Donations & sponsorship
Corporate Social Responsibility
For Zeppelin as a foundation-owned company, business and corporate social responsibility are inseparable. The Group transfers part of its profits to the Zeppelin Foundation, which uses the money exclusively for charitable and benevolent purposes. In addition, the Group is committed to charitable causes in the areas of education, research, science, health, sport, social affairs, integration, art and culture. A Group-wide policy defines binding instructions for granting donations and sponsorship funds. Individuals and parties do not form part of the target group.
In the fall of 2020, a donation committee was set up at Group level. This is made up of members of the Group Management Board, the Head of Group Auditing and the Group Compliance Officer. In its regular meetings, the Donations Committee reviews all donation applications for more than 1,000 euros and is guided by the Group’s donation strategy described above.
Progress in donations
- Allocate donations in accordance with the foundation’s ethos and vision on the company’s economic earning power: Donation amount in relation to Group net income1 annually at a minimum of 0.5 – 1%
The donations and sponsoring contributions made by the Zeppelin Group in recent years is shown below. The individual sums are divided across education, culture, science, social affairs, sport and others. The budget, which is available annually for promotional purposes, is based on the economic earnings power (earnings before taxes) of the Group, taking into account the foundation’s ethos. The measured variable is calculated from the total donations in a calendar year in relation to the Group net income after reductions. The target range is between 0.5 and 1% per year. With a donation amount of around EUR 1.2 million (1.2% in relation to Group net income), Zeppelin achieved its goal in the 2023 fiscal year.
In 2023, the Zeppelin Group spent EUR 2.87 million on donations and sponsorships. Approximately 42% of this sum is attributable to donations and 58% to sponsorship. Education received the largest share of the funding.
| Distribution of expenses for donations and sponsorships in 2023 | Donations (€) | Sponsorships (€) |
|---|---|---|
| Education1 | 873,423 | 579,125 |
| Culture | 22,392 | 60,765 |
| Science | 60,000 | 0 |
| Social affairs | 138,334 | 1,330 |
| Sport | 10,160 | 803,328 |
| Miscellaneous | 92,738 | 228,784 |
| Total (in euros) | 1,197,047 | 1,673,332 |
| Share of total expenses | 42% | 58% |
| Total in relation to consolidated total income2 | 1.2% | 1.7% |
| 1 Including funding for Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen. 2 Net profit after tax attributable to the shareholders of Zeppelin GmbH (see Annual Report 2023, p. 96). |
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Measures in 2023
Donations
For many years, the Zeppelin Group has regularly supported Zeppelin University (ZU) in Friedrichshafen, founded in 2003. The foundation’s university of applied sciences is now attended by more than 1,200 young people studying toward bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The Zeppelin Group promotes faculty chairs for business theory and international business theory.
The Zeppelin Group also supports the JUST! Zeppelin Youth Foundation, which was established in 1990 by Zeppelin GmbH and Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH. Its aim is to support the education and training of young talent from the Friedrichshafen and Ravensburg-Weingarten region. Every two years the Foundation allocates sponsorship awards worth EUR 25,000 in total, recognizing outstanding work in natural sciences and engineering, economics, and social and cultural science. The prize winners are presented to the public and awarded the JUST! Award for impressive school projects and scientific papers.
Zeppelin supports Friedrichshafen Wissenswerkstatt, for example, which has made it its mission to interest and inspire young people about technology. This knowledge workshop enables them to work on specific technical projects, such as robot vehicles or air-water rockets. As the organization works closely with schools, universities, and chambers of commerce and industry, this also opens up professional prospects for young people. The Zeppelin Group has been supporting the Friedrichshafen knowledge workshop with donations for several years and supports the development of special online education formats for children.
In the Social area, the company is also involved in child and youth welfare projects around the world. Zeppelin has been supporting the charitable organization Home from Home for several years now. The organization’s focus is creating a better future for orphans, HIV-positive children and those who are no longer with their families, in the townships near Cape Town. Supporting projects in the health sector is also an important part of our social commitment. For example, Zeppelin regularly supports St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research, which is dedicated to improving the diagnosis and therapy of cancer in children and adolescents. As part of the Tire Recycling Day in October 2023 in Friedrichshafen, Zeppelin collected old tires for donations that benefited the StreuObstGarten Weilermühle.
An annual donation project also takes place at Christmas and is organized by the trainees in the Zeppelin Group. In 2023, a total of 19,669 euros was collected and a variety of organizations were supported, including Lebenshilfe München, SOS Kinderdörfer (children’s villages), Deutsche Krebshilfe (German cancer charity) and Ankerland.
Sponsorships
Fair play and sportsmanship are firmly anchored in Zeppelin’s corporate culture. Which is why the Group is expressly committed to promoting sport and, in particular, team sports. Zeppelin feels a special connection between Friedrichshafen and the Lake Constance region, and has been supporting VfB Friedrichshafen as a sponsor to the volleyball, football, and badminton divisions for many years. Since 2022, the Group has also been an official partner of the HSG Friedrichshafen/Fischbach sports community and the associated Blisshards handball club. At the Garching site, VfR Garching is supported with the aim of HR marketing.
Zeppelin is also a promoter in the arts and culture sector. The Deutsches Museum’s network of friends and sponsors in Munich, the “Kultur Caserne” cultural initiative in Friedrichshafen, and the Tyrolean Festival Erl are regular recipients of support. Individual projects are also considered, with donations made on an ad hoc basis.