ZKW takes social responsibility

Wieselburg, July 12, 2022

Lighting systems specialist focuses on environmental protection, refugee aid and sustainable business practices

ZKW is committed to sustainable business with a variety of activities. The lighting systems and electronic specialist also promotes sustainability and environmental protection. For example, employees at the ZKW plant in Wiener Neustadt cleaned up the area around the plant during a “hallway cleaning event”. The company also supports the integration of refugees. On the platform “jobs-for-ukraine.at” ZKW offers vacancies in the areas of research & development, production environment and quality control. At the Mexican plant in Silao, ZKW employees promote and took part in fundraising activities for nonprofit foundations that focus on helping children and families fighting against cancer. In addition, the annual reforestation will take place in the Presa la Purísima nature reserve area again. The workforce at the ZKW site in Olomouc, Czech Republic, also set an example of sustainability by planting 4,000 trees. “Sustainable business has a central priority. With the various social and ecological projects, we are assuming social responsibility,” says Dr Wilhelm Steger, CEO of the ZKW Group.

Collecting and avoiding waste

Environmental protection is actively practiced at ZKW. At the joint hallway cleaning event on 29 April, the employees of the ZKW electronics plant in Wiener Neustadt collected waste in the vicinity of the company premises. After more than two hours, the ZKW team was able to fill and dispose of numerous rubbish bags. The action was supported by the city of Wiener Neustadt, which provided rubbish bags and grab tongs. “The aim is to support sustainability and environmental protection, but also to promote community and team building,” says Mathias Köhler, General Plant Manager at ZKW Elektronik GmbH.

Jobs for Ukraine

ZKW uses the jobs-for-ukraine.at platform to place vacancies specifically for refugees. ZKW has already hired its first employees from Ukraine at the Slovakian plant in Krušovce. Now jobs are also to be placed at the plant in Wiener Neustadt with the help of the platform. A particularly good knowledge of German is not a prerequisite. The vacancies are advertised in research & development, but also in the production environment and in the quality area. In addition, ZKW supports fundraising for the Ukrainian refugees. “We want to offer the refugees qualified job opportunities and thus help them integrate,” Köhler emphasizes.

Rapid neighbourly help

As a quick and unbureaucratic relief action, the Slovakian ZKW plant in Krušovce organized the collection of food, hygiene articles and other products from drugstore. Together with the national organisation Úsmev ako dar, which helps the needy, ZKW employees were able to collect around four boxes of food, toiletries, and cosmetics in four days. The donations benefited Ukrainian refugees, but also needy Slovakian families. The collected items were donated to 15 families and helped them to overcome difficult period of life and brought smile and happiness to their faces.

ZKW Slovakia took also part in “Our City” on the 10th of June, biggest company volunteering in Slovakia. During this day our employees repainted the fence at Kuzmany street in Topoľčany.

Donation campaign for cancer patients

At the Mexican plant in Silao, the employees took part in the continuous campaign that focuses on collecting plastic bottle caps for children with cancer. The organization Alucca collects the donations for treatments and medicines for cancer patients and their families. ZKW Silao also collects wastepaper for the Erandi charity, which also supports children under this condition. In addition, ZKW employees support a fundraising campaign for a nursing home in Silao by donating food and medical supplies. As a contribution to environmental protection, the employees will once again plant trees in the Presa La Purísima nature reserve area.

4,000 trees planted in Olomouc

In the Czech Republic, the workforce at the ZKW site in Olomouc is also committed to a healthy environment. During the “green” day of action, 35 employees planted 4,000 young trees near the village of Bradlo Nová Hradečná. The engineering-team in Olomouc wanted to set an example of sustainability, reduce our carbon footprint and also take the chance to do a team building.

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Note: This report was published as part of Autofox Helps program and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, currently to help mitigate the effects of the war in Ukraine.