Improving the world – little by little

Weinheim, October 31, 2013. Bringing long-term benefits to society, sustainable business, applying theoretical knowledge to practical situations – and much more. This is “Enactus,” the largest student organization in the world. Today, the national event “Technical Students meet Enterprises” is taking place, hosted by Freudenberg. More than 200 students from all over Germany will be welcomed to Weinheim. The budding academics will be given an opportunity to talk to representatives of fourteen companies and get to know them better. The Speaker of the Board of Management of the Freudenberg Group, Dr. Mohsen Sohi and members of the management team will be attending on behalf of Freudenberg to answer the students’ questions. Freudenberg supports Enactus in Germany, China and the USA. The Group’s managers are represented on the Board of the student organization in all of these three regions.

“Enactus promotes values such as entrepreneurship and social responsibility. Values which are essential for our society and indispensable for our conduct in the future,” explains Dr. Klaus-Peter Meier, Chairman of the Board of Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions and Member of the German Board of the student organization. “The family-owned company Freudenberg has been living these values for more than 160 years.”

The Group has championed the Enactus cause as its partner for more than ten years. Around 20 members of management serve in Germany, the USA and China, coaching and providing advice to the Enactus projects.

The event “Technical Students meet Enterprises” is new to the Enactus program and is taking place this time at Freudenberg. The Freudenberg Group is offering technical students the opportunity of finding out more about participating companies at a careers’ fair. The potential future managers gain a glimpse into business life. And at the same time the Enactus partners are able to establish contact with skilled young talents from all over the world.

Dr. Mohsen Sohi, Speaker of the Board of Management of the Freudenberg Group, sees this form of global networking as an excellent opportunity. “Diversity is a trademark of Freudenberg. We work internationally, our associates are international and we live internationality. This is the foundation of our success in the world’s regions,” said Sohi today in the Vileda headquarter. “We need the most innovative people, regardless of their culture or whether they are male or female.”

From Enactus to Freudenberg
Daniel Zheng from China demonstrates how well the sponsorship of young talents works through the partnership with the student organization. Zheng is currently coming to the end of an internship at Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions in Weinheim. He came to know the Freudenberg Group through his involvement with Enactus. Students implement Enactus values throughout the world by undertaking various projects. Zheng, 22, led the “RegioVelo” project. Fresh organic products from local producers are delivered by bike to customers in the center of Mannheim. The aim is to promote the sale of local fruit and vegetables. On the one hand, this protects the environment as the food is organically grown and delivered by bike. And on the other hand, it is also socially-responsible: The long-term unemployed are given jobs as delivery men, to give them a chance in the world of work,” explains Zheng, who was Marketing Manager of the project.

He has now finished his studies and has handed over his responsibilities at Enactus to his successor.
“I really enjoy working at Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions. I’m motivated every day by the entrepreneurial way of thinking and the opportunity to work independently,” says Zheng.

About Enactus
Around 62,000 students, 1,600 universities and 440 companies are involved worldwide in the non-profit organization Enactus. The organization is therefore the largest network. Enactus students implement projects with the aid of entrepreneurial methods to improve the quality of life and the standard of living of people in a sustainable manner. The students are supported in this by partner companies and universities. The politically neutral initiative holds several events such as the annual country competitions and the World Cup, in which the respective winning teams of the national competitions take part. Enactus has been in Germany since 2003 and meanwhile the organization is represented at 41 universities. Currently 30 companies support Enactus in Germany as sponsors. Enactus offers them the opportunity to get involved in numerous projects as well as in the organization’s main events. Further information about Enactus can be found in the internet at www.enactus.org.