Donations and Sponsorships

At WACKER – we see ourselves as an integral part of the society in which we live and work, which is why we take our social responsibilities seriously, especially in communities around our sites. Training young people in the natural sciences is especially important to us, because we will need dedicated scientists and engineers if we are to remain competitive. Charitable and outreach projects to help children and young people represent another pillar of our social commitment, while the WACKER relief fund (WACKER HILFSFONDS) provides support to victims of natural disasters and helps rebuild devastated regions. As part of our social commitment, we seek enduring partnerships, preferring to invest in long-term projects.

Group Donations and Sponsorships 2017/2018

Around half of our donations in the reporting period went to the SV Wacker Burghausen sports club (website available in German only) to promote popular sports, to “Die Arche” (The Ark; website available in German only), a German charity for the young, and to WACKER’s relief fund. With regard to our political lobbying in 2017, we donated a total of €15,000 in support of political campaigns.

Our sponsorship activities focus on education, science and the SV Wacker Burghausen soccer club. Our single largest commitment in education and science is our long-term sponsorship of the Institute for Silicon Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich. Funds of €540,000 and roughly €475,000 were paid out for this in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

In 2018, €152 million in current taxes went to governments throughout the world (2017: €92.8 million). For many years, WACKER has been the largest business taxpayer in Burghausen and Nünchritz, the locations of our two biggest German sites.

In addition to WACKER’s corporate taxes, governments also receive the personal taxes and social-security contributions paid by our employees.