Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is part of the Schwabe Group’s sustainability strategy. The Group’s CSR work rests on several pillars and is brought to life through many different channels both within the Schwabe Group and in its circles. As a corporate group we take on responsibility in society and want to be a good corporate citizen, active in helping to improve the world we live in.
CSR at the Schwabe Group
Corporate social responsibility has always been an integral aspect of the Schwabe Group. Our company founder, Dr. Willmar Schwabe, worked on behalf of the needy for good health care. The Schwabe Group went on to continue this sense of commitment, regularly supporting social projects in Germany and South Africa.
For years now, our social responsibility has been gaining more and more ground, and not just in the financial sense. We have been able to facilitate additional education projects in Africa thanks to the significant investments made possible because of many large and small donations and the work of the Africa Runners.
But on top of growing financial support, we have also been receiving moral support and are pleased to see more and more involvement from people inside and outside of the Schwabe Group. Dedicated colleagues at Schwabe affiliated companies and subsidiaries around the world initiate their own CSR projects, find inspiration from successful ideas elsewhere in the Group and develop these ideas themselves. Over the years, our involvement has truly gained momentum.
Social involvement has always been our habit
In the context of our corporate social responsibility efforts, we have already spent several years promoting regional social endeavors at our sites around the world, and our employees help decide what projects to support. Our Schwabe Corporate Grant and Schwabe Community Grant provide assistance to the work that is close to our employees’ hearts and where they dedicate their energy. This brings us close to the initiatives which want to achieve something and need support — in the heart of society and the center of what keeps it together.
At the same time, we finance a number of extensive educational projects for children and young people in southern Africa via the Umckaloabo Foundation.
With the Umckaloabo Foundation, we have also created a platform where we can streamline all of our CSR activities, whether it be fund-raising efforts our employees organize, CSR initiatives with our business partners, or investments that the Schwabe Group makes in educational projects.
We engage in ongoing dialogue with the CSR delegates at our affliiated companies so we can anchor the issue of CSR more prominently at our global Schwabe Group sites in the future and continue to develop it together.
Good schooling creates perspectives for the future -
like here at St. Francis and Clare Secondary School in Zambia.
The Umckaloabo Foundation promotes early childhood development centers in Eastern Cape, South Africa
The class of 2021 at St. Ignatius Secondary School.
We promote informal learning such as
the Scout Center in Mpumalanga, South Africa, the “heart” of the region’s Scouting activities.
The Umckaloabo Foundation creates opportunities in contemporary job fields.
The Umckaloabo Foundation
Since it was first established over fiftenn years ago, the
All in all we have committed over seven million euros to this work. We want to increase the amount by a half million a year with the objective of supporting educational initiatives in southern Africa with a total of ten million euros by 2030. In our report marking the 15th anniversary of the Umckaloabo Foundation, we share the milestones and successes of our work.
Several colleagues in Karlsruhe have also become active volunteers on behalf of the Umckaloabo Foundation. For example, there is a workgroup that coordinates the scholarship program for Zambia and Malawi. This way we can inspire more of our colleagues to get involved and to anchor our sense of social responsibility more solidly within our company.
The
Schwabe Community Grant - working together for our region
Furthermore, as one of the largest employers in Karlsruhe, we want to help make this part of the world a place with a high quality of life — in no small part because the our company headquarters is located in the same city that many of our employees call home. This is how we become involved as good corporate citizens in our region.
We particularly want to encourage the ideas and the sense of commitment that is present in the Schwabe Group and which manifests in a wide range of volunteer activities. This is why the Schwabe Group awards the Schwabe Community Grant twice a year in which it gives €1000 each to five different projects. In doing so, we support social, environmental and cultural work where Schwabianers are active. Together we can achieve more while also honoring the dedication of our employees.
Not all Schwabe employees call the Karlsruhe region their home, which is why we also support initiatives for employees who live in other parts of the world.
The Schwabe Corporate Grant for Schwabe employees around the world
The Schwabe Group encourages the charitable work of its employees around the world, and as a result it initiated the Schwabe Corporate Grant. The Grant awards up to €3,000 to a maximum of five groups in which Schwabe employees are actively involved. Everyone in the Group is welcome to apply, regardless of whether they work at an international site or in Germany.
Employees who actively contribute their time to a social, cultural or environmental initiative are invited to submit their application in the spring. Our employees’ volunteer work has many faces: for example, employees are active in inclusive theater groups or sports clubs, local or global environmental initiatives, educational projects for children or social endeavors such as a neighborhood assistance program or hospice services.
There are many examples of how people at Schwabe get involved …
Schwabe employees taking part in city cycling campaign STADTRADELN – collecting kilometers, saving CO₂, staying fit.
13 Schwabianers ran at the 2025 Turmberglauf race in Durlach and raised nearly 2,700 euros for “A School in Africa.”
Packaging materials, cigarette butts, disposable coffee cups — everything ends up in a trash bag at the Schwabe Cleanup.
Just in time before the wild bees’ breeding season, volunteer Schwabianers prepare the insect nesting aid at Terra Medica and clean out nesting boxes for the next generation of birds.
Project trips make it possible for people to encounter each other as peers and for Europeans to experience everyday life in South Africa.
Schwabianers contribute!
Schwabe employees are active in a variety of different ways – spending their free time involved in socially-oriented activities, working as volunteers for the Umckaloabo Foundation or taking part in events they themselves organize for a good cause.
In the spring, Schwabianers at company headquarters in Karlsruhe hop on their bicycles to take part in the Stadtradeln City Cycling campaign to rack up kilometers together, prevent CO2 emissions and have fun. Other Schwabe employees join in as
Inclusion at Terra Medica
Social responsibility holds a high priority within the Schwabe Group. At the
In 2023, an inclusive daily structure was created for a young adult as part of his individual participation entitlement. Guided by an educational specialist, he follows a structured daily routine that includes everyday tasks as well as small activities connected to company operations. Being closely integrated into workplace life enables genuine participation and fosters interaction with employees — an important element of successful inclusion.
This project not only provides a protected environment for the young adult but also enriches the team on site, who can no longer imagine working without their “colleague.” In 2025, a teenager with a disability was also able to complete a school internship at Terra Medica, accompanied by his personal caregiver.
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