SABIC organized its annual “Back to School” program for the academic year 2015-2016, coinciding with the new school year, in association with the Ministry of Social Affairs and in cooperation with the SABIC Employees Charity Fund (BERR). A ceremony to mark the successful conclusion of the program was held at the Al-Khozama Hall in Riyadh in the presence of Dr. Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Sadhan, deputy minister, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Mohammed A. Al-Morshid, director general, directorate of education, Riyadh, Dr. Talaat Al-Dhafer, SABIC vice president, Saudi Arabia and Middle East/Africa, and Ali Al-Shamrani, SABIC vice president, CEO business support & executive affairs and vice president, corporate communications. The program targeted 60,000 primary and middle school students, providing them with bags filled with basic school supplies. SABIC employees in Riyadh, Jubail, Yanbu, Alkhobar and Jeddah, along with a number of volunteers from the company and outside, participated in the program by helping to fill the school bags. BERR teams, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs and some charities, supervised the distribution of bags to the students. Speaking at the ceremony, Ali Al-Shamrani said that the program was the result of the fruitful cooperation between SABIC and the Ministry of Social Affairs. “The ministry provided all the support required to ensure the success of the program.” He added, “Once again SABIC has demonstrated that it considers its social responsibility strategy as a long-term investment for the development of society. The company implements its strategy through several initiatives to develop innovative and sustainable projects. For SABIC, social responsibility is a way of life, which we have adopted in all our operations for a better future for the community.” Addressing the gathering, Dr. Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Sadhan, praised the efforts exerted by SABIC every year to help needy students at the beginning of each school year. The school bags were delivered to the students before the beginning of the school year through 128 charities around the Kingdom, he said. Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks as the world's second largest diversified chemical company. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers. SABIC recorded a net profit of SR23.3 billion ($6.2 billion) in 2014. Sales revenues for 2014 totaled SR188.1 billion ($50.2 billion). Total assets stood at SR340 billion ($90.7 billion) at the end of 2014.SABIC's businesses are grouped into chemicals, polymers, fertilizers, metals and innovative plastics. It has significant research resources with innovation hubs in five key geographies – US, Europe, Middle East, South East Asia and North East Asia. The company operates in more than 50 countries across the world with around 40,000 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. — SG
