We embrace diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI), which we believe fosters innovation through new ideas and perspectives. We will continue to source from diverse slates for 100% of our external salariedpositions, including executive management and board of director level appointments. We engage in efforts aimed at hiring diverse talent, including targeted university recruitment and attendance at conferences promoting racial and gender diversity in engineering. We have also implemented policies and training focused on non-discrimination and harassment prevention.
We embrace diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI), which we believe fosters innovation through new ideas and perspectives.
Protecting the health and safety of our workers is a top priority, and we are committed to providing a safe working environment. We use worker inputs, incident data and trends, and leading indicators to create systemic improvement plans to reduce hazardous conditions and at-risk behaviors. We also use employee feedback to best serve our workforce. Members of our Human Resources department regularly review benefits to ensure we are supporting the well-being of our employees and their families.
Our goal remains zero injuries in the workplace. To achieve this goal, we have committed to and have already achieved our goal of reducing workplace injuries by at least 50% between 2019-2030 and in 2023 -- by continuing to improve our processes and raise awareness -- we achieved our safest year on record.
We provide recurring training on relevant ethics, compliance, diversity and inclusion, and environmental health and safety topics as well other pertinent topics and laws affecting our global business. In addition, we require targeted groups of employees to complete online training to reinforce their understanding of specific values, laws or regulations that are highly relevant to their roles, such as anti-corruption, antitrust/competition, harassment/discrimination, conflicts of interest and trade compliance.
We recognize our responsibility to help make the world a better place for us all through both charitable giving and volunteerism. Every day, Hexcel employees live our Values and fulfill our Purpose as we build houses for low-income families, run races to fund cancer research, cook meals for the hungry, provide needy children with school supplies, and so much more. Each year, every site is challenged to donate at least $50 per employee to local charitable organizations. In addition, sites donate thousands of volunteer hours to support their communities. These decisions to donate time and money are recommended to local leadership by employees who comprise Hexcel Community Involvement Councils, established at every location to foster deep relationships within the communications where we do business.
Read more about our recent collaboration with the Auvergne Rhone Alpes (AURA) Handisport League.
Student Research Support
Hexcel is proud to support the various colleges and universities worldwide from which we recruit our best talent by providing limited quantities of our raw material products such as carbon fiber , reinforced fabric, honeycomb, resins and adhesives in support of research and other student-led projects.
Our Hexcel Foundation is committed to investing in local communities around the world by supporting organizations with a global focus on STEM education, health, hunger and homelessness. Our grants to these organizations were 10% higher in 2023 compared to 2022 and will continue to be 10% higher each year through 2025, reflecting the company's commitment to strong communities as part of our 2030 sustainability goals. Grants were made in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 to:
Matching Contributions for Natural Disaster Relief
Whenever a natural disaster affects a community in which we live and work, it affects our employees, their families and their friends, as well. At Hexcel, we believe in responsibility – in fact, striving to be good citizens in the communities in which we live and work is one of our four Values. To that end, Hexcel has established a matching contributions program that will match dollar-for-dollar employee contributions made to the American Red Cross after a natural disaster affects an area near one of our U.S. locations.
Hexcel Foundation Scholarship Program
Hexcel awards renewable scholarships of $2,000 to $5,000 a year to the children of Hexcel employees in the U.S. who plan to pursue post-secondary education in college and vocational programs at any accredited post-secondary institution of the student's choice. Since 1987, scholarships totaling more than $2 million have been awarded.
Educational Gift Matching Program
Hexcel matches cash contributions made by employees, dollar-for-dollar, from a $25 minimum to a $500 maximum per employee in any calendar year to accredited nonprofit institutions of higher learning in the U.S.