Corporate Social Responsibility Week

Inspired by the 2018 Summit in The Hague, Christin and Eva developed the idea of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) week within the company – a project that did not exist at this point in time. As the largest railway operator in Europe, Deutsche Bahn carries a huge responsibility for society. The goal of the CSR week is to transfer this responsibility directly to social and sustainable initiatives across Germany.

Within eight weeks, a concept was born: one employee in each region of the country was acquired, who was then appointed to coordinate social and sustainable initiatives in the respective region. On each day of a chosen week in autumn, employees in different offices could then organise initiatives. #DBhandson (in German #DBpacktan) is by now the biggest CSR week within Deutsche Bahn, taking place once a year. The first step for Eva and Christin was to convince stakeholders like the leadership team and the Works Council. All employees were offered to dedicate one working day during the CSR week to support one of the organised sustainable and social impact initiatives. As enthusiasm and support among the employees involved was so great, even members of the management board joined the CSR week.

Supported initiatives vary in their scope, from virtual projects such as identifying wheelchair accessible locations via an app, engaging with patients at a childs´ hospice to physical projects like cleaning rivers and assisting in homeless shelters, only to name a few. The first CSR-week in 2019 was supported by 350 participants, volunteering in 18 projects in 8 different cities. One year later, the movement managed to increase participation to 400 employees, supporting 28 different projects across 12 cities. The fact that even during a pandemic the level of support for pursuing the CSR week was so tremendous left all project members and supporters filled with pride and conviction to carry on, no matter how uncertain times may be.

#DBhandson has created a community that has a strong social awareness within Deutsche Bahn. Plans for 2021 are to focus even more strongly on virtual activities as well as expanding the CSR week within the company. One example of a planned initiative is to repurpose a VIP customer phone line to provide remote support for elderly people isolated in quarantine. Additionally, Eva and Christin’s colleague and fellow Ambassador, Silja, is currently implementing a consultation process to ensure that people with disabilities who applied for roles at Deutsche Bahn are connected to suitable employment opportunities, inspired by Caroline Casey’s speech at the One Young World Summit.