Global Social Commitment Close to Our Sites

As a good corporate citizen, we support education, science, and research projects near our sites. Worldwide. But we also ensure continuous development and equal opportunities within our company.

Mathematics, computer science, and technology are key drivers of social progress and play a decisive role in economic development. Scientific solutions also pave the way for our company to achieve its environmental and climate protection goals. ALTANA therefore seeks to introduce young people to the natural sciences at an early age and arouse their enthusiasm for them. To this end, as a good neighbor, we support a variety of projects close to our sites together with experienced partners. To achieve a lasting effect, our support extends over several years if possible. ALTANA is also involved in multiple social projects.

Go directly to the main topics:

Promoting elementary school children and creating equal opportunities

“Jugend gründet”: ALTANA enables research trips to the U.S.

House of Junior Researchers: Promoting young researchers at elementary schools and daycare centers

Advanced training brings teachers and top STEM researchers together

Further development and equal opportunity at ALTANA

Other worldwide projects

Promoting elementary school children and creating equal opportunities

ALTANA has been supporting an "educational coaching” project at the largest community elementary school (GGS Innenstadt) in Wesel since 2014. The project was initiated by the city of Wesel and is implemented by the Klausenhof Academy in close cooperation with GGS Innenstadt. Its main aim is to help support disadvantaged children of elementary school age and to help achieve equal opportunities for children with a migration background and from socially disadvantaged families. ALTANA finances the personnel and material costs of a socio-educational expert at the Klausenhof Academy. The expert finds mentors for the children, qualifies them, and coordinates their activities. More than 60 children have been supported since the project began in 2014. One of them is Leon. Read the whole story here: “Leon is Now on the Ball”. There are currently 15 volunteer mentors who individually support and challenge the girls and boys in their personal development according to their abilities.

"Jugend gründet": ALTANA enables research trips to the U.S.

ALTANA supports the competition “Jugend gründet” (Youth Startups), sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Since 2015 the company is offering a special prize in chemistry. In the national finals in 2022 the four students Milan von dem Bussche, Simon Kolb, Noel Lieder, and Claas Vietor won the prize as “QiTech Industries” team. The student team from St. Katharinen Gymnasium in Oppenheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, impressed with their machine ecosystem for recycling plastic waste into 3D printing filament.

The ALTANA Special Prize for Chemistry is coupled with a trip to Wallingford on the East Coast of the U.S., where the winners can visit one of the ALTANA Group's largest research and production sites at BYK USA and take part in an interesting social program.

House of Junior Researchers: Promoting young scientists at elementary schools and daycare centers

For many years now, ALTANA has participated as a regional network partner in the promotion of a new generation of scientists in cooperation with the Germany-wide foundation “Haus der kleinen Forscher” (House of Junior Researchers). In this context, our school ambassadors support special project weeks at one elementary school in Wesel and at the German Red Cross (DRK) daycare center Abenteuerland, respectively. The project weeks serve to kindle the children’s interest in scientific phenomena and to train their problem-solving skills.

In addition, we traditionally invite the little researchers along with their parents, teachers, and educators to our group headquarters once a year. At our premises, they can spend an afternoon presenting their experiments and research results from the project weeks.

Advanced training brings teachers and top STEM researchers together

Passion for STEM subjects starts with enthusiastic teachers. That is why ALTANA has been supporting a nationwide training program organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Club of Germany since 2016 aimed specifically at science teachers. Under the motto “School with Science,” the three-day conference gives teachers a platform to exchange experiences and serves the mediation of new scientific findings. Without the support of sponsors such as ALTANA, the top-class event with Nobel Prize winners and other scientists would not be possible.

Further development and equal opportunity at ALTANA

Our employees are our most important resource. As a result, it is important for ALTANA to ensure equal opportunity. Among other things, ALTANA continues to focus on promoting women in management positions. Our medium- to long-term goal is to increase the share of women in leadership positions in the entire ALTANA Group to the percentage of women among the company’s employees worldwide. 

To further increase the share of women in management positions, we are implementing the LEADING WOMEN@ALTANA initiative in Germany, as one example. The initiative includes a twelve-month mentoring program for women in which teams of two consisting of a mentee and mentor meet at regular intervals. The female or male mentor shares her or his knowledge and experience with the mentee. 

ALTANA is consistently focused on sustainable profitable growth. We know that we can only achieve this goal together with our employees. For this reason, we promote the professional development of our employees, prepare them for management positions, and give them a share in the company’s success. We also pay particular attention to recruiting junior staff, specialists, and managers. 

You can find even more insights and testimonials on our career page.

Other worldwide projects