MYTILINEOS Social Program “Making children smile: Caring for children’s dental health” is highly appraised for its social value

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Initiatives Athens, Greece – 28 December 2020 – The collaboration between MYTILINEOS and the medical-humanitarian organization “Mission Anthropos”, was successfully completed in the context of implementing the social program “Making children smile: Caring for children’s dental health” (April 2019 – June 2020). This collaboration was built on a mutual understanding of the roles and targets of both parties and on their joint commitment to the Global Sustainable Development Goal 3. It involved initially two main pursuits: 1) to support the access right of children from vulnerable families to basic quality healthcare Services without discrimination, and 2) to achieve the maximum possible positive benefit from the program addressed to the benefited groups. The program “Making children smile: Caring for children’s dental health” included a diagnostic dental check, a broad range of dental interventions, preventive dental care and oral healthcare for children from vulnerable groups deriving from the Social Services of Municipalities, Public Welfare Institutions and Non-profit Organizations from the Prefecture of Attica. In particular, out of the 450 children who were tested through diagnostic dental checks, 86% needed dental care, while in total 1,201 dental acts were performed for treatment purposes as well as preventive interventions. MYTILINEOS, upon completion of the program, proceeded to the analysis and determination of its social value on economic terms, using the international methodology Social Return On Investment (SROI), being systematically applied, in order to assess the effectiveness of its social investment; this fact constitutes an innovation and a pioneer in the field of industry.

According to this analysis, the total investment for “Making children smile: Caring for children’s dental health” program generated a social value of €479,020, with a very high SROI indicator equal to 7,58:1. This means that for each Euro invested in the program the social value produced was €7.58. The largest part of the social value standing at 93% regarded those who directly benefited from the program and specifically from the children and their families, according to the changes they experienced in their life, after their participation in the program. For example, the changes regarding children include treatment of dental problems, knowledge about proper oral hygiene, improvement of both their daily diet to prevent further health problems in the future, as well as their physical and mental health, boosting of self-confidence and evolvement of their social and family relations. The families of benefited individuals in their turn felt relieved from the cost of covering visits to a dentist. Remarkable changes were also put in place by the participating bodies, mainly by Social Workers and Carers of Institutions as they were rewarded with satisfaction for being able to offer children such a service. According to personal testimonies, multiple benefits were also significant for social workers and carers themselves, such as improvement of their occupational skills and work satisfaction. The cooperation between MYTILINEOS and the medical-humanitarian organization “Mission Anthropos”, in the context of implementing the social program ‘’We Offer Smiles to Children’’ was granted the GOLD AWARD at the Hellenic Responsible Business Awards 2020 in the category ‘Excellence in Cooperation’. The Social Performance Measurement report of the program “Making children smile: Caring for children’s dental health” is available on MYTILINEOS webpage: https://www.mytilineos.gr/el-gr/csr-reports/publications