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Social sustainability

Social sustainability: diverse and equitable

Making things happen with software. For reliable, more equitable supply chains. And a more equitable society overall. This is what drives us when it comes to social sustainability. Our focus here is on the UN Sustainable Development Goals of “Quality Education,” “Gender Equality,” and “Reduced Inequalities.”

Quality education

Promoting education. Improving opportunities. Developing personalities. That’s the slogan of the AEB-Stiftung, the charitable foundation we founded in 2017. The AEB-Stiftung is helping to build more schools in socially vulnerable areas of Uganda and Brazil, for example, and is involved with KinderHelden in Germany, which provides mentoring to disadvantaged children.
AEB funds the foundation’s activities from its annual profits.

Sample projects of the AEB-Stiftung

KinderHelden

KinderHelden creates “tandems,” pairing children who had a difficult start in life with local mentors who can intervene early on to offer personalized, preventive support.

Educare

Educare is committed to helping children in Brazil living in extreme poverty, giving them perspectives for the future.

ADEPT

ADEPT is dedicated to empowering young people in Uganda to earn their own living in a skilled profession.

More information on the AEB-Stiftung

Gender equality

The UN goal is to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere in the world. Women should be able to participate equally in political, economic, and public life. AEB has taken many internal actions toward gender equality. A few examples:

Launched “More Women in Leadership” initiative, including tandem and mentoring programs plus various workshops
Initiated a program to send female tech workers to participate in external events, provide info on careers in tech, and recruit more women for the industry
Published an internal “Guide to Inclusive and Gender-Neutral Language” to promote a more equitable dialog among all employees

Equal opportunity and reduced inequalities

We are committed to SDG 10: “Reduced Inequalities” – at our company, in Germany, and around the world. Within our direct sphere of influence, this means above all ensuring equal opportunity. This is a key pillar of our shared values and interactions. That’s why AEB is also fully committed to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Non-discrimination, freedom of expression, freedom of association, worker participation in management decisions, fair and satisfactory working conditions including equal pay for equal work and occupational health and safety: All these issues are near and dear to us in our own business operations. We’ve been busy on this front as well. Some examples:

Raised or harmonized standards and benefits (number of paid vacation days, etc.) at all AEB sites worldwide to the most advantageous conditions, as permitted under local laws
Established equitable working conditions at all AEB sites worldwide
Adopted policies to support employees who are caring for family members
Equipped workstations age-appropriately, made company’s HQ wheelchair accessible
Established a working group on inclusion

Our Sustainability Report, which we voluntarily published for the first time for the year 2022, offers a detailed look at our strategy, along with the programs and activities designed to support that strategy:

AEB Sustainability Report 2022

A look at some of our programs and initiatives

Vocational training in Uganda
Only 5% of those who graduate from public school in Uganda go on to a university, and only 15% attend a vocational school. So it’s not surprising that experts estimate youth unemployment to be around 80%. We’ve partnered with Adept to provide financial support and share technological expertise with St. Bruno Secondary School in Masaka’s heavily impoverished northern district of Ssaza.
Educational equity with KinderHelden
The nonprofit “KinderHelden” offers mentoring to children that have had a difficult start in life, and we support them through volunteering and financial assistance.
AEB Inclusive Language Guideline
An interdisciplinary working group has been partnering with an external consultant to develop a “Guide to Inclusive and Gender-Neutral Language” for AEB. The guide for external communications in German is complete, and the English version is in progress.
New Stiftung project “I will survive”
The “I will survive” project from EYD Social, a manufacturer of humanitarian fashion, supports young women in India who have survived human trafficking and exploitation, offering a broad program of support and education to give them a realistic chance of shaping an independent future for themselves. The AEB-Stiftung has initially pledged to support the “I will survive” project for three years.
AEB’s first Sustainability Report
AEB is not yet required to report on the company’s sustainability but decided to voluntarily publish its first report anyway. Various guidelines were studied, and the specifications were then tailored to AEB and implemented. This has helped us establish the foundations and processes for our first mandatory report on fiscal year 2024.
School and sanctuary in the slum
The residents of “Cracolândia” – the notorious neighborhood in São Paulo that is one of the world’s largest open-air drug markets – endure conditions that are unimaginable for us. The AEB-Stiftung has partnered with educare, providing funding and employee volunteers to build and run a preschool. Children here find not only a place of learning but a sanctuary and afterschool partner.