Responsibility

STIHL supports SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. Over the past few years the STIHL workforce has been engaged in a number of fund-raising campaigns in aid of SOS children's villages in crisis regions. We support this involvement and top up the amounts collected. Furthermore, STIHL is directly involved on the spot in Germany. STIHL staff help to look after the grounds in SOS children's villages.

The sponsoring partnership of our subsidiary VIKING and SOS children's villages in Austria has existed since 2004. In the last few years VIKING has campaigned for different SOS children's villages in Austria as well as other countries. In addition, the company supports children's villages throughout Austria with donations in kind.

Rio de Janeiro's botanical garden is one of the most important of its kind in the world. The 200-year-old Jardim Bontânico do Rio de Janeiro, as it is called in Portuguese, offers a habitat for several thousand species, some of which are threatened. Cooperating with the Botanical Garden Research Institute, the Rio de Janeiro State Court and the Friends of the Botanical Garden Society, STIHL Brazil supports the Pró-Florescer project.

In Pró-Florescer, 20 to 30 young people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds are trained as park guides, gardeners or administrative assistants. During their training, the young adults are given free board and lodging and clothing. In addition, they receive pocket money. Apart from acquiring technical know-how, the participants develop their community spirit, initiative and self-confidence. A team of specialists, teachers and psychologists accompany the training and assist the freshly trained young men and women in finding a job. The botanical garden also profits from Pró-Florescer: It has additional workers – equipped with STIHL products.

STIHL Brazil has been involved as a project partner since the early nineties. STIHL sponsors ten training places every year and supports the project with numerous donations, such as cordless electric products and personal protective equipment.

New prospects for sustainable co-operation
Since 2015, STIHL has been supporting the "Afrika kommt!" project in which young executive staff from the African sub-Sahara region comes to Germany for a year to do a nine-month internship in a German partner company in addition to a three-month language course. A mentor accompanies the trainee throughout this period. Participants in the program acquire an insight into German work processes and management methods. At the same time, the initiative is to serve as a foundation stone for sustainable economic co-operation with Africa and help create an international network. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is responsible for the organisation and implementation of the project.
STIHL sees great potential in this project because the young African executives bring new ways of thinking and new outlooks with them. The company continues to maintain contact with its former trainees and appreciates the cultural and professional exchange.

Sport brings people together – it was with this thought in mind that the Special Olympics Germany was founded in 1991. The aim is to inspire mentally and physically impaired people to take part in sports and, at the same time, give them the opportunity to participate in the life of society. The purpose is not only to win medals, but to convey the joy of living and the fun of sports and thus improve independence and the quality of life.

STIHL has been supporting the Special Olympics State Association in Rhineland-Palatinate since 2006, for social inclusion is a subject very close to STIHL‘s heart. Working together with Special Olympics, we want to strengthen the acceptance of people with disabilities. At the state games, about 1,300 athletes compete in 14 events and show that sport can transcend borders and bring down barriers.

Overcoming language barriers and finding new friends

There has been a student exchange program between the Staufer Grammar School in Waiblingen and Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach since 2012. STIHL and its US subsidiary STIHL Inc. made a significant contribution to establishing the program. This is now an annual event on the calendar. Waiblingen students get to know the life of an American high school student for two weeks. They live with an American family, attend school with their American counterparts and go on excursions in the area.

A few months later the young students from Virginia Beach come to stay with the families of the German students. The participants are invited to visit the local STIHL plant in both America and Germany. STIHL and STIHL Inc. support the exchange program financially, too.

Close relationship
A special form of co-operation has linked the Remstal Workshops of the Social Welfare Organisation in Stetten and the STIHL company for more than 20 years. It began with small assembly and disassembly procedures. In the course of time, the task of packing a number of different toolkits was added. STIHL adapted the procedures so that they could be accomplished easily and faultlessly by people with a disability.
But this close relationship between the two companies exists beyond that co-operation: Selina Stihl, who is a member of the STIHL advisory and supervisory boards, joined the Welfare Organisation's administrative board as an honorary member in 2018.

The touring exhibition "Good Looks. No Substance" informs consumers about the dangers of counterfeit products for people, society and the economy. It is organized by the Aktionskreis gegen Produkt- und Markenpiraterie e.V. (Anti Product Piracy Association) (APM).

In Germany alone, the damage caused annually by product and brand piracy amounts to an estimated 50 billion euros. This initially affects companies – but it ultimately results in a loss of jobs and tax revenue. However, the counterfeits present an even greater risk to consumers: It is no longer just luxury watches or handbags that are being forged, but also pharmaceuticals, foods and technical equipment, such as STIHL chainsaws. Outwardly, the illegal copies can be hardly distinguished from the originals, but are of a poorer quality and finish and, at worst, can jeopardize the health and safety of the user.

The aim of this APM project is to inform consumers and create an awareness of the dangers of product and brand piracy. STIHL supports the exhibition which has been seen at more than 60 shopping centers so far.

Tomorrow's engineers

In the multidisciplinary and international "Formula 1 in Schools" technology competition teams of students design and build a miniature F1 racing car, which they then put through its paces on the racetrack. The teams compete against each other at regional contests and the German championships. Judging includes not just sheer vehicle speed, but also the design, manufacture, reaction time, business plan and a presentation. The aim is to inspire young people to take up technical and engineering careers.

STIHL has been sponsoring a regional team since 2012 with donations, know-how and materials. In 2014, the team qualified for the World Finals in Singapore with an outstanding performance at the German championships.