In Portugal, ensuring answers and demystifying mental health.
Taking the World Mental Health Day (October 10) as a reference point, EDP has been promoting a set of initiatives throughout the month of October over the years, raising the topic of Mental Health to a priority dimension for all of us through the Mind Your Mind campaign.
Integrated into the global well-being strategy of the EDP Group, approved in 2021, this campaign started during the pandemic with the aim of promoting the topic of Mental Health openly and transparently, advocating for the importance of adopting preventive behaviors, demystifying prejudices, ensuring internal support responses and services, and promoting a culture of psychological safety.
The promotion of employees' well-being has gained increasing relevance in the EDP agenda, and despite being a topic that has been worked on for quite some time, the pandemic period reinforced the importance of focusing on the care of its people in a holistic way, considering the challenges imposed on a personal and professional level.
In 2021, a global well-being strategy was approved for the EDP Group, with CEO Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade as the main sponsor. It is based on a holistic approach, grounded in 5 fundamental dimensions of well-being - physical, social, professional, financial, and emotional. When talking about emotional well-being, the aim is to focus more on mental health, a key theme for achieving a healthy work environment where people feel well, safe, and productive.
In October 2020, the Mind Your Mind campaign was launched in Portugal through a series of conversations that took place throughout the month, with the participation of employees and external speakers, including comedian António Raminhos.
As a community engagement highlight, in the 2020 edition, EDP, in partnership with Isabel Silva, challenged employees to engage in physical exercise to donate their energy to a mental health promotion institution. The total kilometers covered by all of us during this month produced 2 years of electrical energy, which was donated to the Nova Aurora Association, dedicated to the psychosocial reintegration of people with mental illness.
The 2021 edition, extended to other markets of the EDP Group, was marked by appealing challenges, informative conversations, vibrant testimonials, and many intimate shares, with the development of various initiatives that impacted more than 3,000 employees in 10 markets.
Challenges related to balance, physical exercise, and mindfulness with a charitable aspect were launched to employees. Conversations and debates rich in testimonials were also promoted, where the stories of our employees joined those of external guests. João Francisco Lima, Ambassador for Mental Health and son of actor Pedro Lima, Ana Moniz, Psychotherapist and Executive Coach, and comedian Nuno Markl were some of the names that collaborated in this campaign. At the end of the project, interactions were converted into energy, and €1500 worth of energy was donated to the Romão de Sousa Foundation.
To continue promoting the topic of mental health among employees, a partnership was established with the José Neves Foundation through the 29k app, which provides a set of scientific tools, such as educational videos, meditations, audios, and exercises.
The 2022 Mind Your Mind campaign, developed globally in all markets where EDP is present, had psychological safety in the workplace as its central theme and enabled the creation of true spaces for sharing and dialogue about mental health and reinforcing its importance for a truly healthy and balanced life. About 3,000 employees actively participated in the various initiatives promoted by the company.
The importance of adopting preventive behaviors was reinforced, and the multiple support responses available to all employees, regardless of their geography, were made known. The campaign also featured Brooke Deterline, executive director of Courageous Leadership, speaking about the importance of ethics in our actions.
In 2023, there were 9,000 participations in global and local initiatives, highlighting the conversation between the CEO of the EDP Group, Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, and António Horta Osório, where personal experiences were shared and the role of leadership in promoting mental health was emphasized. Ten mindfulness sessions were conducted, along with 24 local initiatives in different countries and regions, a session for the People & Organization (P&O) teams on their role in promoting a psychological safety environment, and a session associated with World Ethics Day with Wendy Addison addressing the importance of promoting a Speak Up culture.
Communication pieces were developed to demystify misconceptions related to mental health. A donation of €1000 was made to the Paroquial Center of Estoril as part of Mental Health Days, a donation of €7000 to support the Terra dos Sonhos organization, and a global solidarity challenge was promoted that supported the Ivory World organization.
Following the campaign, the Leadership Pledge was signed by CEO Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, a document that reinforces EDP's commitment and its leadership in promoting a healthy work environment for its people.
With this campaign and future initiatives, we want to continue promoting and reinforcing the role of EDP as a healthy workplace, characterized by an inclusive culture that provides a truly human and meaningful experience for its people.
"At EDP, we take mental health very seriously, and that's why we launched our Global Mind Your Mind (MYM) Campaign. This initiative aims to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and to openly talk about it, empowering people to take care of their own mental balance and support others." Miguel Stilwell Andrade, CEO EDP.
