Our Commitment to Sustainability
Learn more on how Linde supports sustainable development.
The Many Faces of Charitable Work
Linde Engineering employees are actively supporting a variety of good causes and the company is also playing its part. Here are some examples, which might inspire you too.
In early December 2020, it became clear that there would be no real loosening of the COVID-19 restrictions in Germany before the holiday season and probably not even for quite some time afterwards. Thoughts turned once again to the needs of children and families. Keen to support socially disadvantaged children in particular, Linde Engineering Germany teamed up with SOS-Kinderdörfer (website in German only). This engagement was bolstered by management’s announcement that it would double the amount of donations from employees. In the short period leading up to the New Year in 2021, the money collected from employees greatly exceeded all expectations. When the top-up from management was added, a grand total of €15,303 was transferred to the organization in January to support its family support, education and healthcare work.
“Management bolstered the engagement with the announcement that it would double the amount of donations from employees.”
Rowing Against the Cancer Tide
Since October 2018, donating to good causes has been part of daily life at Linde Engineering Dresden. Andrea Huhn, assistant to the Managing Director LE Dresden and co-organizer of the initiative, explains: “In 2018, we decided to place donation boxes in all of our kitchens to express our sense of social solidarity.” The donations are gathered and counted every three months.
Several organizations have benefitted from this initiative in the meantime, including the children’s association “Dresdner Kinderhilfe”, the medical faculty foundation “Stiftung Hochschulmedizin” as well as a local children’s home. The proceeds from Q4 2020 were donated to the cancer survivors’ foundation “Stiftung Leben mit Krebs”. Since 2005, this foundation has been organizing “Rudern gegen Krebs” (rowing against the cancer) regattas across Germany in cooperation with local rowing clubs and oncological treatment facilities. According to Huhn: “Since 2011, Linde Dresden has been an active participant in the regattas with several boats lining up on the Elbe. We have been successful, too: Between 2014 and 2018, we have seen a number of colleagues take place of pride on the winners’ podium.” In 2020, the regatta had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations were still raised, however, to help bridge the gap.
Growing a Beard to Put a Smile on Kids’ Faces
It all began in 2019 as a joke among the Equipment Process Design and Computational Mechanics teams: Wanna bet that the boss can’t go for a whole month without shaving? By the following year, the entire department was on board with the “no-shave” month. Part of the team pledged that they wouldn’t touch their shaver for a whole month – with zero grooming of facial hair allowed. The rest of the team placed bets on whether they would succeed or fail. Stock was taken at the weekly video meetings, with either the shavers who caved or the unlucky betters paying two euros into the kitty. Sabrina Kroczek, one of the co-organizers, explains more: “All but one of our beard-growers saw it through, which undoubtedly had a lot to do with the fact that most of them were working from home due to the coronavirus. The No-Shave campaign proved to be a very good opportunity to strengthen the team’s sense of community in these unusual times.”
The teams decided to donate bet proceeds to the “cultural wishing tree” of the “Kulturraum München” association. This initiative allows socially disadvantaged children to wish for entry tickets to a wide choice of cultural institutions and events.
“The No-Shave campaign proved to be a very good opportunity to strengthen the team’s sense of community in these unusual times.”
Food for Families in Need
Whereas the “No-Shave” month idea originated in the USA, colleagues based in Tonawanda decided to take a very different trace. The LTC Connections Team worked together to coordinate the collection of food and monetary donations for FeedMore WNY. They used MS Teams background sales, the You Give Goods website and a partnership with the LTC EAC to raise funds. “Our team selected FeedMore WNY for this fundraiser because we felt that this organization is in high demand due to COVID-19,” shared Christine Kleinmann, Logistics Procedural Spec, Tonawanda. “Our goals for this project were to execute the fundraising, network with different groups at Linde and help this organization raise much-needed funds and food donations. This was a victory for everyone involved.”