Think globally, act locally
For us as a family-owned business, a commitment to society is deeply rooted in our values. Our activities worldwide go beyond merely doing business. Instead, we are also dedicated to making a positive contribution to the societies with which we come into contact. We stand up for our convictions through alliances, partnerships, and donations, allowing us to foster social development at home and around the world.
Education, health, inclusion, and society are at the heart of our commitment. Many international STIHL companies promote good vocational training and better educational opportunities by working with schools, universities, and other organizations. Wherever possible, we support the communities in which we have locations, as well as their local projects.
Some examples of STIHL’s commitment:
Earthquake relief for Turkey
The severe earthquake in the Turkish–Syrian border region in early February 2023 triggered an international wave of solidarity. And we did not idly stand by either. An employee campaign to help earthquake victims collected more than 50,000 euros in staff donations. The company doubled that amount, donating half to the German relief agency Technisches Hilfswerk and half to the German chapter of Médecins Sans Frontières.
Water pumps for Ukraine
The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in June 2023 was a tragic further escalation in the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The consequences for people and nature were immense, with villages being flooded and wide stretches of land devastated. The STIHL Group helped provide immediate relief right at the start of the disaster by delivering 120 units of our most powerful water pump, the WP 900, to the central warehouse for emergency personnel in Kyiv to support aid workers on the ground.
Summer camp for staff children
The STIHL plant in Qingdao, China, set up its first summer camp for the children of staff members in 2023. Forty-seven children from first to ninth grade had the opportunity to attend a two-day DIY camp and a two-day intelligent creation camp. The younger kids took part in hands-on activities at the DIY camp, such as cutting enamel wire, painting lamps, creating modeling clay, and baking cakes. Meanwhile, the older kids concentrated on training their cognitive abilities at the intelligent creation camp. The “Marshmallow Challenge” and the “Land Curling Competition” demonstrated the importance of goal-setting, time management, and situational communication. In classes on communication and critical thinking, the young students learned how to reflect on their approach to communication in their everyday lives at school and discovered how important independent thinking and considering the needs of others are.
Supporting people in need
For ten years, STIHL Brazil has maintained partnerships with local waste picker cooperatives, where low-income people from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds work together to improve their financial situation by sorting waste and reselling it. In the reporting year alone, STIHL donated 900 metric tons of paper and plastic waste to cooperatives that support more than 120 families. Apart from a source of income, sorting and selling waste also makes a small contribution to establishing a functional circular economy with waste reduction and reuse.
Work for people with disabilities
For more than 40 years, the STIHL magnesium diecasting plant in Weinsheim has been working with Westeifel Werke GmbH, a nonprofit business run by the Bitburg, Daun, and Prüm chapters of the German disability advocacy organization Lebenshilfe. STIHL provides work for roughly 60 staff members with a disability at Westeifel Werke, such as assembly and sorting tasks. By doing so, the company helps people by giving them opportunities to lead a more independent life.
Promoting job opportunities
The STIHL chain plant in Wil, Switzerland, is involved in multiple programs to promote job opportunities. In close cooperation with HPV Uzwil-Flawil, an organization that provides special education services, STIHL provides work for the Buecherwäldli sheltered workshop. Staff at the workshop perform some of the tasks at the HPV’s own facilities, with others being performed at the STIHL plant. STIHL offers internships for trainees with learning disabilities at Brüggli, an organization dedicated to promoting integration. Apart from hiring Ukrainian refugees to fill permanent positions, our Swiss plant participates in Lift, a project that empowers high school graduates with academic challenges to enter the working world, and works with the city and the regional employment center in Wil to help unemployed individuals find new jobs. In addition, we have established a partnership with a secondary school for girls to encourage future female apprentices to enter technical professions.
Running for a good cause
In the reporting year, our distribution center in Dieburg organized a charity run to benefit the nonprofit organization Nieder-Ramstädter Diakonie. Some 100 employees signed up – almost one-third of the workforce. For every kilometer they ran, participants collected money for a residential project for people with disabilities in Dieburg. All in all, the runners earned several thousand euros. The distribution center also reached a multiyear donation agreement with Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft (DLRG), the world’s largest volunteer lifesaving association.
Letting young people grow
STIHL Brazil supports the care and maintenance of Rio de Janeiro’s botanical garden. In addition, the company works with the organization as part of the Pró Florescer project, which is aimed at young people between the ages of 16 and 18 from a disadvantaged background. They receive training in horticulture, environmental monitoring, or office administration, helping prepare them for a professional career. Along with training material, they receive a scholarship, clothing, and lunch.
