My All-In Commitment to contain Coronavirus surge

In a dramatic moment, I think we should focus more than ever on our sense of responsibility.

Responsibility towards our people, our businesses, our civil society. 

As entrepreneurs and managers we have an imperative to act to protect our employees, addressing industrial challenges to preserve the value we created so far, and support in whatever way we can the efforts to limit the outbreak. Being ready to restart, faster than ever, once we get out of this ugly situation.

Let me call it: “All-In Commitment”. 

We do not know yet if this will be just a major shock to the economy or a pandemic recession, but certainly the Covid-19 outbreak is first and foremost a public health emergency…

… which is turning into a human tragedy affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Epidemiologists are unsure how events will play out. From the global economy perspective, a range of outcomes is possible, but in principle it is just a financial problem: beyond the short term impact of the epidemics, there is no fundamental reason for asset re-pricing, as long as the financial distress of affected households, businesses and countries is effectively managed through the coordination of political and monetary authorities – in order not to permanently impair the underlying economic infrastructure.

ENGIE Eps is based in Italy, the country at the epicenter of the European outbreak. The Italian government imposed the most drastic steps yet by any state except China to contain surging numbers of coronavirus cases, placing almost immediately the region of Lombardy (where ENGIE Eps has two industrial premises) and more than a dozen other provinces in neighboring regions (including Turin where ENGIE Eps’ other industrial premises are located) under the quarantine over the last weekend. Restrictions were extended to the entire country on Tuesday, and then turned into a lockdown. 

In most western countries new cases have been increasing daily by 20-33%, and they will soon be in the same position, facing the same challenge as Italy. Spain has recently followed Italy’s lead in imposing draconian restrictions and a shutdown on its entire population. France is closing schools and all non-essential shops and restaurants, yet surprisingly carrying our local elections today. The UK is taking a different path, but in my opinion will soon be forced by the blunt reality to revert to a strict containment strategy.

Europe’s economy, more than a decade on from the financial crisis, is facing a major test of its resilience. Meanwhile, the humanitarian cost of the virus proliferation, declared a pandemic by the WHO, continues to grow, with more than 160,000 people infected with Covid-19.

The necessity I feel for an All In Commitment towards our people, our businesses, and our civil society

(1) My commitment towards our people at ENGIE Eps can by summarized in one simple message: stay at home. 

At ENGIE Eps, our business model and AGILE organization allowed us to implement a massive smart working plan. Industrial activities in our premises are limited to the essential, to guarantee the business continuity since February 24.

Generally, all experts are unanimously passing the same message:

Older people, especially those with underlying conditions, shall pull back from all their activities. Now.  Younger people have to radically change their daily habits. And where possible, stay at home. Period. All our social activities that involve physical contact have to be discontinued. 

Also because the assumption that we can all achieve the same rapid control of the emergency seen in China, could prove horribly wrong. Indeed, the Chinese model is not applicable once the epidemics has taken control of a significant portion of a country: in China the Hubei province was effectively shut-off from the rest of the China thanks to the support and resources of the rest of the country, not to mention the use of artificial intelligence and drones. Albeit initially delaying their reaction, once the Chinese authorities ramped up actions to utilize the brief window of opportunity to put a lid on the outbreak. For Italy, and all the other major European economies, such window has already closed.

In addition, in Europe the ability of public health systems to tackle a coronavirus outbreak is radically different country by country, as we can see in the graph below. 

Even within a country the situation can become dramatic sooner rather than later: with “just” 20k confirmed cases in Italy (0.03% of the 60m population), 60% are in Lombardy, and 6% required intensive care: as a consequence, almost all the Intensive Care Units of the region of Lombardy are close to the collapse. I would not like to imagine the crisis if the same concentration of cases had taken place in a southern Region, where public health facilities are not at par with Lombardy. 

(2) My commitment towards  ENGIE Eps’ business is, today more than ever, focused on securing our business continuity…

… trying to minimize the impact on our operations and supply chain generated by the strong – yet necessary – restrictions imposed all over the world. 

The impact and the related consequences for our sites and projects worldwide (Italy, Mexico, USA, Singapore, Comoros), as well as for our big projects under development (Europe, Africa, US, UAE, Micronesia).

Therefore, we drafted a new Covid-19 Policy and an Emergency Management Plan to guarantee such business continuity based on a firm hierarchy of values as follows:

(1) Protection of the Health of all our employees

(2) the Civic Responsibility that we have to demonstrate firsthand

(3) the Preservation of ENGIE Eps’ Economic and Industrial value.

Our Covid-19 Policy takes into account all existing Italian and Regional emergency regulations as well as World Health Organization recommendations. 

Strictly following all rules of our Covid-19 Policy, we have implemented a widespread “smart work” policy. 

In addition, being an industrial company where not all activities can be done remotely, based on the above hierarchy our Covid-19 Policy allowed us to strictly select activities and projects having a pivotal importance for the business continuity or are undeferrable. In this respect, since our Covid-19 Policy and implementing protocols will ensure the strict application of all most stringent prevention measures to be adopted to limit the risk of COVID-19 outbreak, we can ensure that all company offices and industrial premises will remain open and operational in order to carry out such crucial activities safely. To this extent, in strict compliance with such stringent measures and as a way to exercise a responsible leadership, I personally go to the office on a daily basis. 

Both from home and from the company premises we are tirelessly working day and night to continue to make things happen in this new hyper-complex situation. 

The rationale behind is very simple: sooner or later we will get out of this situation, and we still want to have ENGIE Eps with its leading position, we want to have growing energy storage and e-mobility sectors, we want to have our country, we want to have a world around us. 

This approach and our Covid-19 Policy is sustainable assuming that the epidemic in Italy will develop as expected by the government and national health authorities. In other terms, no more than 4,500 new cases per day, with a peak on or about March 18 – i.e. 7-10 days after the full lockdown, and a total of 92 thousand cases – already forecasted as higher than China – for a recovery expected by the end of April. 

As far as the situation will follow this path, we expect a gradual run back of our plants towards our 100 percent capacity starting from mid-April. 

On the contrary, in the case in which situation will get out of control, and actual figures will fall out of the situation outlined in the graph above, we are ready to consider more draconian restrictions to protect our employees, even at the cost of jeopardizing some of our business continuity. In such – unlikely we hope – case, we will communicate to the markets with the official broadcasting channels, i.e. a press release. 

(3) My commitment towards civil society materializes into my support to the fund raising campaign for one of our hospitals in Italy…

…. Policlinico di Milano, at the forefront in the management of this disease and one of the hardest hit by Covid-19.

Together with Fausto Boni and the VCHub Italia partners we already collected more than €40k, an amount that allows us to provide a complete intensive care unit to the Policlinico Hospital. I mean, this is a small sign of support, but if we all would do something in line with what I have done with my closest friends, we would we able to triple the critical care beds in Italy and solve the collapse of Italian hospitals in less than 2 weeks. Think about this power of acting together and unite to undermine a critical situation. 

Long story short. All-in commitment, at full speed, more than ever. 

Carlalberto Guglielminotti