GEA establishes foundation and expands global community engagement

At the launch event in Berlin, CEO Stefan Klebert announced the new GEA Foundation’s objectives. Working closely with several strategic partners, the foundation will focus the company’s community engagement, enabling it to provide even more effective assistance worldwide.

GEA was already committed to donate one percent of its profit to charitable causes each year, and the foundation strengthens that charge. Furthermore, new programs run jointly by GEA and UNICEF Germany were unveiled during the event. 

• New GEA Foundation will boost implementation of GEA’s ambitious sustainability targets and centralize community engagement initiatives under one roof
• Four strategic pillars: Strengthening education and training in science, fighting child poverty, improving access to basic infrastructure and administering acute disaster relief
• Launch event and presentation of new GEA Foundation projects took place in collaboration with strategic partner UNICEF Germany
  
   

GEA enhances strategic focus of community engagement

GEA has already been living up to its responsibility for people and the environment for many years. As part of its Mission 30 strategy, GEA set the target of donating one percent of net profit each year. “At GEA, acting responsibly in the interests of people and the environment is the bedrock of our success,” says GEA Group CEO Stefan Klebert. “In setting up the GEA Foundation, we are taking our community engagement to the next level. Together with our strategic partners, we are now able to implement our ambitious targets even more effectively.” The GEA Foundation focuses on four strategic pillars in the selection of its funding projects:

• Strengthening education and training in science: Improving access to education, especially in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), for young people across the globe
• Fighting child poverty: Supporting charitable organizations and services, such as those provided by SOS Children’s Villages worldwide
• Improving access to basic infrastructure: Engaging in projects to promote access to clean water, renewable energy and good medical care
• Administering disaster relief: Providing rapid support during natural disasters and humanitarian crises

Greater impact through strategic partnerships

Close cooperation with strategic partners is at the heart of the GEA Foundation’s work. Partners run projects in the defined focus areas all over the world and provide quarterly reports to the foundation on their progress. In addition to UNICEF Germany, the GEA Foundation partners with SOS Children’s Village Düsseldorf, Viva con Agua and the German University Foundation (Deutsche Universitätsstiftung) at a strategic level. Liaising closely with the GEA Foundation, these partners cover the areas of promoting education, fighting child poverty and improving access to basic infrastructure. Additionally, the GEA Foundation supports other organizations in these areas on a selective basis; for instance, donations for disaster relief are made as the need arises.

The partnership with UNICEF announced at the launch event focuses on educational programs in the STEM subjects. Support provided by the GEA Foundation enables children and young people in Peru and India to develop key future skills in areas such as computer programming. At the same time, the UNICEF programs include special mentoring and talent development components. “Young people are growing up in a rapidly evolving world – on every continent and in very different environments. To meet the numerous challenges such as poverty, conflict and migration as well as the impact of climate change, it is imperative for them to learn how to harness technological change. Acquiring STEM skills can be a gateway to successful career paths and open up favorable prospects for the future. So we are delighted to share this strong partnership with the GEA Foundation and are grateful for their support,” says Christian Schneider, Managing Director of UNICEF Germany.

Inaugural launch event in Berlin

Numerous guests celebrated the launch of the GEA Foundation at GEA’s Heating and Refrigeration Technologies campus in Berlin. Stefan Klebert welcomed GEA employees from across Germany as well as representatives from many other foundations and nongovernmental organizations.

The presentation of an international STEM survey commissioned by GEA rounded out the launch event. The survey compared the views of students and teachers with regard to STEM education. A key finding was that practical relevance and exchange between different disciplines needs to increase significantly in order to make the STEM curriculum more interesting and effective. In addition, both students and teachers viewed STEM-based careers as fundamentally prestigious, with both groups underscoring future earnings potential as well as the opportunity to make a positive difference. However, they simultaneously expressed a strong desire for greater clarity concerning exactly which career paths are made available through STEM subjects and how these can best be accessed.

A moderated panel discussion was then held based on the survey findings. Panel members Stefan Klebert, Christian Schneider (Managing Director of UNICEF Germany), Dr. Volker Meyer-Guckel (Secretary General of the German Stifterverband initiative) and Dr. Daniel Hunold (professor and education influencer) focused on the implications of the survey findings and specific improvement measures.