Henkel recognizes its responsibility to society and reflects this in its business practices. Our social commitment is firmly embedded in our corporate values and in our corporate history. It is based on the conviction that solutions which are jointly reached on a basis of   partnership will benefit all concerned.

We have grouped all of our social involvement programs – international corporate citizenship activities that go beyond our business undertakings – under the Henkel Smile umbrella. With this program, we promote and support social, educational, scientific, cultural, leisure, sports, health and environmental projects. Alongside material contributions, an important role is played by the people who also devote their enthusiasm, understanding, willingness to help, and personal commitment to their project ideas.

The effect is, without exception, positive; for society as a whole, as significant contributions are made toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations; for regions and communities, as employees at Henkel sites address local challenges and provide targeted support where it is needed; and for the employees and pensioners, whose bonds are strengthened through this shared commitment. In addition, we have linked our sponsoring activities more closely to our social commitment and have persuaded numerous sponsoring partners to join us in supporting social projects. These partnerships will be expanded even further in the future.

To further align Henkel Smile to our company strategy and corporate objectives, as well as to improve transparency and clarity in communications, we have restructured our worldwide corporate citizenship activities. Since late 2007, Henkel Smile is structured around three core elements:

•    Make an Impact on Tomorrow (MIT) – Employee engagement
•    Social Partnerships – Corporate and brand engagement
•    Henkel Friendship Initiative (HFI) – Emergency fund

With Henkel Smile we have created an international harmonized communication platform for our global activities. Clear guidelines assist especially the regional implementation of Henkel Smile projects. In 2007, the total sum provided to foster these activities was about 7.5 million euros.

Through MIT, we support the volunteer work of our employees and retirees with in-kind, product and financial donations, paid time off from work, and specialist advice from Henkel. Thanks to their voluntary initiatives, their dedication, their readiness to help, and their willingness to assume responsibility, more than 5000 community projects have been supported and carried since the launch of the Initiative in 1998. The main emphasis is on the extent of the volunteer engagement and the influence of the employee. The greater the involvement of the employee or retiree in the project, the greater the possible support by Henkel. In 2008, our MIT initiative celebrates its ten year anniversary. 

In social partnerships, Henkel and its brands support training and continuing education and facilitate access to knowledge. Through social partnerships, we mainly support social initiatives in the communities where our sites are located throughout the world. Social partnerships strengthen the link between the steadily expanding social aspects of our sponsoring activities and our social engagement, while always maintaining a strict distinction between donations and sponsoring. We have been able to inspire numerous partners to join us in assuming responsibility and providing support for social projects.

Through Corporate Donations, we support social initiatives and public institutions around the world. One of the main aims of our donations initiative is to invest in training and continuing education, and to make knowledge accessible. Political parties are not supported.

The Henkel Friendship Initiative, established in 2003, is a non-profit organization whose objective is to provide aid to people in need throughout the world in a fast and non-bureaucratic manner. Particularly in the aftermath of natural disasters, the Initiative helps victims directly with financial and other aid and supports longer-term reconstruction measures.