ng, co-founder of The Food Bank Singapore which sources its food from local restaurants.For Steve Harrington, President Global Styrene Monomer and Asia-Pacific, that was also important. “We are not only providing some relief to the communities who are struggling, but we are also providing some support to the local businesses who are at risk of shutting permanently,” he said. And at INEOS Composites’ site in Dublin, Ohio, officer manager Susan Drye said INEOS’ $10,000 would allow the Mid-Ohio Food Bank to provide $90,000 worth of food for the community. “This has been very much appreciated by our communities,” said Susan. Other causes supported by the fund have included elderly and disabled care homes, mental health support lines, and organisations providing educational materials to disadvantaged children so that they could continue learning with schools closed. “We want to provide hope, and INEOS giving us this money will help us to do it sooner” – Deanna Frey, executive director, Charity offers hope of a better life for single parent families Mother Seton Housing Americamothersetonhouse.com SINGLE parents, who desperately need the time and the courage to change their lives for the better, have found a friend in INEOS. But Deanna Frey, who runs the charity Mother Seton Housing, says INEOS’ decision to help financially means so much more than that. “What it has done more than anything is to show them that someone believes in their future,” she said. “It would not have mattered if they gave us just $1.” Seton House provides single mothers – and fathers – with more than just a home. “That’s what it was in the early days,” said executive director Deanna.  “But we realised we needed to do more to break the cycle of poverty by providing hope, resources and a plan.” An INEOS Community Fund donation of £5,000, organised by INEOS’ WL Plastics Mills Production Facility in Wyoming, USA, has helped them to speed up the launch of a new course that seeks to understand what every parent wants to achieve in their work and personal life, what’s stopping them and, more importantly, what they need to do to make it happen. “We want to provide hope, and INEOS giving us this money will help us to do it sooner,” she said. “There is no way we could have got this far without INEOS’ help.” Seton House will use the curriculum developed by Kansas City’s Connections to Success, which has helped to create a more vibrant and inclusive economy. Lessons learned in Kansas City will help Seton House in Casper, Wyoming, enormously – even though the two cities are radically different. The thinking is that fundamentally people’s basic needs don’t change. Seton House is not just talking to its residents about they want. It also visits local employers to ask them what skills they are looking for in potential staff. The three-week course will explore all aspects of life, including relationships, education, health and parenting. The hope is that the course will allow residents to become more independent and take back control over their own lives. But the support does not end when the course ends. “We tell them that we will always be here for them,” said Deanna. “If they need mentors, we are here.” Most of those who seek Seton House’s help are homeless, single-parent families. “They may have been staying with friends,” said Deanna. “But we have also had people living in cars with their children.” Many may also have suffered physical or mental abuse. “They are at rock bottom when they come to us,” said Deanna.  Shanell Mullen was one of them. She was homeless, jobless, pregnant and had a 10-year-old daughter when she sought help. “They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” she said. Today, she no longer lives at Seton House. She has a full-time job, a car and lives in a three-bedroomed apartment with her three children, having regained custody of her second son. “I have hope, goals and dreams,” she said. “I see a future.” When the charity was founded 31 years ago by Brother Raymond Phillips, there were just three apartments. Single parents were allowed to stay for just 30 days.  “It was later extended to 90 days but it just wasn’t enough time to help them,” said Deanna. Today the charity, which relies almost entirely on the public’s generosity, offers homes to 30 single-parent families for two years. But the charity’s support does not end after two years thanks to a unique partnership with a local housing association to provide rentable homes. “What’s wonderful is that our families are accepted for who they are,” said Deanna. “Many are those we help may have been told that they are stupid and won’t amount to anything. By INEOS helping us, they are also telling our residents that they are worth it.” For Michelle Xikes, a single mother who works at INEOS-owned WL Plastics, that matters enormously. She first heard about Seton House in 1997 when she left a potentially physically abusive relationship. “I was pregnant at the time,” she said. “Luckily I never had to go there as a resident but I knew how important it was.” Over the years, she thought about what she could do to help.  She had recently started donating items and then heard about the planned course. “Seton House relies on donations which have been badly affected by COVID-19,” she said. “When I heard that INEOS was asking for nominations for a grant, it was perfect timing.  The grant will ensure the mentor programme gets started.” Care homes’ call for help answered The Rotary Club of Sarreguemines Francerotary-club-sarreguemines.org AS the COVID-19 crisis swept through France, staff at INEOS Polymers in Sarralbe were keen to help. “We rapidly knew the needs in our region were huge,” said  Georges Scherrer, who works at the site. Hospitals were desperately short of PPE for doctors, nurses, midwives, radiologists. But it wasn’t just hospitals. Care homes were struggling to get hold of PPE too to protect themselves – and their residents – against the virus. “Mortality rates in care homes had increased by 30% in parts of our region,” said Georges. Nursing homes especially needed facemasks that met World Health Organisation specifications but they weren’t cheap. As soon as the INEOS Community Fund was launched, the team at Sarralbe had a charity in mind to support. The Rotary Club of Sarreguemines, which was coordinating the relief effort, were invited to make an application, and the INEOS Community Fund responded with a €10,000 donation. “The only protection these homes had were the visors the rotary club had already distributed to them,” said Georges. Since then, INEOS has also donated thousands of bottles of INEOS hand sanitiser to places where it was needed. “We now see some children going to school with our hand gels,” he said. “We rapidly knew the needs in our region were huge” – Georges Scherrer Food bank serves over 520K meals Restos Du Coeur Francerestosducoeur.org A FOOD bank charity is counting its blessings after the INEOS Community Fund came to its aid. The Restos du C&oelig;ur for the Jura area had feared it might struggle to feed people after it managed to raise just €80 in charitable donations in March 2020 compared to €8,000 in March 2019. “The constraints of the lockdown due to COVID-19 meant we just couldn’t raise any more money,” said Georges Leneez, Président of The Restos du C&oelig;ur for the Jura area in France. But the need for food was still there.Sébastien Demontrond, a shift manager at INOVYN Tavaux site, had previously worked for the charity as a volunteer – and was aware that the charity would logistically struggle to meet the growing number of people in need. He suggested, to his management, that an INEOS Community Fund grant could help to pay for a refrigerated truck, which would allow fresh food to be delivered. A €10,000 grant was approved and quickly paid. Marc Hanquet, Opérations Manager at Tavaux, said the site, as the largest private employer in the area, knew it could make the difference.  “We were aware that many people could be economically impacted because of COVID-19 so they too would be relying on the charity,” he said. Last year The Restos du C&oelig;ur’s 462 volunteers served more than 520,000 meals to 4,320 people; this year it is expected to be much higher. It is not the first time, though, that INOVYN has helped the local community to cope with the effects of COVID-19. “We have donated face masks, bleach solution specially made by INOVYN Tavaux, and INEOS hand gel to local medical staff, but it makes us especially proud to do more,” said Marc. “The constraints of the lockdown due to COVID-19 meant we just couldn’t raise any more money” – Georges Leneez, Président of The Restos du C&oelig;ur for the Jura area in France “The coronavirus pandemic created unprecedented challenges for everyone, we saw a 35% increase in demand for meals. Each day, we were serving approximately 400 meals to the community.” – Doug Smith, Light of Life Ministries director of development INEOS helps to feed city’s poorest people Light of Life Ministries Americalightoflife.org A CHARITY struggling to feed hundreds of homeless and poor people in Pittsburgh, America,  built a makeshift restaurant with the help of the INEOS Community Fund. Light of Life Ministries erected a 40ft by 40ft tent – and also extended meal times – so that it had enough room for people to eat their breakfast, lunch and dinner while keeping their distance from others. “We took every precaution to keep people safe,” said Doug Smith, the charity’s director of development. Demand for the charity’s help had increased because so many other services in the city were closed. “We knew that if we were not here, those in need did not have an option,” said Doug. “Many of the people had encountered addiction, abuse and mental illness. We were here to help those who lives literally hang in the balance.” But the charity, which also operates a food bank and an emergency shelter where men can shower and sleep, took safety precautions. It bought disposable cutlery, latex gloves,  portion-sized condiments to reduce handling and cross-contamination and basic cleaning materials. It also rented portable hand washing stations and ensured that the dining areas were thoroughly cleaned after each shift. “The coronavirus pandemic created unprecedented challenges for everyone,” said Doug. “We saw a 35% increase in demand for meals. Each day, we were serving approximately 400 meals to the community.” Demand for the charity’s food bank had also increased greatly. “At one stage about 40 community organisations were coming to us to get food for the hundreds of men, women, and families that they serve,” he said. In April alone, the charity gave away 50,000lbs (22,600kgs) of food. Food was also distributed to those living in high-rise flats or who were unable to leave their homes due to COVID-19 symptoms. Its emergency shelter for men remained open throughout the pandemic – and was full every night. Vitamin C-supplemented electrolyte drinks were offered to boost their immune systems – and they were provided with a portable potty. “Many people would not have thought how the closure of all public toilets would affect those living on the streets,” said Doug. All this, though, cost money. And it was money the charity did not have. To help ease that burden, INEOS Composites on Neville Island co-ordinated a $10,000 donation through the INEOS Community Fund. “We thought about Light of Life as a potential grant recipient immediately during the pandemic,” said Melissa Morgan, a material handler at the site. “They aim to meet the needs of the most vulnerable every day and additional COVID-19 precautions have certainly made it more challenging.” The charity said it would do whatever was needed to help those most in need. “We believe this is going to be our finest hour at the mission,” said Doug. Helping hand for children with cancer Oncology Physiotherapist Germany THE INEOS Community Fund has offered to pay the lion’s share of a physiotherapist’s salary so she can continue to help children with cancer. Over the past three years, parents, doctors and friends have raised about £15,000 a year to ensure she can regularly visit the children on the paediatric oncology ward in Mannheim, Germany. “She motivates the sick children to get out of their beds to do playful activities,” said Dr Gregor von Komorowski, CEO of The German Leukaemia Research Aid Campaign for Children with Cancer. “These exercises help the children to fight against their illness and reduce the side-effects of chemotherapy.” But COVID-19 has taken its toll on fund-raising and cut her funding. “The pandemic has affected our work substantially,” said Dr Komorowski. To help with the charity’s challenges, the local INEOS Styrolution in Ludwigshafen worked with them to apply to the INEOS Community Fund for a grant. The INEOS Community Fund offered €10,000 towards the physiotherapist’s salary – and will also contribute towards new furniture in the children’s playroom. “We are so grateful to INEOS,” said Dr Komorowski. The charity group was founded in 1979 by parents whose children had cancer. “Throughout all these years, our aims have remained the same,” he said. “We want to support research and help families cope but our work is exclusively financed through donations.” Manuela Bleiziffer, from INEOS Styrolution who helped to apply for the grants, said she felt incredibly proud of her employer.  “In times of crisis, it is easy to forget how well you are doing when your family and friends are healthy and you have work yourself,” she said. “But INEOS hasn’t. It is actively working to help organisations that are struggling to survive.” Together until death do part Winchester Hospice Charity United Kingdomwinchesterhospice.com THE INEOS Lyndhurst site has donated £15,200 through the INEOS Community Fund to buy a specialist double, hospital bed that will allow loved ones in hospice care to spend their final nights together. It has given Winchester Hospice Charity in the UK the money to provide what is known as a “cuddle bed” – a standard-sized hospital ward bed that can be transformed into a double bed at the touch of a button. “It will make such a difference to so many families,” said clinical matron Maddy Thomson. “And it’s lovely to have such positive news in the current climate.” The bed, which was bought with a grant from INEOS’ £1 million community fund, is currently at Royal Hampshire County Hospice in Winchester.  But it will transferred to the new 10-bed Winchester Hospice when the two-storey Burrell House is fully restored next spring. “We greatly appreciate INEOS’ support,” said Malcolm Ace, Chief Financial Officer at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The importance of cuddle beds emerged in June when a couple, who had been married for 75 years, were being treated at separate hospitals and facing death apart. “They both needed end of life care but the family could not visit either of them because of very restricted visiting due to COVID-19,” said a spokesman for The Countess of Brecknock Hospice in Andover, Hampshire.  The hospice, though, was able to transfer them both to Brecknock where they are now being cared for in a spacious room with a cuddle bed. “She motivates the sick children to get out of their beds to do playful activities” – Dr Gregor von Komorowski, CEO of The German Leukaemia Research Aid Campaign for Children with Cancer

11 min read

Birth of a new business

INEOS thrives on making decisions quickly. But one made in March, to tackle the critical shortage of hand sanitiser to hospitals and the NHS in the UK, has led to the birth of another INEOS business – INEOS Hygienics AFTER supplying millions of bottles to thousands of hospitals free of charge through the spring and summer, INEOS is shifting its focus. As economies try to get back on track, businesses try to reopen and people try to get back to normal, INEOS is to supply its new hospital grade hand sanitiser product range to the public through Amazon, supermarkets, pharmacies and shops. It is the first time in the company’s history that INEOS has sold its products directly to the public. It’s a crowded marketplace already but INEOS Hygienics is confident it can make an impact with its no-frills, high purity hand sanitisers, sanitiser wipes, and sprays. “There will be many people outside the industry who have never heard of us so that will be a challenge,” said chief operating officer George Ratcliffe. “But INEOS does not want its packaging to be fluffy.  It essentially says ‘we are here to do a job and we will do it’.” INEOS says its hand sanitisers and sanitiser wipes are superior because they contain 75% high purity, hospital-grade synthetic ethanol – a proven and effective virus-killer. “We are making hand sanitiser because INEOS is the world’s largest producer of high purity synthetic ethanol which adheres to EU pharmacopeia standards,” he said. INEOS manufactures Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA), the other active ingredient commonly used in sanitiser products. INEOS’ aim is to build a brand that the public trusts and associates with quality. For the past 20 years, INEOS has supplied the products to manufacturers for materials that are used to make everything from iPads, to pharmaceuticals, to cars to clothing. But few have perhaps been unaware of INEOS’ role in the manufacturing process. COVID-19, however, changed that and highlighted the chemical industry’s vital role in helping the world to defeat this unseen enemy. As the distress call went out to industry to help slow the spread of COVID-19, INEOS responded by ramping up production to meet the unprecedented global demand for chemicals at its sites. It built six new manufacturing plants – one in the UK, two in France, one in Germany and two in the USA – each taking under 10 days to build from scratch to help tackle the global shortage of hand sanitiser. Each plant was designed to produce one million bottles of hand sanitiser every month – and all of it was being delivered free to hospitals where it was needed the most. The majority were 50ml bottles which nurses and doctors could keep in their pockets. In all, INEOS gave away millions of bottles of hand sanitiser to thousands of hospitals in the UK, Germany and France and the USA – all produced to World Health Organisation specifications. One of two French plants has increased capacity and all production has moved from the Lavera sanitiser plant to Etain. “At the time we established the Lavera plant, France had a huge problem with COVID-19 and especially in the South,” said George. “It was one of the hotspots.” The plant was set up solely to manufacture hand sanitiser on an industrial scale for two months for hospitals. “It was a charitable effort by INEOS because we had the resources,” said George. In the US, INEOS Hygienics worked with Healthcare Ready to identify the American hot-spot hospitals that had the greatest need. “What was incredible about this donation was that it was not just a stop-gap or short-term solution,” said Programme Director Sarah Baker. “INEOS set them up permanently, which meant they weren’t worried about where the next round of hand sanitiser was going to come from when they showed up for work.” George said the beauty about the new business was that it meant people in Europe could now rely on a secure supply from the UK, Germany or France to meet their needs rather than China or Turkey. “COVID-19 has made everyone more aware of the importance of hygiene and the need for effective sanitising products,” he said. “INEOS Hygienics is determined to ensure our products are available to meet the increased demand around the world.” for more information visit:www.ineoshygienics.com ‘We will supply hospital-grade sanitiser products to the public. We can make the best quality wipes, sprays and hand sanitiser because INEOS manufactures 100% of the pharmaceutical grade ethanol in Europe’ – George Ratcliffe, Chief Operating Officer

3 min read