‘be green Day’ At Bertelsmann - Gütersloh Goes Green

Yesterday was "be green Day" at Bertelsmann - and at more than 40 sites in 15 countries, participating companies called on their employees to focus on environmental and resource protection for the day. The organizers had put together a diverse program. Today we begin with the campaign at the Group headquarters in Gütersloh. Over the next few days we will follow with reports from other divisions and companies

As at many Bertelsmann locations around the world, the companies in Gütersloh also focused on the issue of environmental protection yesterday. From the organic menu to a tree quiz, from a “ Lunchtalk ” to a walk in the woods and a movie screening – employees in Gütersloh came up with all sorts of ideas for creating a richly nuanced "green" program.

Things kicked off early in the morning at the Bertelsmann AG Corporate Center, where an aisle of trees and shrubs greeted employees at the entrance, reflecting the day’s "International Year of Forests" theme. Participants in a tree quiz in which leaves had to be matched to their trees could win one of ten tree-planting sets.

Trees were also the focus of a "Lunchtalk" given at the Corporate Center by Erwin Brunner, Editor-In-Chief of "National Geographic Deutschland .” He spoke about Redwoods, "the largest trees and also the largest living beings in the world," he explained. "They can grow up to 115 meters high," he said, explaining how much effort the magazine put into a story on the Redwoods in California some time ago. His appeal to the Bertelsmann employees: "Respect and protect nature!" Following his presentation, Brunner named the winners of the photo contest about forests, showing the pictures of the top three winners and praising their creativity regarding motifs and picture composition. He personally congratulated Agata Olszewska (Mohn Media), who had come to the Lunchtalk and had tied for second in the competition with Andreas Glaubrecht (Sony Pictures Entertainment) after the main winner Karin Weinert (Club Bertelsmann).

Arvato’s companies in Gütersloh also focused the subject of trees. For instance, the Bertelsmann subsidiary is planting trees for every employee post on a website dedicated to sharing what each person personally does to protect the environment and climate in their everyday routine. The more entries received in the next few days, the bigger the “Arvato forest.”

And as you’re never too young to begin protecting the climate, there were also two events aimed at the youngest. First, the children of all Arvato employees worldwide were asked to draw a picture of their favorite tree for a children's drawing contest with attractive prizes to be won. The Bertelsmann subsidiary also organized a "Forest Day" for children at the Gütersloh Villa Kunterbunt and Villa Sonnenschein daycare centers. Here the day began with the children planting a donated tree, whose growth they will check once a day. "The children have been given the job of watering the tree every week," explains Villa Kunterbunt director Christiane Keller. Then it was off to the "Am Füchtei" wood, where the children studied animals and leaves together with a forester in order to get to know the forest in a playful way. "The children especially enjoyed a little quiz that the forester gave them at the end of the walk," says Keller. "This showed that the children not only had a lot of fun during the day, they also learned a lot."

Der Club Bertelsmann in Rheda also came up with environmental specials for the day. For example, a "bike doctor" was installed at the front door to repair employees’ bikes free of charge, and a special energy-saving campaign encouraged employees to save electricity. And like at the Corporate Center, Mohn Media and Arvato, the canteen served a healthy organic lunch menu.

The joint finale of "be green Day" at Bertelsmann in Gütersloh was an evening screening of the multiple award-winning film "Jane's Journey" at the Bambi Cinema. It tells the remarkable life story of Jane Goodall, UN Peace Ambassador and founder of the "Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation," which campaigns for the protection of primates.