Social Commitment

Kinder- und Jugendwerk “Die Arche - Kinderstiftung” (The Ark - Children’s Foundation)

HSBC in Germany is one of the main sponsors of the children’s and youth organization “Die Arche - Kinderstiftung” in Düsseldorf-Wersten.

“Die Arche - Kinderstiftung” was founded by Bernd Siggelkow in Berlin in 1995 and pursues the goal of combating child poverty in Germany. At the nationwide locations, children between the ages of six and twelve receive a hot meal, homework tutoring and the opportunity to take part in sports and music activities. In addition, they find contact persons for their problems in the employees and camps are offered during the vacation season, in which the children can participate free of charge. “Die Arche - Kinderstiftung” and its founder Bernd Siggelkow are known for their commitment to fighting child poverty and promoting equal opportunities for children in Germany.

In Düsseldorf, the approximately 150 children have access to a daycare center in addition to the recreational facility.

We support “Die Arche - Kinderstiftung” not only financially, however, there is also the commitment of our employees at the yearly summer party, with gift campaigns at Christmas, at family Saturdays and other events and campaigns.

Junior Achievement Project “Building a Financially Capable Generation”

One focus of our social responsibility is the education of young people. As part of our alignment with the HSBC Group, we discontinued our long-standing HSBC Schools Project, in which our employees volunteered to give presentations at general education schools in Düsseldorf and at our branch locations. Instead, the Bank has focused on the Junior Achievement project “Building a Financially Capable Generation” from the Institute of the German Economy Cologne JUNIOR GmbH. The project supports young people in setting up their own businesses and also in imparting business knowledge.

Texthelden

We give young people access to journalism and economic knowledge by supporting the Rheinische Post’s interactive newspaper project “Texthelden”. Schoolchildren in grade 8 receive the Rheinische Post daily newspaper over a period of six weeks. Accompanying materials are provided for the lessons. They learn how to deal with the media and how to report qualitatively. In addition, students are given the opportunity to practice as young journalists and write their own articles for the Rheinische Post.

Girls’ & Boys’ Day

Girls’ Day” and “Boys’ Day” are held once a year throughout Germany. The campaign is intended to support pupils from the fifth grade onwards in their career and study orientation and give them the chance to directly experience the working world of a variety of professions for one day. HSBC Germany is also participating in the campaign and enables pupils to gain an insight into the everyday working lives of their parents, relatives or acquaintances (“future mentors”). On this day, the pupils will first get to know the bank better in the morning in a group session before they are allowed to look over the shoulders of their “future mentors” in the afternoon.

Art and culture

HSBC in Germany has long-standing relationships with various art and cultural institutions such as the Academy of Arts Düsseldorf, the Art exhibition NRW, the Robert-Schumann-University Düsseldorf, the Düsseldorf Tonhalle and the German Opera on the Rhine.

Social responsibility towards our employees

The bank offers its employees numerous voluntary social benefits. Flexible working time models are offered to support the compatibility of family and career. We also work with a family service that helps, for example, in finding care for children or relatives in need of care and offers life coaching. Three company kindergartens round off the range of services for employees with families.

Staff donation campaign

With the decision to forego Christmas gifts for customers and instead support social projects and volunteer work by our employees, the employee donation campaign was launched in 2008. Under this scheme, employees propose projects for sponsorship in which they themselves are involved on a voluntary basis. Projects in recent years have ranged from a school partnership in Tanzania to animal welfare, support for mothers in Africa, a school construction project in Afghanistan, sponsorship of a trauma therapy center for children and young people, and many more.

Climate Solutions Partnership

In 2021, HSBC joined forces with the World Resources Institute (WIR), WWF and a network of local partners to launch the Climate Solutions Partnership. This is a five-year philanthropic project partnership that aims to develop climate solutions that contribute to a low-carbon economy and a sustainable and resilient future. The collaboration focuses on three global themes: supporting innovation of low-emission technologies, environmental protection and biodiversity, and assisting in the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy in Asia. The projects focus on reducing CO2 emissions. The financial framework provided by HSBC for five years amounts to 100 million US dollars.