The Henkel Friendship Initiative (HFI), established in 2003, is a charitable association whose remit is to provide aid to people in need throughout the world in a fast and unbureaucratic manner. The HFI board is made up of Henkel employees and retirees  who work on behalf of the association on an honorary, volunteer basis. The basic principle of HFI is: All donations are paid out in full to those who need them most - i.e. Henkel assumes the associated administrative and ancillary costs. Henkel provides financial and in-kind assistance directly to where it is needed, especially in response to major disasters. Private individuals can also channel support for specific projects through the Henkel Friendship Initiative.

May 2003: Just a few days after it was established, the Henkel Friendship Initiative met its first test in the form of an earthquake in the north of Algeria. The immediate victims included many Henkel employees and their dependants.

To support the victims of the 2003 flood desaster in Germany, the Henkel Friendship Initiative raised more than 565,000 euros donated by Henkel employees, retirees and the Company itself. Thanks to the granted time off work and the help of many retirees, Henkel employees were able to offer direct help without high administrative costs.

December 2004: On Boxing Day, the tsunami in the Indian ocean claimed the lives of innumerable people and swept away the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands more. Henkel, its employees and its retirees, the Henkel family and third-party partners collected more than 600,000 euros in order to give the people in the region some hope for the future.

August 2005: Hurricane Katrina swept across the southern states of the USA, causing enormous damage. Henkel people everywhere responded immediately, collecting donations in support of the victims. Every cent donated privately was matched by the company.

October 2005: Two months later, Hurricane Stan laid waste to entire tracts of land in Guatemala. Here again, Henkel employees were able to identify and support useful aid projects in the areas affected. One such was the reconstruction of the 'San Juan Bautista' school in Amatitlán.

October 2005: In the same month and on the other side of the world, around seven million people in India and Pakistan were hit by a serious earthquake in the Kashmir region. Henkel provided an immediate aid package amounting to 100,000 US dollars. Working together with our employees and the UN High Commissioner for Pakistan and India, the Managing Director at our Indian site - A. Satish Kumar - channeled valuable immediate aid to the victims in support of their efforts to reconstruct their destroyed towns and villages. Henkel employees are currently involved in preparations to initiate new aid projects for 2007.

May 2006: Ten Henkel employees and their families were heavily hit by this catastrophe. In order to help the people in most need, Henkel provided them via the HFI with financial aid for a new start. In addition, an elementary school is currently being built with HFI help in Yogyakarta, the capital of the island.