SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER
ECE sees itself as a corporate citizen. The foundations with which we have close ties not only make an important contribution to society by supporting projects in a variety of ways, but also provide valuable input to help solve the challenges facing society as a whole. In doing so, the foundations benefit from the knowledge and expertise shared by ECE and patron couple Dorit and Alexander Otto.
AWARDS FOR INCLUSION PROJECTS IN SPORT
The Alexander Otto Sports Foundation honors exemplary sports projects. The winner of the 2025 Werner Otto Prize for disabled sports in Hamburg, which carries a total prize fund of 30,000 euros, is the wheelchair sports initiative Sit’n’Skate. Also honored were golf activities for children and young people with Down syndrome, a sports course for people with psychosomatic stress, and a boxing group for Parkinson’s patients.
HAMBURG’S FIRST CULTURE WORKSHOP FOR ALL
As a socially responsible company, ECE supports our employees’ volunteering activities. At the start of 2024, we invited submissions for a third round of our internal competition “Volunteering and You.” Any employees volunteering on projects for a nonprofit organization can apply. Up to five ambassadors selected by a panel of ECE judges each receive 1,000 euros for their project.
STATE MUSEUM SCHWERIN REOPENS
Following renovation work lasting three years, Schwerin State Museum will reopen on October 29, 2025. The Dorit & Alexander Otto Foundation made the comprehensive modernization possible with a donation of 7.5 million euros. A team of experts from ECE was responsible for the planning and project management. The state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania contributed 1.8 million euros. The museum is part of the Schwerin Residence Ensemble, which last year was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. //
LEBENDIGE STADT HAS NEW STRATEGIC PARTNERS
To coincide with its 25th anniversary, the Lebendige Stadt Foundation has repositioned itself: The companies Vonovia, Schüco, and Thalia have been strategic partners since this year and are not only contributing financially to the foundation’s work, but also sharing their expertise in the areas of housing, sustainability, and education. As members of the board of trustees, Vonovia CEO Rolf Buch, Schüco CEO Andreas Engelhardt, and Thalia CEO Ingo Kretzschmar are taking the cooperation to a new level. Rolf Buch is also taking over as chair of the board of trustees from ECE CEO Alexander Otto, who will remain associated with the foundation.
“VISITOR JOURNEY” STUDY
Why do people visit city centers? Which factors make them appealing and which make them unappealing? To find out, the Lebendige Stadt Foundation has initiated a pilot project with the city of Kiel. On behalf of the foundation, the market research company Skopos studied the “visitor journey” in Kiel city center. The aim of the pilot project is to help identify measures that can be used to make city centers more attractive. Skopos is conducting another “visitor journey” study on behalf of the foundation for the town of Herford.
STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN MUNICIPAL HEAT PLANNING
A total of 11,000 German municipalities are required to produce a heat plan by mid-2028. Cities with more than 100,000 residents will be expected to do this by mid-2026. Thus far missing from these municipal planning processes, however, are tried-and-true, structured participation formats. The Lebendige Stadt Foundation and the Association of German Cities have therefore commissioned the company PD to hold stakeholder workshops with the aim of drawing up guidelines that will show towns and cities how the general public and stakeholders can be efficiently involved in heat planning.
STUDY ON LARGE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS
On behalf of Vonovia, a study has been conducted by RWTH Aachen University and the German Aerospace Center with residents and neighbors to examine perceptions of four large housing developments in Dresden, Kiel, Cologne, and Vienna. With the help of a follow-up study co-financed by the Lebendige Stadt Foundation, an atlas is now set to be produced that will serve as an empirical basis by systematically collecting data on numerous large housing developments in Germany, investigating satisfaction with living conditions and perceptions of housing developments, and providing recommended courses of action for politicians and the housing industry.
WHEELCHAIR-ACCESSIBLE SPORTS HALL FOR HSV
The Alexander Otto Sports Foundation has handed over our training arena in Hamburg’s Volkspark to HSV e.V., which is now the new owner and operator of the sports facility. The former ice rink is being converted into a more accessible sports hall that can be divided into three sections and be used by other clubs and schools. ECE is advising HSV on the renovation measures.
