A group of 20 people stands together in a modern room, smiling and dressed in formal attire, with wooden paneling in the background.

Social responsibility
at HERMA

HERMA Company Profile

HERMA gets involved!

Communities are much stronger when the members are able to experience a sense of independence and take control of their own lives. At the same time, they thrive when everyone is committed to the general well-being and cooperates to reach a goal.

For this reason, HERMA is committed to helping people who, for whatever reasons, find it difficult or almost impossible to participate actively in the life of their community. Furthermore, we are passionate about including the youngest members of the community, especially when it comes to education and sport, and support a range of health-related projects. In doing so, we find it particularly important to promote civic engagement and a sense of team spirit.

Here we have provided a small selection of the projects that HERMA has supported in recent years.

Looking up through a canopy of green trees, with sunlight streaming through the branches. Environment & Climate
Two men are holding a large check for 10,000 euros. In the background, colorful painted figures can be seen. Education & Social Participation
A group of people is practicing yoga in a room; some have their arms stretched out to the sides while others are sitting on mats. Health & Sport

Environment & Climate

Gift the future with Hitradio Antenne 1. A note on tree sponsorships and environmental commitment in Baden-Württemberg.

Planting trees for a better future

HERMA is donating 888 trees as part of its role of premium partner in the campaign “Zukunft schenken – Bäume pflanzen” (Planting trees for a better future). The campaign is a joint initiative carried out by the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection of the State of Baden-Württemberg, the Cleven Foundation and hit radio station antenne 1. The trees will be planted across the state of Baden-Württemberg from April 2021. As a company which processes paper, we are committed to using resources from sustainably managed forests and work exclusively with certified suppliers. Thanks to the “Zukunft schenken – Bäume Pflanzen” campaign, we can now also make a contribution towards reforesting the wooded areas in our region.

A group of children in blue school uniforms happily raises colorful cups in the air as they stand in front of a water container.

Clean drinking water for schools and households in Uganda

Every year, 2.2 million people worldwide die due to diarrhoeal diseases caused by a lack of access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation. Those who suffer most are children under the age of five. More than one third of the people affected by this live in sub-Saharan Africa. HERMA is supporting a project being carried out in Uganda by the myclimate organisation. The aim of this project is to provide poorer households and institutions such as schools with new water filtering technology, allowing them to purify their drinking water. This technology not only reduces CO2 emissions, but also has a positive impact on the living conditions and health of thousands of people.

 

 

Education & Social Participation

A group of eight girls stands together smiling, some hugging each other, in front of a green, lush backdrop.

HERMA finances the construction of an orphanage in Tanzania    

In Tanzania, around one million children grow up as orphans in a population of around 60 million people. There is a lack of human attention, access to education and often even a permanent roof over their heads.. In cooperation with STELP, an aid organisation based in Stuttgart, HERMA will now finance and support the construction of an orphanage in Tanzania. The facility, which is currently still in the planning stage, will be built and operated by the association Waisenkinder Tansania e. V.

More information: www.herma.com/tanzania

A cheetah stands on a meadow, surrounded by rocks, and looks into the camera. Its spotted coat is clearly visible.

Big cat joins the HERMA family

Boasting approximately one and a half million visitors per year, the Wilhelma in Stuttgart is one of Germany’s most popular zoos. To help support the Wilhelma staff in taking care of their charges, HERMA recently took the decision to adopt one of their animals. Effective immediately, the enclosure of the leopard Zawadi, who was recently transferred to the Wilhelma from France with his brother Haraka, will proudly bear the HERMA logo.

10 years of the Deutschlandstipendium, supporting students in Germany.

Supporting students at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences

Germany needs performance-driven young professionals. The Deutschlandstipendium is a grant that was established ten years ago to financially support those pursuing higher education in Germany. HERMA has been one of the sponsors of the Deutschlandstipendium at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences from the very beginning. In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, HERMA is committed to supporting the next generation of talented young professionals – investing in our shared future.

Group conversation among students outdoors, shaking hands. Text: 'Academic success is shareable. Spread the word.

Professional sport partner

Under the prestigious title of “Partnerbetrieb des Spitzensports” (Partner Business for Competitive Sport) for the Olympic training centre in Stuttgart, we are helping sporting talents to successfully master the challenge of combining an apprenticeship, degree or profession with a career in competitive sport.

Luca Schwarzbauer is a student mountain biker and completed a practical semester with us in 2021/2022. He has the chance to take part in the 2024 Olympics in Paris and has decided on a dual career. We supported him in this.

A school building with modern windows, a large tree in the foreground, and a play area accessible through colorful doors.

Education partnerships with schools

With the aim of providing pupils with an insight into the diverse working world of HERMA, thus equipping them with more information when it comes to selecting a degree or career in the future, Herma has entered into an education partnership with various schools, such as the Elisabet-Selbert-Gymnasium (ESG) high school in Filderstadt. The education partnership means that, from approximately the age of 14 onwards, high school pupils have the opportunity to take part in visits to the company, traineeships, training sessions for creating successful applications, seminar courses and projects. In doing so, they get to know the company and the career opportunities it offers in person. Furthermore, they are able to put their skills to the test in mock job interviews and gain an insight into the variety of careers available at HERMA through their project and seminar work.

Three men are holding a large check for 10,000 euros and a colorful art book. In the background, a vibrant piece of artwork can be seen.

The Karl-Schubert-Gemeinschaft

Thanks to their workshops, the Karl-Schubert-Gemeinschaft enables “adults with special needs who are not on the job market, not yet on the job market or who are no longer able to be on the job market” to participate in working life. HERMA provides funding which the Karl-Schubert-Gemeinschaft can use to secure important resources such as minibuses and balanced meals.

We also support individual initiatives like the project “Drehmoment”. Here, the Berlin-based pop art artist Andora designed bright cajóns – a box-shaped percussion instrument which the musician sits upon and plays by slapping the front or side faces. These were then exhibited and sold by the Karl-Schubert-Gemeinschaft. The cajóns were made in the Karl-Schubert-Gemeinschaft’s workshops where, among other things, HERMA’s self-adhesive film was put to good use.

For more information visit www.ksg-ev.eu

 

Round emblem with the text 'BABY EMERGENCY AMBULANCE PATRON 2025' and the logo of the Björn Steiger Foundation.

Björn Steiger Foundation

HERMA is now a proud sponsor of “Felix”, the emergency ambulance. Specially designed for babies, this emergency ambulance is used to transport premature babies with the utmost care, for example when they need to be transferred to a special clinic. As the passengers are so delicate, ensuring that vibrations and stress are minimised during transport can truly make the difference between life and death.

For more information visit the Björn Steiger Foundation website.

A school building with modern windows, a large tree in the foreground, and a play area accessible through colorful doors.

Supporting school sports

As a member of the Friends of the Bruckenackerschule association, HERMA’s financial contributions are put towards providing better sporting equipment for schoolchildren in Filderstadt-Bernhausen. Here, the aim is to enable primary school children to develop a fun, enthusiastic approach to sports.

Children are painting together at a large table while an adult guides them. Colorful drawings and art supplies are visible.

Christine Herrmann’s legacy

As early as in the 1920s, Christine Hermann, wife of HERMA founder Heinrich Hermann, was involved in building a full-time day care centre for children. Today, the Christine-Hermann Day Care Centres in Stuttgart-Wangen, comprising a nursery and a childcare facility, provide professional care for children between the ages of one and six – in part thanks to the support they receive from HERMA. For more information visit https://www.wangen-evangelisch.de/einrichtungen/kitas

 

 

Health & Sport

A group of 22 men in white T-shirts and shorts stands in front of a fire truck, posing together for a group photo.

Voluntary fire brigade

Their readiness for duty and quick reaction times save lives – every single day. Voluntary fire brigades are an indispensable part of any community. HERMA supports the voluntary fire brigade in Filderstadt through material donations as well as by making it easy for any of its own employees who volunteer to respond to emergencies during working hours. It is for this reason that HERMA was awarded the title of “Fire Brigade Partner” in 2006.

For more information visit http://www.feuerwehr-filderstadt.de/index.php/de/.

A youth soccer team poses on a grass field, dressed in white and red jerseys, with a ball in the foreground.

Promoting a wide variety of youth sports teams

HERMA actively promotes the civic engagement of its employees, often helping to support such activities through cash and material donations. We consider all activities to be of great importance. Youth sports and popular sports in particular are an important area for us. Many of our employees volunteer at football clubs, dance groups, and the list goes on.

 

Six cyclists in jerseys are standing with a man in a suit and tie, who is holding a large sign, in front of a building.

HERMA bike trip

Over at our subsidiary HERMA UK, our colleagues have not been resting on their laurels. Far from it – they have been carrying out exceptional work through voluntary activities and the HERMA bike trip. This is an increasingly popular event among HERMA employees. Here, colleagues take part in a multi-day bike trip, collecting donations for a range of charities for each kilometre they cycle.