Gütersloh/Hamburg, 11/22/2018

‘be green Day’ Campaign For Waste Prevention And Recycling

Our “be green” environmental action days from April to November next year are dedicated to the topic of waste prevention and recycling. They will give Bertelsmann employees at many locations an occasion to champion environmental protection and the sustainable use of resources. Gruner + Jahr and "National Geographic" recently launched a campaign against plastic waste.

“National Geographic” and Gruner + Jahr launched the multiyear “Planet or Plastic?” initiative in September. It aims to raise awareness of the dramatic increase in global plastic waste, especially in the oceans – and that everyone can do something about it. For example, by avoiding disposable plastics. The average plastic bag is used for just 15 minutes. Afterwards, like many other disposable items, it ends up in the trash and often in the environment. According to estimates, worldwide about nine million tons of plastic waste are dumped into the ocean every year, where the plastics become a life-threatening danger for many living beings. “Every day, ‘National Geographic’ explorers, researchers, and photographers experience the devastating impact of disposable plastics on our oceans first-hand,” says Roman Karz, General Manager of National Geographic Germany.

Tips For Reducing Disposable Plastics in Everyday Life

“National Geographic” will be hosting regional campaigns and exciting events for people in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, to build awareness of the drastic effects of daily disposable plastics consumption– and encourage everyone to reduce their contribution to it. Regular new articles, videos, and additional content on www.nationalgeographic.de  and other platforms show possible solutions. There are also spectacular activities such as plastic garbage from the coasts of Taiwan turned into frozen “treats” on a stick, a fountain in Spain where you can no longer see the water because of all the plastic bottles, a tram in Berlin filled to the top with plastic garbage. The campaign also provides helpful tips on reducing disposable plastics in everyday life. Under the hashtag “#planetORplastic,” everyone has the opportunity to share their own ideas and actions on the topic.

Gruner + Jahr is also supporting the campaign at its headquarters in Hamburg. For instance, the company restaurant held a plastic-free day for the launch of the campaign, when all plastic packaging was banned. Disposable packaging was replaced by glass containers and no plastic lids and milk portion pots for coffee were used at all. Muesli and smoothies have been available in returnable beakers since the campaign began.

Other Bertelsmann companies are also highlighting the issue of waste. To mark the “Our Ocean” conference in Bali on Oct 30, the television channel N-TV devoted an entire day to the topic of the environment and protection of the oceans, not only examining the topic in its news, “News Spezial“ and “Telebörse” programs, but also in monothematic magazines such as “Start-up News” and “N-TV Wissen,” as well as in primetime documentaries.