Giving back from the company’s success

The Körber Group was founded by Kurt A. Körber in 1946, an entrepreneur with a clear ethical compass: He was firmly convinced that the public at large should also benefit from a company’s success if the company was in good shape. In view of his belief, Kurt A. Körber established the non-profit Körber-Stiftung in 1959 and thus became a role model for active social responsibility. The company founder invested more than 200 million German marks to promote science and culture until his death in 1992.

Körber's employees and families planting trees.
Corinna zu Putlitz, Head of Sustainability, Körber Business Area Technologies

“Our employees in the Business Area Technologies are heavily involved in local non-profit projects at different locations. In doing so, they personally embody the Körber philosophy of giving something back to society.”

Corinna zu Putlitz

Head of Sustainability, Körber Business Area Technologies

With its fields of action related to future knowledge, international understanding, and vibrant civil society, Körber-Stiftung is the sole shareholder of Körber AG and receives an annual dividend, which is used exclusively for charitable purposes. Kurt A. Körber's approach of giving back to society from the company’s success continues to leave its mark to this day.


Körber's employees holding checks, ready to give to society.

Making a positive impact together 

Our annual donation campaign also forms part of this tradition. For the campaign, we make donations to an amount based on the Körber Group’s age. As the Körber Group celebrated 77 years of existence in 2023, different non-profit organizations benefited from 77,000 euros during the reporting year. “Our employees also got to choose the organizations in 2023,” affirms Henriette Viebig, Head of Brand and Group Communications, Körber AG and responsible for the focus field ‘Giving to society’ in Körber’s ‘House of Sustainability’. 

“As every year, they selected which six organizations we wanted to help with 10,000 euros each under the three sustainability dimensions Environment, Social, and Governance. For the special category, the employees picked the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’ as their main focus for 2023 and decided that an additional donation of 17,000 euros should go to the Engineers Without Borders organization.” In the dimension Environment, donations went to Wilderness International and the EuroNatur foundation in 2023. Funding in the dimension Social was awarded to the German Red Cross Lifeguard Service and SOS Kinderdorf e.V.. Winners of the vote in the dimension Governance were UNICEF and Human Rights Watch.

Henriette Viebig, responsible for the focus field ‘Giving to society’ in Körber’s ‘House of Sustainability’

“We assist non-profit organizations every year with our interactive and group-wide donation campaign. In 2023, 77,000 euros went to seven organizations as part of the initiative.”

Henriette Viebig

Head of Brand and Group Communications and responsible for the focus field ‘Giving to society’ in Körber’s ‘House of Sustainability’

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A note on K.Sustainability award, with the three Körber employees that have won it.

Employees in action

Besides sponsorships and donation campaigns, our employees also get involved in non-profit causes personally themselves every year. For instance, in the reporting year, colleagues in the Körber Business Area Supply Chain at the US location in Pittsburgh again helped to pack excess medical material from US hospitals in the aid organization Global Links’ warehouse and forwarded the material to regions which need these materials. 

Matthew Deep, Vice President of Products and Services, Business Area Supply Chain

“Global Links is a non-profit organization from my hometown Pittsburgh that has been dedicated to improving health on both a global and local level for over 30 years. Supporting this initiative alongside my colleagues gives me a sense of fulfillment every year.”

Matthew Deep

Vice President of Products and Services, Business Area Supply Chain

Another example is the voluntary program for employees in the Körber Business Area Technologies in the Hungarian city of Pécs, which was honored with the Körber sustainability prize, the K.Sustainability Award, in 2023. The program mobilizes hundreds of employees who use their free time to provide valuable assistance to schools, preschools, animal shelters, and natural environments at locations the employees select themselves.

At the Hamburg company site, colleagues also took part in the ‘Wi mook dat’ Social Action Day (‘We’ll do that’ in English) again in 2023. “We have been participating in this action day since 2014,” reports Corinna zu Putlitz, Head of Sustainability, Körber Business Area Technologies. “Employees have the opportunity to help with different projects undertaken by non-profit organizations during working hours every year. In recent years, colleagues have been involved in various tasks, such as harvesting apples on fruit tree meadows and helping to renovate the Kirchdorf children’s farm in Hamburg. The idea of working in a team for non-profit institutions throughout Hamburg is in line with our corporate culture and provides help for worthy initiatives while also promoting communal spirit among colleagues.”

Brief interview with Szilvia Borka-Schmidt, Senior Communication & PR Specialist at Körber Campus Pécs

Szilvia Borka-Schmidt

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In 2023, you won the K.Sustainability Award for the Pécs volunteering days. What are these volunteer days all about?

Szilvia Borka-Schmidt: Hundreds of colleagues have been involved in this program to help others every year for five years. The employees themselves select the places where they wish to help and Körber provides any necessary materials. Over the last years, we have helped with different projects throughout the district. We undertook 14 projects in 2022. In 2023, the number had risen to 25.

Körber employees planting flowers in sustainability efforts.

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What kind of projects are they?‎ 

Szilvia Borka-Schmidt: They vary a great deal. In spring 2023, we carried out beautification work and landscaping in three schools, two preschools, and a canine club. We also renovated the sports field and a playground in two small towns, we painted doors and windows at a horse club, renovated a library in a primary school, and painted games on concrete surfaces in a school and a preschool. One recurrent project is maintenance of an angling lake, where we renovated the inlet sluice in 2023.

Körber employees and families planting trees.

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How do you find suitable projects?

Szilvia Borka-Schmidt: At the beginning of the year, there is a proposal process during which employees put forward towns, clubs, associations, or venues. A committee then decides whether we can and wish to undertake the proposed projects. If approved, the employee proposing the project becomes the project manager and is actively involved in the project’s organization, including recruiting volunteers. We assist them by providing the required tools and materials plus food and drink for the volunteers.


Sponsorship for young talent

One special sponsorship activity benefited a young, technology-enthusiastic team in 2023. ‘Formula 1 at School’ is an interdisciplinary competition for young people worldwide. The aim of the competition is to present the most efficient and, consequently, fastest mini vehicle powered by a gas cartridge, which races against other teams on a track 20 meters long. We helped the Hamburg team Cardiem with funding and with our expertise to produce the chassis. The team triumphed against the best German teams during the German Championship 2022 and, as the winner, qualified for the World Championship 2023 in Singapore, where the team won the Digital Media Award.