Shaping the future is our business. In order for all of us to have a future, we need to live in a sustainable way and respect our resources and the climate. Therefore, in 2016, we joined the Climate-Neutral Organization Alliance 2025 and initiated some practical steps to combat climate change. Along with the company’s focus on climate, we also support a large-scale reforestation project in Nicaragua.
Over one hundred companies and institutions are members of the Climate-Neutral Organization Alliance 2025. Every member has the task of working alone and in collaboration with others to reduce their environmental impact and CO² emissions.
The members have committed themselves to becoming carbon neutral by 2025. But, given that such a transition cannot happen overnight, the CO² emissions we still produce are offset by projects such as the tropical reforestation project which is currently taking place in the city of San Juan de Limay in Nicaragua. Consisting of small plantations managed by local farmers, the project aims to create a forestry industry that protects the rainforest, our planet’s green lung.
The inhabitants of San Juan de Limay are trained in the efficient and sustainable use of resources and forests and are made aware of the benefits of keeping the forest intact, for example, by adopting water conservation methods and putting in place measures to protect against natural hazards. In this way, not only does the forest expand but opportunities for sustainable development are also created.
These are opportunities that a country like Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere, really need. The project numbers are encouraging: 280 small farmers are involved in the project and earn their living from it.
866 hectares of reforested land are the equivalent of 1,212 football pitches being turned back into rainforest.
Protecting the environment is much more than just a way to help feed hungry mouths and it had become an important issue well before Fridays for Future became a topic of debate. As a company, we feel responsible towards our employees, their families and the generations that will come after us.
