Our commitment to social corporate responsibility is based on three pillars: people, art and nature. And as with our analytics systems, it is also founded on a combination of regional roots and global action. We support projects and initiatives that match our way of thinking and acting. The ideas behind this sometimes come from outside and sometimes from among our own employees. In the following, we will present a few examples for each of the three pillars of our commitment. This will give you an initial impression of our activities in this sphere.
PEOPLE
In addition to our employees and partners, people outside the company are also important to us. In our involvement in this area, we try to provide positive stimuli.
- Working together with the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg of Applied Sciences in Sankt Augustin, we offer five scholarships a year to science students working in a field related to our specialist area
- We support a housing project for children who have been victims of abuse and whose families have broken down for a wide variety of reasons. Here they find an agreeable place to live and learn and, above all, to feel safe.
- In late 2013, we were able to put our experience of logistics to use in transporting and setting up a donated X-ray machine for a hospital in Uganda.
- At the annual company run in Bonn, C. Gerhardt makes a donation for each kilometre run by one of our employees. Afterwards, the runners decide which social institution the sum goes to.
- Near our company headquarters, we sponsored a large climbing frame and set of play equipment for a playground in the town of Oberdollendorf.
NATURE
The environment and nature are important to us because, as a company, we bear an important responsibility in this area. But we also have a personal interest in and commitment to using our influence.
- At the top of the nature pillar is our small nature reserve near Oberpleis. Our employees even help out with maintaining the biotope from time to time.
- A while back, we helped to set up the "Bonn biodiversity route". Since 2008, this has explained the characteristics of various animal and plant species to visitors.
- In 2011, we played a key role in creating a new freshwater spawning habitat for the yellow-bellied toad, which is seriously endangered in our region. The area in Bonn-Oberkassel is now home to one of the largest yellow-bellied toad populations in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- We provide continual active and financial support to the regional associations of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), the Committee Against Bird Slaughter and the two major biological stations in our region.
ART
Art is a subject that is intricately linked to the company’s history: In 1909, August Macke, one of the best known German expressionists, married into the Gerhardt family. His descendants run the company today. So it is not only natural for us to promote artists, it is also a pleasure.
- We support the Königswinter art festival, where galleries and studios open their doors to visitors. The event, near our company headquarters, promotes art and encourages encounters with the artists themselves and with other interested parties.
- Once a year, we take part in the Alexander Koenig Research Museum jury to award prizes for children’s art. This is always a special treat for us, as the event brings together two of the pillars of our social commitment: nature and art.