2020 Sustainability Report

70 Social affairs Corporate citizenship We regard it as our duty to make a contribution to society. Where feasible, we employ peo- ple with disabilities or those who have had to flee from their own country. Asylum seekers, who are sometimes traumatised by their tragic experiences and usually have language difficulties at first, often stand no chance when they first enter the jobs market. So we try even harder to give these people, disadvantaged through no fault of their own, an offer of employment. Such opportunities have so far mainly been available at the Endingen site. We work there with 48° Süd GmbH. 48° Süd is a not-for-profit organisation that offers routes to qualifica- tions and employment, sponsored by the Caritas foundation and local authorities in the dis- trict of Emmendingen. 48° Süd helps people who have difficulty accessing the jobs market to gain qualifications and find employment. This includes the long-term unemployed, the disabled and migrants. Thanks to this partnership, in 2019 and 2020 we were able to offer permanent employment to four individuals who successfully completed internships with us. In addition, in 2020 a young man from Somalia successfully completed his training as a warehouseman. We were happy to offer him a permanent job. Another trainee from Afghanistan will probably finish his training as an industrial upholsterer in 2021. If neces- sary we can also offer assistance with attending vocational college. The cost is borne by the company. In Endingen there is also the option of so-called retrospective qualification. This means that an employee is taken on but works for us without having completed any vocational training. The employee continues to be paid but can catch up on the training afterwards. We as their employer receive a salary subsidy in compensation. Girsberger works to encourage social interaction in society by entering into partnerships with organisations that work for the good of the community. We want to live up to our so- cial responsibilities and make an active contribution to bringing about lasting social change in the places where we are based. We support organisations offering protected jobs for people with a disability, such as regional job centres (RAZ), the WBM Foundation Madiswil, the Black Forest Workshop in Dornstetten and the Caritas workshop in Riegel. Since 2017, Girsberger GmbH has been involved in the FAIR Ways scheme run by the Freiburg Sports Club, an association of 15 partners committed to supporting initiatives on education, exercise, the environment and solidarity. We attach similar importance to our membership of associations and organisations that are committed to environmental issues, sustainable business management, and social and economic matters. Examples include the think tank Avenir Suisse; B.A.U.M. (German Environmental Management Association) and öbu, a Swiss network for sustainable business. In future we plan to make it easier our employees to combine voluntary work with their family life and their job. They can fill in a form to report their voluntary work and, once this has been checked, will receive a time credit, i.e. special leave of up to two days a year.