Sustainably socially committed:
the Webasto Foundation

Whether in America, Europe or Asia ‒ the Webasto Foundation once again supported numerous charitable projects in 2023, whose development aid creates the basis for a long-term improvement in people's living conditions.

Stockdorf/Munich – December 20, 2023 – Under its leitmotif " We Drive the Future – sustainably mobile into a good future!", the Webasto Foundation supports social projects and institutions in four fields of action relating to mobility and the future: Move people, Mobilize strengths, Mobility for all. TODAY. and TOMORROW.

Impulses from the Webasto Foundation for social commitment

The projects in the 'Move people' rubric motivate the Webasto employees to look beyond the boundaries of their company:

• More than 7,600 employees reviewed the offers of help from three social projects near the Webasto sites in Slovakia, the UK and Japan ‒ and chose their favorite. The total donation of around 53,000 euros was handed over to the three organizations on a proportional basis.
• The "Social Week" pilot project, which will be expanded to other regions in 2024, motivated 160 employees and board members to get involved in charitable organizations in the Stockdorf/Gilching area.
• The joint campaigns aimed at bringing joy to needy families in the vicinity of the Webasto sites have mobilized additional employees worldwide - especially in the period leading up to Christmas.

A better life ‒ the Webasto Foundation opens up opportunities

In the category 'Mobility for all. TODAY.', the Webasto Foundation successfully completed two projects in 2023. Both give socially disadvantaged people the chance of a safer, better and healthier life through mobility.

• In a cooperation project with the international partner, the YOU Stiftung, 300 women in the Los Castillos project area (Guanajuato, Mexico) were given access to safe mobility through bicycles and special cycle paths. The project, which is also accompanied by training and preventative measures to protect against violence and exploitation, is now being continued by a permanent representative group.
• In Southern California/USA, the Webasto Foundation sponsored a complete school year at the 'School on Wheels'. Numerous disadvantaged children benefited from access to education ‒ and a chance for a more promising future.

In the same way as education, mobility is a basic need and an important factor for social participation. The non-profit organization Flying hope e.V. arranges free flights to clinics, hospices and places where children whose families do not have the necessary financial means can receive the best possible medical care. The Webasto Foundation has doubled the donations from the workforce at the Webasto site in Neubrandenburg for this project.

Sustainable development work in disaster and conflict regions

For the Webasto Foundation, 'Mobilize strengths' means supporting people on the spot with mobile and humanitarian (emergency) aid and improving their living conditions in the long term. In 2023, it increased employee donations for earthquake aid in Turkey/Syria together with Webasto SE and contributed the total amount to a mobile school project against education drop out of the YOU Stiftung. The YOU Stiftung also called for support for urgent humanitarian aid for children in the conflict region Middle East, which the Webasto Foundation also responded to.

Long-term commitment is also reflected in the aid center set up together with the Czech non-profit organization ADRA in Liberec/Czech Republic, which has been providing professional educational and psychological care to children of Ukrainian families who have fled the war since it began. In Pune/India, a project launched 18 months ago in collaboration with the YOU Stiftung was transformed into an independent program: With the help of the van purchased by the Webasto Foundation, up to 200,000 people in the slums have already been reached with aid and educational work in the field of health care.

Concepts for the sustainable mobility of tomorrow

With a view from today to a fundamentally better mobility of the future in the dimension of 'Mobility for all. TOMORROW.', the Webasto Foundation is supporting the research and development fund of the South Korean Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). As part of a multi-year cooperation with the renowned institute, theses dealing with sustainable mobility concepts are supported.

About the Webasto Foundation

The Webasto Foundation is a non-profit limited liability company and promotes – supported by the owners of the company and Webasto SE – charitable and non-profit projects, associations and institutions in the vicinity of Webasto sites worldwide. Each year, the company provides a specific donation fund for the work of the Webasto Foundation, which is based on the respective business performance.