At Freudenberg, Corporate Citizenship goes beyond the value creation chain. The Group wants its facilities to be recognized as a good neighbor in the surrounding areas, so it supports a wide array of social projects – from small initiatives locally to complex international programs. All the campaigns are tailored to local requirements, and Freudenberg employees often participate in their free time.
Since the founding of the company, Freudenberg has been actively involved in the community. With the launch of the e² (education and environment) initiative, Corporate Citizenship has expanded worldwide since 2015. The initiative’s goal is to provide people with access to education and employment, and support environmental protection. The initiative complements existing individual initiatives that meet an established list of criteria. In 2021, Freudenberg decided to provide e² with another 4 million euros. That increases its support to a total of 18 million euros.
In 2021, in keeping with a long Freudenberg tradition, the Group provided help where it was urgently needed. Since the pandemic’s outbreak, Freudenberg has allocated significantly more than 2 million euros to the needy worldwide from its e² budget and donated to about 130 organizations in 28 countries, to provide food and protective masks.
For the sake of Indian children: They appreciate clean water from an “Aqua Tower” donated by Freudenberg.
The “Aqua Tower” project in India shows that e² projects can create inspiration across borders. One year after two of these filtration systems were constructed on the subcontinent, Freudenberg employees, working with Planet Water, their partner in the project, have installed additional Aqua Towers in the Mexican towns of Cerro Prieto and San Vicente de Ferrer. Aqua Towers transform contaminated water from rivers, streams and springs into drinking water. Two other Aqua Towers are planned for Mexico. Another project is ready for launch in Thailand.
In July 2021, heavy rainfall caused historic emergencies in many communities in western Germany. The Ahr Valley, the home of many employees at Freudenberg’s Remagen facility, was especially hard-hit. The massive amount of water destroyed the houses of more than 30 employees. Although the plant itself was unscathed, production was shut down for days due to a power outage. The plight of the victims triggered a readiness to help from the entire Freudenberg world: Employees, and the company’s Partners donated a total of about 345,000 euros. Many employees donated the equivalent value of their overtime. Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions organized truckloads full of cleaning supplies.
in donations from employees and Partners for the victims of disastrous flooding.
The following examples show the Freudenberg Group’s long-term orientation on local aid projects:
Since 2009, Freudenberg has offered young people in a non-profit training center in Nagapattinam, India in the province of Tamil Nadu, south of Chennai, the opportunity to qualify as electricians, welders, plumbers, motor mechanics, and machinists in dual training programs. So far, more than 700 young people have had a successful start to their careers. Most have found a job in the large, well-known organizations in and around Chennai. The Nagapattinam region is poor, populated mainly by farmers and fishers, and suffered immensely from the 2004 tsunami.
In 2021, for the eleventh time in a row, a Freudenberg summer camp was held at the primary school in Sichuan. More than 70 employees and volunteers created an unforgettable summer for 150 children. The curriculum included astronomy, geography, history, marine biology, art and philosophy. Even before the e² initiative, the partnership began with a project especially close to the hearts of Freudenberg employees: the rebuilding of the school after an earthquake in the region in 2008.
In 2021, a second school project was added, this time in the village of Guyong in Guangxi, about 1,500 kilometers southeast of Sichuan. In mid-October, the employees of Freudenberg Apollo Filtration Technologies joined school and government officials in dedicating the Apollo Hope primary school. The financial support from Freudenberg Apollo Filtration Technologies funded the construction of a new auditorium, library and restroom facility and the installation of a new drinking water system, all of which significantly improved the school’s learning environment.
Every September, more than 60 Freudenberg facilities in North America take part in a range of activities to benefit society. As part of “Service Day,” a total of 50 employees gathered at a tree nursery in Detroit, Michigan, USA and teamed up with longtime e² partner, “The Greening of Detroit,” to plant tree seedlings in Detroit parks and neighborhoods. Freudenberg employees in the USA also lent their support to a second e² theme: education. In Howell, Michigan, USA, they spurred the interest of children and teenagers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers.
Since 1984, the Freudenberg Foundation has been helping to bring about real, long-term change by promoting inclusion, education and democracy. As a non-profit company, the Foundation is a Partner of Freudenberg & Co. KG. The main focus of its activities is the social, linguistic, educational and professional integration of children and youths.
This is how Freudenberg applies the United Nations Global Compact and the Sustainable Development Goals.
