Established in 2020, the Foundation supports community-focused initiatives that improve the environment around our communities and promote accessible education and mobility, developed in collaboration with local associations or NGOs. These commitments are illustrated through initiatives, whether led by individual employees or co-developed by teams working together to address a common challenge. FORVIA employees are the driving force behind these commitments, identifying needs and helping deliver solutions, while the Foundation provides funding, partnerships and ongoing support. 

A Village-led Transition

In the village of Tekavadi, in Pune, India, FORVIA’s Deputy Manager of R&D at FORVIA Automotive Seating, Sachin Chougule, was motivated to create a solidarity project that helped improve the environment and his community; this is how The Green Village project began to take shape and gained funding from the Foundation.

The project is designed to address environmental, health and economic challenges of 1000 families in a village through a set of interconnected actions. Tree planting focused on carefully selected Ayurvedic species, chosen following soil analysis. These medicinal plants bear fruit that can be sold, creating an income-generating model for villagers. Multiple parts of each plant are traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine, supporting local health practices and opening longer-term opportunities linked to medicinal value chains.

Biogas units replace traditional wood-burning cooking methods, improving indoor air quality, easing daily workload and reducing pressure on surrounding forests. Water ATMs provide access to clean drinking water through a small, affordable fee system—1 rupee (€0.01) for 1 liter, 5 rupees (€0.04) for 20 liters—that will support the long-term maintenance of the ATM system.

Solar installations were added for individual homes and for shared public infrastructure, supporting schools and local services. Maintenance training and knowledge transfer were integrated from the start, strengthening autonomy within the village. Today, Tekavadi is increasingly viewed as a reference by neighboring communities exploring similar paths.

Removing Everyday Barriers

Launched as an official Foundation program in 2024, the Disability Hackathon brings together mixed teams of FORVIA employees, including colleagues with mobile disabilities, to co-create low-tech solutions that improve autonomy, mobility and daily routines.

Each edition starts with concrete challenges, often submitted by employees for a child, a relative or a community they are closely connected to. In 2025, the program was deployed in three locations: Paris, France; Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic and Montpellier, France, with employees working alongside families, associations, engineers and healthcare professionals.

In Paris, teams explored challenges linked to family life and created functional prototypes within a standard frame of 3 days. Solutions included an adjustable support structure enabling a young girl to stand and play independently, a compact wheelchair reversing camera connected to a smartphone to improve safety and a voice-controlled medical bed allowing users to adjust their position independently. Several of these prototypes have since been refined and tested with families and one has been further developed in collaboration with APF France Handicap and engineering students in Bavans, France.

In the Czech Republic, employees organized a one-day hackathon to support the son of a colleague. Within a single session, teams designed and built an adapted bicycle enabling safe, independent riding.

In Montpellier, the edition focused on children whose disabilities limit autonomy during daily routines and participation in school life. Participants gathered at the HumanLab Saint Pierre to design solutions responding to these constraints. Teams prototyped tools supporting independence during morning routines, devices enabling autonomous opening of food packaging and a wheelchair adaptation allowing a child to take part in football during school recess.

Several of these 2025 solutions are now entering testing and refinement phases, with plans for open-source release to support replication by FabLabs, associations, and communities everywhere on the globe.

Ideas That Move Communities

The Green Village project and the Disability Hackathon differ in geography and focus, yet they share the same foundation. Employee initiative & expertise are supporting organizations that enable action.

The FORVIA Foundation remains open to project ideas from employees across the Group. Every year, from October to December, any FORVIAN can propose an initiative connected to underprivileged communities to which they are closely linked to the call for solidarity projects. 

Through employee-led action, the currents of the Blue Effect flow into communities, carried by those who know them best.