Sustainable Development – Maiwald

Sustainable development

Nurturing the future

As an internationally operating law firm, we take our social responsibilities seriously. In fact, sustainable development is Maiwald’s core corporate value.

To ensure we are always on the right track, we adhere to the 17 goals of the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in 2015 (Agenda 2030). In practice, this means participating in numerous ecological and social projects that aim to protect and preserve natural resources.
Those same principles are upheld when dealing with our staff, too. We nurture an environment of growth, treat each other with fairness, and support each other’s socially conscious and eco-friendly activities.

Health and well-being

We foster our employees' health by facilitating good work-life balance, and their physical health by supporting various fitness activities and – to give another example – by providing fruit and drinks at the workplace. We foster a culture of a good work-life balance, support various fitness activities, and provide healthy snacks and drinks at the office.

Advanced education and training

We offer our employees numerous training and development opportunities at the office (including through various seminars and language courses). In wider society, we routinely. We also donate to various educational institutions (e.g. Stiftung Lesen, acauses, such as the children’s reading initiative). Stiftung Lesen.

Gender equality

We aim for a balanced male to female employee ratio from junior to management levels. Equal pay is also high on our list of priorities.

Decent working conditions and economic growth

Our employees‘ family concerns are taken very much into account with flexible working hours and part-time working models, but also teamwork and task sharing. We offer flexible working hours and part-time working models for those with families or other personal responsibilities.

Climate protection measures

We drastically reduce paper consumption by working exclusively with e-files. We also support bike riding initiatives and incentivize public transportation usage with cost subsidies.

Peace, justice and strong institutions

We support humanitarian projects (such as children’s education program Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung) that actively work towards a better society.

Our commitment to nature begins with the Green Forest Fund, through which preserves protected areas for the long term. For each of our employees, we have planted a tree, actively contributing to the growth of our MaiWald. This project is part of our long-term dedication to sustainability and strengthens our contribution to climate protection.

We participated in the table football tournament for patent attorneys, which was held in support of the Children’s Health Foundation. The event was full of fun and competitive spirit, giving us the opportunity to make a significant contribution to promoting children’s health. We are proud of our involvement and look forward to the next tournament to do good once again!

For many years, we have been supporting the valuable work of the Stiftung Lesen through regular donations. Stiftung Lesen is passionately committed to promoting reading skills and joy in reading among children and adolescents. Through our longstanding support, we contribute to shaping the future of young readers and improving educational opportunities.

FabLab Munich offers children an inspiring environment in which they can learn through play and put their creative ideas into practice. Through workshops and projects, the children learn in a practical way how technology works and how they can realize their own projects. Our donation will help to further expand these valuable educational opportunities and provide today’s young explorers with the tools and resources they need to develop.

We are proud to be a sponsor of the recent Wilhelmsgymnasium Munich charity concert. This event provided a platform for the students to showcase their musical talent while supporting educational and cultural projects. The benefit concert allowed the young artists to share their passion for music with the community while raising important funds for their partner school in Bulgaria.

Our Commitment to Conservation and Sustainability:

At our 2024 Social Day, we partnered with LBV to help maintain a valuable habitat. Our teams removed cut grass from a meadow, giving rare plants space and light for the coming year, supporting endangered species. Through this effort, we promote biodiversity and raise awareness of sustainability.

Social responsibility

For us, sustainable development also includes careful and considerate handling of our human resources, which is why we cultivate an open-door policy at the workplace. Work takes place in a relaxed, informal atmosphere where each individual is treated with consideration, respect and due recognition of their unique qualities. Openness, mutual acceptance and helpfulness are an integral part of our firm’s philosophy. Above and beyond well-functioning teamwork, commitment to social causes is an important component of our commitment to society. For example, we routinely donate to charities that support educational and social programs for disadvantaged children. These include Stiftung Lesen, Stiftung Ambulantes Kinderhospiz München, Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung, the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s ‘Advent Calendar for Good Works’ campaign as well as the homework supervision program at Bergmann Primary School in the Westend district of Munich.

Being caring and considerate towards our employees is our topmost priority. We ensure that each individual working at Maiwald is treated with respect and is valued for the unique qualities they bring to the table. Our open-door policy allows for work to take place in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. This is how openness, helpfulness, and mutual respect flourish in our offices.

On top of that, we are also committed to multiple social causes. We routinely donate to the following organizations:

Children’s reading initiative Stiftung Lesen
Children’s hospice foundation Stiftung Ambulantes Kinderhospiz München
Children’s education program Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung
Süddeutsche Zeitung’s “Gute Werke” campaign
Bergmann Primary School’s homework supervision program

Success through diversity

Diversity introduces a range of different approaches to solving problems, which is why we believe we are so successful. Diversity is an integral part of our company culture. We are proud that at Maiwald people work together towards shared goals no matter their lifestyle, country of origin, or cultural and religious background. Each individual here is equally respected and appreciated. We also champion gender equality, with a balanced team of men and women from senior management all the way through to junior staff.

Ecological commitment

To cut down on paper consumption we have digitized all our office’s internal processes and procedures and work exclusively with e-files. We also incentivize the use of climate-friendly modes of transportation with public transportation cost subsidies and bike riding initiatives. On top of that, we organize internal initiatives such as Social Day, where we encourage our staff to do their part in helping the environment.