The overall approach towards sustainability goes even further: our parent company Freudenberg, a German family company in operation for over 160 years, has always paid high attention to ecological, social and economic values, which are specifically contained in the company’s mission statement.
Freudenberg as a materials specialist has a long history in converting a wide range of raw materials into innovative products. High attention is paid to the utilisation of recycled materials and to the re-usage of waste. In the key area of corporate citizenship, since 1889, Freudenberg has set up various voluntary social and welfare services.
The Freudenberg Foundation was established in 1984. Its aim is to support the integration and promotion of disadvantaged groups and encourage cultural projects. When the Freudenberg Group launched its company-wide youth program TANNER in 1999, the company knew that experiencing the culture and society in other countries can be a positive factor for a young person’s future personal and professional development.
In 1999, the Guiding Principles were set up as a summary of the Groups Business Principles for all employees around the world, business partners and the public at large. The key aspects are “Value for Customers”, “Innovation”, “Leadership”, “People”, “Responsibility” and “Long Term Orientation”.
The internal initiative “We all take care", established in 2003, encourages every associate to contribute ideas and suggestions to improve safety at work and environmental protection for everyone. Underneath the umbrella of “We-all-take-care”, also a specific “Zero Accident Program” has been launched throughout the entire company to drive occupational safety at Freudenberg and Vileda up. The strategic target at Freudenberg and Vileda is to come below 1 Lost Day Accident per 1.000 employees by 2016. In 2012 both, Freudenberg and FHCS, reached interim milestones already i.e. 3.4 and 2.6 Lost Day Accidents per 1.000 employees.
Being at the forefront of environmentally-friendly technology is part of the “genetic code” of Freudenberg. The group has an increasingly extensive portfolio of environmentally-friendly products and production methods around the world. For example, the nonwovens facility in Suzhou, China, has already been recognised several times by the Chinese government as a “green factory”. Freudenberg is committed to be a responsible corporate citizen at all our locations around the world.
Our associates are highly involved in numerous social projects. For example, Freudenberg started a donation for NOK-Colleagues in Japan who had been affected by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Employees donated collectively a sum of €219,000 which was doubled by Freudenberg to help the 620 colleagues, who were most badly affected.
In addition, in March 2009, Freudenberg established a job training centre in Nagapattinam in the South Indian province of Tamil Nadu, the region worst affected by the devastating Tsunami in 2004. In 2010, the first young people finished their training and successfully started their first jobs. A further 80 new young people started the special dual-training course to qualify for jobs as metal workers, welders or plumbers.
At the end of August 2009, Freudenberg officially opened the Hajing Village primary school in Jiangyou, China. This region was one of the towns hardest hit in Sichuan by the catastrophic earthquake which happened in May 2008. As a gesture of goodwill for the affected people there, we launched this long-term aid project. It is one of Freudenberg’s biggest projects of its kind outside Germany. The school building has a total area of more than 4600 square meters and can accommodate approximately 280 children.
A big success was the summer-school project in 2010, where more than 40 Freudenberg employees gave lessons voluntarily in subject areas including English language, Chinese culture and sports. On a local basis, Freudenberg supports social work, amongst others, with the “Wir-tun-was” initiative. For example, a children’s clothing bank in Viernheim is sponsored with storage boxes, clothes racks and also financial donations. Families with low income have the opportunity to get second hand clothes for their kids for a symbolic amount of money.
