Communities

Growing responsibly. Together and wherever

Social and cultural development of local communities

Over the years, Brembo has established close ties to the local areas where it is present, paying attention to the needs they express, and defining a path of joint development and growth, which leads the Group to provide tangible support to numerous projects and initiatives in favour of local communities in the areas of greatest social needs.

In order to guarantee structured and strategic management of social initiatives, the Group set up a central Social and Cultural Sponsorships and Donations Committee. This body periodically brings together the Heads of the main corporate functions, in order to define criteria, guidelines and priorities on which to focus sponsorships and donations in the social and cultural arena, establish the annual budget allocated to these activities, evaluate projects and initiatives to support, as well as monitor the compliance and efficacy of the projects being promoted.

In particular, in 2022 the Group supported initiatives in six areas of intervention viewed as priorities:

► Social area and children protection

► Education, training and research

► Art and culture

► Sport

► Environment and sustainability

► Brembo's social projects worldwide

Safe Haven

The war in Ukraine has forced millions of people to leave their homes to reach safer places, often beyond the country's borders. Poland has been one of the main destinations for Ukrainian refugees, for whom reception and first aid facilities have been set up.

The "Safe Haven" project stems from Brembo's desire to bring concrete help to these people, giving priority to the most vulnerable who need specific care and attention, difficult to receive within large reception centres.

The project was conceived and developed by Brembo, in collaboration with the Foundation Cesvi, to create a "safe haven" for Ukrainian mothers with children, people with disabilities and the elderly welcomed at the Palace Europe Hotel in Lublin, one of the Polish cities, close to the border with Ukraine, which has been under more strain by the high number of refugees arriving.

The facility was dedicated entirely to the project’s needs. Inside, the people welcomed were able to benefit from the hotel services and all the necessary commodities to try to rebuild everyday life. The large communal areas hosted conferences and opportunities for socialisation for adults, recreational and play activities for the youngest and educational spaces for the school-age children who continued their education by connecting online with Ukrainian teachers.

In addition, the support of the local organisations involved by the Foundation Cesvi allowed the organisation of additional activities. These included the Polish language course for adults, job search guidance, legal assistance with Polish legislation and psychological support.

The project ended in mid-August, about one hundred days after its inception. The goal of accommodating one hundred people inside the facility was achieved in the first few weeks. Following the return of some families to Ukraine in July, new guests were welcomed, for a total of 114 beneficiaries of the "Safe Haven" project”.

The Art of Braking – una mostra spettacolo alla scoperta del freno

“The Art of Braking” was the first exhibition dedicated to Brembo in the Company’s history. A fascinating journey through materials, colours, style and the evolution of its solutions that was able to bring the general public closer, interested in discovering how a vehicle safety tool, such as the brake, can also become art and be told through immersive experiences, light design and engaging installations.

Brembo starred in an exhibition at Mudec, the Museum of Cultures in Milan, where it managed to create culture around products that are an expression of high technology and design, but that conceal an even more surprising world, brought to light for the first time through the language of art.

Conceived and developed in collaboration with Balich Wonder Studio, "The Art of Braking" retraced the stages of Brembo's entrepreneurial adventure. Within the exhibition, history and products came together in an exhibition route divided into eight thematic sections: origin and birth, racing, research, style, design, the world and the future. In the last section, dedicated to the challenges of tomorrow and sustainability, an "Infinity room" generated by the mirrored surface of the Greentive brake disc projected visitors into a more sustainable future.

It was a public success that attracted about 10 thousand visitors in the two weeks of opening. Visitors — interested in exploring the rooms and discovering the Brembo world — included people passionate about art or simply intrigued by the original proposal of an exhibition dedicated to the brake. They were enchanted by the wave of coloured calipers and the immersive laser room, as well as enjoying the hall of mirrors. It was an opportunity to take selfies and post social media content, which amplified the visibility of the exhibition and of Brembo itself.

Brembo is system partner of Bergamo-Brescia Italian Capital of Culture 2023

Brembo has decided to support Bergamo Brescia Italian Capital of Culture 2023 as a system partner, an exceptionally important initiative that is committed to gathering energy and listening to the protagonists of the local area in which Brembo has its roots, promoting reflections on the present and possible future.

The project is an example of virtuous collaboration between two urban centres that, for the first time, have been honoured as just one Italian Capital of Culture. This is a recognition of the history of Bergamo and Brescia, of their internationally important cultural and artistic heritage and, at the same time, of the inventive, design and implementation capabilities of the people and companies that highlight the local area’s ability to do well and their concrete approach.

These same values are part of Brembo's DNA. The Group has always been oriented towards innovation and research to create functional, high-performance products with a distinctive design. It is on the basis of these common traits between the company and its local area that Brembo enthusiastically shares the objectives of the initiative with a view to continuous improvement and shared growth.

The Brembo Forest in Kenya and the project within the Biodiversity Park in Chakan, India

To celebrate the 60th anniversary since its foundation and in partnership with Treedom , in 2021 Brembo initiated a forest sponsorship project by donating a tree subscription to every person working for it, thus giving life to the first Brembo Forest in the world in Kenya, in the Victoria Lake region. The initiative, called "Brembo4Earth - A gift for you, our forest for the planet", was conducted in partnership with Treedoallowed 14 thousand trees to be planted there in a combination of stem and fruit species depending on local area needs.

The Brembo Forest contributes to the achievement of ten of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, bringing both environmental and social benefits, allowing the development of agroforestry projects to be promoted, as well as the provision of profitable alternatives for the populations, together with local farmers' cooperatives. In 2022, monitoring of the Brembo Forest continued and local initiatives were set up to help environmental and biodiversity protection, such as support for the Biodiversity Park in Chakan, India.

This project was carried out keeping in mind the Miyawaki forest restoration technique, which enhances biodiversity. To make biodiversity conservation part of the culture of the people who live there, this forest will be made available as a platform for conservation education.

The Miyawaki afforestation technique was devised by the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki and involves a dense and mixed forest, populated by large, medium and small canopy trees, shrubs and creepers. The tree species are selected from natural forests, allowing rapid restoration of the original ecosystem.

The selection of species is a decisive phase of the project: these can have medicinal properties or produce fruit or flowers, which also contribute to recreating the natural habitat for indigenous animal species. Indirect benefits, including environmental and ecological ones, are, for example, the soil’s increased ability to retain water and its nutrients, microclimate cooling, pollutant absorption and carbon dioxide retention.

House of Smiles

As a result of the collaboration between Brembo and Foundation CESVI, an NGO founded in Bergamo in 1985 and involved in supporting development and combating poverty, the House of Smile was inaugurated in 2017 in Pune, India.

The project aims to support highly vulnerable women and children and consists of a service centre within a building located in Bibwewadi and three education centres for children in poor areas on the outskirts of Pune. Swadhar, the local NGO, operates within the service and education centre hub, coordinating the psychological support, legal guidance, healthcare and career assistance services for women and the support services for young mothers. Swadhar also promotes activities for children between the ages of 3 and adolescence in favour of education and children protection.

In 2022, 503 children, divided into classes by age, attended daily classroom sessions in the three educational centres, consisting of fully structured and equipped facilities, and took part in a programme aimed at encouraging literacy, supporting study, civic education and proper, healthy nutrition. The operators’ support was also aimed at parents, through family counselling activities, both individual and group, and early childhood support, involving a total of 588 adults (452 women and 136 men).

Assistance to the women and children of Thane

During 2022, Brembo started, in close coordination with Cesvi, a collaboration with an Indian organisation called Proaction.

Thanks to Brembo's support, Proaction launched a two-year project aimed at providing a series of socio-educational services for women working in the textile sector and for their sons and daughters.

Near Mumbai, in a town called Thane, a day facility has been created for children aged 3 to 14 years, aimed at supporting their psychophysical growth and learning processes. This is a multi-functional space where, in addition to educational support activities, other services are also provided, such as regular monthly health check-ups, counselling sessions, English language lessons and daily nutritional supplements. An adequate and balanced diet is, in fact, essential for children’s health and harmonious development.

This safe space was equipped and inaugurated in April 2022, involving 59 boys and girls so far. The intervention also aims to provide support to their mothers through medical insurance cover, regular medical check-ups, financial support to combat the phenomenon of early school leaving, especially of girls, and a training plan designed to strengthen their skills and abilities. So far, training has been organised on first aid, mutual aid mechanism, health and nutrition. This process saw the involvement of 49 women, while another 73 people from their families have benefited from the services provided.

School on Wheels

In 2019, Brembo inaugurated in India the project "School on Wheels", by delivering to the local NGO Door Step School a school bus fitted out to serve as a full-fledged mobile classroom, including educational materials, chalkboards, computers, monitors and audio-visual materials, to allow the educators from the NGO to provide literary and basic education to approximately 200 children.

“School on Wheels” is a project active six days a week, Monday to Saturday, in which educators use the school bus to travel, according to a pre-determined schedule, to six areas in Pune’s enormous slum to teach to a group of 20-25 children at each stop.

Door Step School’s educators teach children ages 5 to 10 the three fundamental skills (the reading, writing and math), together with basic social skills such as hygiene, health and safety. The bus is also used as a mobile reading room for children from Pune’s outskirts. This is why the school bus stops in certain areas for two hours to be available to those who wish to make use of the service. It is an initiative that is also very useful for children who already know how to read but do not have access to books.

Dream Center

Brembo has partnered with the Chinese NGO ADream.org since 2019 with the aim of promoting a quality education in rural areas based on competencies and an innovative, fair and inclusive educational approach. Within the socio-economic context of rural China, it is difficult for the 61 million children in the underdeveloped regions to access quality education, and also for the 36 million children of migrant workers.

The “Dream Center” project developed by the local NGO Adream not only provides for the structural redevelopment of certain schools in marginalised areas, but also education programmes for teachers and the creation of an innovative education programme designed to stimulate the skills and aspirations of every single student, sometimes through the use of multimedia classrooms.

Quality education also means reducing the educational divide between the cities and the rural areas, supporting education as a tool for creating opportunities and believing in the potential for change, while respecting the diversity and personality of every individual, without leaving anyone behind.

NEET inclusion

Brembo has supported Fondazione Cesvi’s NEET Inclusion project aimed at the social and economic inclusion of a group of young NEETs residing in the Bergamo area. The acronym NEET stands for Not in Education, Employment or Training.

The project, in its first pilot edition, is aimed at a group of young people aged between 16 and 29 who are not studying and not working by providing them with individual orientation, training and job placement opportunities.

The beneficiaries, who became aware of the initiative through a competition announcement, participated in a formal selection and a merit selection process that took place through cognitive interviews conducted by a representative of Cesvi, Brembo and the Patronato San Vincenzo.

The beneficiaries selected were invited to sign a “Pact of Responsibility”, in which they undertake to complete the project on a reliable and regular basis. The young NEETs underwent an initial skills assessment at the vocational training association of the Patronato San Vincenzo (Project partner) which, together with Cesvi, developed for each young man or woman a training and motivational path identified based on the transversal skills and soft skills that emerged during the interviews.

The company scouting for the training internship aims to find the right balance between the resources and skills acquired by each beneficiary and the needs of potential host companies, since the project aims to integrate young NEETs into the world of work.

La partnership con il settore giovanile dell’Atalanta

Brembo supports the social role of professional and competitive sport, sharing educational and cultural values with Atalanta, which will allow young people to become professionals in work and life: loyalty, team spirit, sacrifice, training, merit, a love of challenges, support for talent and constant improvement, all of which also have something in common with academic education.

It is on the basis of these common principles that Brembo and Atalanta, two of Bergamo’s outstanding achievements belonging to different worlds, decided to collaborate, focusing on the new generations. In fact, since 2018 Brembo has been Top Partner of the Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio’s Youth Sector, which is due to continue also for the 2022-2023 sporting season. This collaboration also continued with the “Brembo Prize”, which is awarded annually to the most deserving young footballer in each youth team, from the Under 15 to the “Primavera” categories.

The best athletes are identified by a group of technical experts on the basis of criteria that consider not only strictly sporting aspects, but also educational results and fair play.

Giocamico

As of 2014 Brembo makes an annual contribution to the “Giocamico” project at the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital in Bergamo. Giocamico comprises a psychological support for young patients through a fun activity that prepares them for surgery and diagnostic investigations and is available in all paediatric wards of the hospital.

Thanks to Giocamico, children can therefore face what will happen to them in a fun manner; the operating theatre becomes a space ship, the operation an adventurous journey. Thanks to the use of sounds, images and simulations, they are not just told about their treatment, but actually experience it.

During 2022, the Giocamico project was also launched in the Radiology Operating Unit to the benefit of young patients, for whom provision was made to carry out the examinations on a specific day of the week when a psychologist is always present. The specialist’s aim is to open up a psychological space with the children to help them visualise the examination by simulating it and explaining the steps involved, assessing the possibility of performing the procedure without resorting to anaesthesia.

Furthermore, since September 2022, Giocamico has been introduced at the Nuclear Medicine Unit so as to cover the range of patients between three and thirteen years old accessing this department for invasive examinations, providing a space for anticipating the procedure, processing of the related emotional factors and deployment of the resources available, so that the hospitalisation experience can be lived in the most aware and participatory way possible.

FROM and Mario Negri Institute

In keeping with its nature as a company with a strong vocation for innovation, Brembo supports scientific research projects in various fields of application, as well as various initiatives linked to education and training for young people.

In particular, the Group supports “FROM”, the Research Foundation of Pope John XXIII Hospital in Bergamo, set up in 2008 to allow hospital workers to play an active role in national and international medical research, and with the Mario Negri Pharmacological Research Institute, one of the largest centres of biomedical and pharmacological research in Italy.

Brembo supports research to fight Covid-19 

In 2022, Brembo decided to continue to support scientific research to combat Covid-19. Brembo's donation to three leading Bergamo institutions — Pope John XXIII Hospital, the Bergamo Hospital Research Foundation (FROM) and the Mario Negri Institute — which stood out in fighting against Coronavirus in one among the areas most severely affected by the pandemic, allowed to finance over 20 research projects conducted jointly by the three beneficiaries.

Brembo's support has allowed a new way of contributing to scientific research by combining clinical and pharmacological research with the aim of: reducing hospitalisation following contraction of the virus, reducing its severity and unfavourable outcomes, studying the medium-term impacts after healing and proposing treatments also for the permanent and semi-permanent effects of the infection on different organs.

The results of the funded research projects have been published in the most prestigious scientific and medical journals worldwide. The results achieved by the mixed groups, those formed by scientists and technical staff belonging to all three institutions, were also positive.

For a Group like Brembo that has innovation and research in the chromosomes of its DNA, it was natural to support the project. Research is at the basis of Brembo's way of doing business and it is for this reason that the Company believes that this is the only viable way of finding an effective solution also to such a difficult situation on a global scale.

To learn more about Brembo’s commitment to the social and cultural development of the local areas where it operates and to propose new initiatives and projects, we invite you to contact us via the following e-mail address: sustainability@brembo.it .

 