Over the years, Faber Castell's corporate social responsibility has taken a definitive shape owing not just to its operational requirements but also due to specific geographic realities. Faber Castell operates from the ecologically sensitive Germany, where the consumer awareness of the environment has seen a sharp rise in recent years.

The world's oldest industrial enterprise thus finds it imperative to not only manufacture its products from materials that are high-quality and environmentally safe (and also using low-pollution processes) but also make an investment in sustainable social activities that place an emphasis on giving back to the community and environment.

Though it was only recently that the company has made CSR an integral component of its brand, the company’s social activities have been continuing since the 19th century. A study of the organization’s history shows that it was one of the first German companies to offer health insurance to its employees (1844) and also installed one of the first kindergartens in Germany (1851).

More recently, however, the bar has been raised for the company and it has done a commendable job in responding to the heightening environmental concerns of its various stakeholders. Not content with just using high-quality raw materials and low-pollution processes, the company went a step further and actually created its own supply of 'home grown' wood. Moving beyond adherence to the highest environmental requirements in the manufacturing process the company also began activities related to reforestation and biodiversity.

Nearly 20 years ago, FaberCastell began to plant special pines in a certain part of the Brasilian desert which was thought of as uncultivable before because it was denuded and deforested, subject to soil erosion. Ten years after the first plantings, Faber Castell began cutting the trees to be used as raw materials for their pencils. However, every time a tree was cut they would immediately replant a new one. This assures two important things: they have a steady supply of wood and leave minimum damage on the nature. This process has continued to the present day.

What started as an operational endeavor has now taken shape of a full fledged corporate social responsibility enterprise. Faber Castell’s artificially created forests now have a span of 10,000 hectares of land, which also provides a safe habitat to a large number of animals. Faber-Castell even recycles the waste products from manufacturing pencils to increase the fertility of the soil.

Further to their ecological engagement, FaberCastell has initiated energy saving measures over the last three years that have resulted in reducing its CO2 emissions by half. Company bosses say that their own forests absorb almost “five times the amount of CO2 produced by its production sites.” Truly, the various awards and recognition that Faber Castell has received for their environmental activities make the company as a foremost champion of ecological engagement and a well suited poster child of corporate social responsibility movement.