The purpose of the B&C Private Foundation is to promote Austrian entrepreneurship. As a shareholder of Austrian industrial companies that are important for the domestic economy, it offers them long-term stable ownership and thus secure development opportunities. B&C’s central concern is to increase the international competitiveness of Austrian industry, to support research and development and to keep the headquarters of its core holdings in Austria. Since 2005, the B&C Private Foundation has awarded the Houska Prize, the largest private award for business-related research projects in Austria with an endowment of 500,000 euros. The Houskapreis is awarded in the categories “University Research” and “Research & Development in SMEs” and promotes top-level innovative research. In 2016, to mark its 15th anniversary, B&C also awarded the “B&C Private Foundation Education Prize” for innovative projects and teaching methods for research dissemination at Austrian educational institutions.
