Cooperation with Habitat for Humanity prolonged: Wienerberger helps to provide housing for people in need

• 10-year jubilee: Cooperation between Wienerberger and Habitat for Humanity International since 2012
• Help provided for about 5,000 people over the past ten years

Vienna – As a leading international supplier of building material and infrastructure solutions, Wienerberger is committed to creating the greatest possible benefit for society with its products and its expertise, not least by providing affordable and safe housing. Since 2012, the company has cooperated with Habitat for Humanity International, a non-governmental non-profit organization, on numerous social projects in various countries. At the beginning of this year, Wienerberger prolonged the cooperation agreement, which expired in 2021, until 2024. 

Within the framework of this cooperation, support has already been provided for about 5,000 people. During the past three years alone, the company helped 159 families and enabled them to live under better conditions; another 784 disadvantaged persons were supported through municipal projects, such as the construction of centers for people with disabilities, the establishment of community centers, or the renovation of school buildings.

ESG: Wienerberger’s commitment to corporate social responsibility

Within the framework of its Sustainability Program 2023, Wienerberger has set itself the following target relating to its corporate social responsibility: 200 housing units per year are to be built for people in need in the company’s local markets, and the annual product and cash donations are to be increased in all participating countries. Products and solutions from the entire “World of Wienerberger” from Europe and the USA are to be employed, such as clay blocks for interior and exterior walls as well as roof tiles from Wienerberger Building Solutions, ceramic and plastic pipes for drinking water supply and wastewater discharge from Pipelife, and facing bricks from General Shale in Wienerberger’s North America Business Unit.

Cooperation between Wienerberger and Habitat for Humanity International also extends to advocacy measures aimed at a housing policy that ensures the provision of energy-efficient and affordable homes for all. In this context, joint events are being organized to heighten the awareness for the importance of social housing among political stakeholders and the public administration. Moreover, within the framework of volunteer events, employees of the Wienerberger Group join forces to build homes for people in need.

Wienerberger and Habitat for Humanity: Implementation of numerous social projects

In Hungary, for example, Wienerberger supported the construction of a hostel in Miskolc for families visiting their autistic relatives living in Willow House. In Poland, where a family’s home and all their belongings were destroyed by a fire in December 2020, the company helped by renovating the roof. In Romania, Habitat for Humanity used product donations from Wienerberger to build four new houses in 2021, where four low-income families now have found a decent and affordable home. In the United States, numerous families benefited from donations by General Shale.

About Habitat for Humanity

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in South Georgia. Since its founding in 1976, the Christian housing organization has grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. To learn more, visit habitat.org.