The first Climate Neutral stores in Cyprus have come to life! The presentation of these stores took place on Monday 23/3/2011 at the Beauty Line central store in the city of Nicosia, one of two stores which have been made Climate Neutral. The second store is located in the city Limassol.

All cosmetic stores of Papaellinas Group of Companies will gradually be made Climate Neutral. The presentation was made by the Human Resources and Business Affairs Manager of Papaellinas Group of Companies, Ms. Melanie Michaelidou, who pointed out that this initiative is part of the Group's Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy. The CSR Strategy includes various innovative actions for the protection of the environment. She also explained that the philosophy of a climate neutral store is based on the calculation of its carbon footprint, namely the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted during operations such as, electricity consumption, transport of staff and goods and waste produced. Measures are being taken in order to reduce pollutants where possible. Remaining pollutants are offset towards financing climate protection projects.

Ms. Michaelidou stated, "This compensation is achieved through myclimate, an international non-profit organisation based in Zurich that develops climate protection projects worldwide that are of global significance." Furthermore, she said that the level of pollutants released by the first two climate neutral stores was calculated in collaboration with the Centre of Sustainability and Excellence, a global sustainability advisory and training organization with offices in Chicago, Brussels and Athens.

Ms Michaelidou also underlined the environmental awareness of the Papaellinas Group and referred to the certification of Nannys baby diapers as the first Climate Neutral product in Cyprus. The next product to become climate neutral is Kaloderma New Gen shaving cream. Last but not least, it has been announced that the new Consumer Goods Distribution Centre of Papaellinas Group of Companies, one of the largest and most modern in Cyprus, will also become Climate Neutral.

Socially Responsible Trade

Regarding the remaining pillars of the Group's Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, Ms. Michaelidou stated that as for the pillar of "Society" the motto is 'Socially Responsible Trade.' The Group supports organisations aiming at combatting various problems and diseases troubling our society, such as drugs, poverty, cancer, nephropathies etc. Furthermore, one of the Group's main concerns is the reduction of road accidents by developing traffic awareness. "We are one of the first corporations in Cyprus to have signed the European Road Safety Charter, an initiative of the European Commission aiming at reducing the number of road fatalities by 50%, and the first corporation in Cyprus to start organizing seminars on road safety for all members of its staff, even for their families," said Ms Michaelidou. In addition, the Group has partnered with the University of Cyprus to achieve a more efficient link between the business and the academic world. The group also encourages the involvement of its employees in various charity activities. For example, blood donation events are organized twice a year. The Group also offers a full time job to people with disabilities, thus contributing to their smooth integration into society.

Balance between Performance and Quality of Life

Activities in relation to the pillar of 'Human Resources' are of highest importance Ms. Melanie Michaelidou continued: "Here we operate under the slogan 'balance between performance and quality of life.' We apply several practices such as offering our personnel the possibility to have a flexible work schedule. I would say that such benefits may be considered an enviable privilege compared to other companies." In the field of education, the Group fully covers tuition fees for university studies and other training programmes. Members of the executive staff of companies belonging to the Group are sent abroad to increase their academic qualifications at well-known universities such as Columbia and Stanford in the United States. In 2009, the Group founded Beauty Line Cosmetic Academy with the purpose of providing constant training to address the market's high expectations and pick out future leading personnel. Additionally, the Group's programmes run continuously and cover every field and every aspect of its activities. Our personnel also has the privilege of other benefits for their children such as annual money awards for students of all classes of secondary education who achieve excellent grades. Moreover, the Group is considering the establishment of a preschool and child care centre within its future extended premises in Latsia, on the outskirts of Nicosia, to enable employees to be close to their children during work hours.

Our aim is to Build Trust
"We are currently working on the development of an integrated and specific strategy addressing our suppliers and other partners of our Group, as well as our customers. At the same time we are preparing a research programme to collect the opinions of our partners regarding Papaellinas Group of Companies and its approach in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility. Our stores also promote the Organic Surge cosmetics, all profits of which are donated by the producer company to an orphanage in Kenya.

"In addition to the above, we have organised a campaign through Nannys baby products, where consumers can participate in a draw to win an hybrid car by simply returning empty packaging for recycling. This action is to be repeated during the second half of 2011," as stated by Ms Melanie Michaelidou.

Reporting on Social Responsibility
The occasion also included the projection of a video showing the performance of the Group in relation to its Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, and it is important to mention that the Corporate Social Responsibility Report of Papaellinas Group of Companies was distributed to all people attending the event.

C.A. Papaellinas

C.A. Papaellinas

Papaellinas Group of Companies is today one of the largest and most dynamic organizations on the island of Cyprus, leading in all areas of its activities:

• Distribution of Pharmaceutical and FMCG products
• Distribution and Retail of Fragrances and Cosmetics
• Retail of Health Foods and Natural Remedies

C.A. Papaellinas & Co Ltd, the Group's mother company, was founded in 1929 as a Pharmaceuticals agency. During the following years the company expanded its activities into pharmaceutical imports, securing the representation of well known international pharmaceutical names. At the beginning of the 1960's, the company grew further by expanding in the field of consumer and cosmetics products.

The Group has a number of affiliated companies:

• Beauty Line: Founded in 1997, Beauty Line is now the no. 1 cosmetics chain in Cyprus with 14 stores in key locations on the island. At the beginning of 2011, two stores were made 'Carbon Neutral' in cooperation with the international non-profit organization, myclimate. The rest of the stores will soon follow.
• Pharmacy Line: Founded in 2002, Pharmacy Line is a leading import and distribution company of pharmaceutical products, which also offers logistic services to numerous local and international companies. At its cutting edge distribution centre, the biggest one of its kind in Cyprus, Pharmacy Line offers repacking facilities
• Demetriades & Papaellinas: Fully owned by the Group, it offers distribution services to pharmaceutical giant, Novartis.
• HealthLine: Founded in 2010, Health Line operates the Holland & Barrett franchise of health foods and natural remedies in Cyprus. There are currently 4 Holland & Barrett stores in Cyprus and there are plans for further expansion in the imminent future.
• Kapakiotis & Papaellinas: The Group owns 50% of the company that represents the internationally known GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical products.

New Distribution Centre:

In addition to the Pharmacy Line Distribution Centre, the Group has also built a new, state-of-the art Distribution Centre for consumer products in Dali, in the suburbs of Nicosia, to replace its old Distribution Centre. With its cutting edge SAP logistics system and extended fleet of vans, Papaellinas can now hope to expand its operations and services even further. By July 2011, the New Distribution Centre will be made Carbon Neutral with the help of the international organization myclimate, as in the case of the Beauty Line stores.

Products and Services

The Group holds a leading position in the market with its health and personal care products e.g. adidas, Tresseme, Sensodyne and Aquafresh. The company also leads in the pain-killer category with Panadol and in the paper product category with Kleenex. With Huggies and Nannys (local brand) diapers in its portfolio, the company now also holds a leading position in the diaper market. In March 2010, Nannys diapers, were certified by myclimate as the first carbon neutral diapers.

In the Food and Non-alcoholic drinks category, the Group has developed in the past few years with the distribution of strong international brands such as Lucozade energy drink, Ribena juices, Rauch juices and ice tea, Gerolsteiner water, Divella pasta, Sacla sauces, Monini and Gaea olive oil, Tabasco sauce etc.

In the field of the Cosmetics Wholesale business, the Group also holds a leading position with prestigious brands in its portfolio such as Chanel, La Prairie, Calvin Klein, Lancaster, Jean Paul Gaultier, Bulgari, and Hermes. The Group distributes its cosmetic products through Pharmacy Line.

Through Pharmacy Line, the Group also distributes Novartis and Sanofi-Aventis products as well as over-the-counter GlaxoSmithKline products. Furthermore, it distributes a wide range of other products such as Servier and Ipsen products and RoC dermocosmetics. In addition to distributing the products imported exclusively by the Group, Pharmacyline offers distribution services to other local companies for their imported products e.g. Milupa.

Awards and Distinctions

For its Human Resource practices and the numerous benefits offered to its personnel, Papaellinas Group of companies has been awarded the "Social Excellence Award" as well as the "Best Workplace" award.

Since its foundation, the company has always adopted a strong people-centric philosophy that is deeply rooted in all of its activities. The Group has excelled in several CSR practices it uses in its main pillars of activity: human resource, the market, society and the environment.

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