Environmental Action Days around the World
Subject: Environment
Country: International
Category: Project
Things got green in many parts of the Bertelsmann world at the beginning of June: All over the world, numerous Bertelsmann locations organized a "be green Day" to spotlight environmental and climate protection.
Thousands of Bertelsmann employees brought a lot of commitment and dedication to organizing a wide variety of actions and campaigns highlighting, among other things, the importance of recycling, the relationship between diet and climate, and the crucial role of bees in our ecosystem.
A Look at the Diversity of the Projects
In India, all the divisions devoted themselves to environmental and climate protection issues in a variety of ways with their respective "be green Day" during the period from Jun 1 to 5. Arvato in Mumbai's "Switch the lights off" campaign drew attention to the topic of energy efficiency by switching off the lights in the building for five minutes. Employees at the Ramyam Intelligence Lab (part of Arvato) set up a collection box for electrical waste and sent the contents to a reprocessing plant. A lot of indoor plants were placed in offices at Arvato in Gurgaon, Penguin Random House India and Fremantle Media India. At the Corporate Center India and at Bertelsmann India Investments, a climate-friendly, vegetarian menu was served to highlight the environmental impact of meat and fatty foods. At DK India, employees highlighted the pollution caused by throwing away cigarettes at the site by setting up a large ashtray including a trash can. Many of our Indian employees also wore green-colored clothing on their "be green Days" to lend added visibility to the day of action.
In the Philippines, too, green was the most-worn color during the "Green Week" organized there. And here, too, it was not just a matter of sending out a visual signal. The Arvato employees teamed up, among other things, to collect recyclable materials, sold them, and donated the proceeds to a good cause.
Arvato SCM in Ireland once again ran an "Adopt a Plant" campaign for "be green Day," with employees receiving plants for their offices in Dublin. The company also hosted an art contest for staff children to creatively explore matters of environmental and climate protection.
Employees at Arvato Telekomünikasyon Hizmetleri A.S Istanbul in Turkey called their "be green Day" "Happy Paperless Day" to raise employees' awareness of the necessity to conserve paper as a resource. All employees were also given a "be green" sticker to signal: "We're on board!"
On their "be green Day," employees at Arvato Salamanca in Spain learned about how raw materials can be used for as long as possible, minimizing waste and emissions, in a lecture on "The Circular Economy." And a book swap encouraged everyone to immediately put these ideas into action and promote sustainable consumption by exchanging second-hand books. The Arvato employees in Salamanca also collected clothes and school equipment for children in Africa.
At Sonopress in Mexico, the employees got creative and organized an art competition on the theme of the environment. The work was admired at an exhibition and prizes were awarded.
The Phone Group, which belongs to Arvato, also organized a creative contest on "be green Day" at its sites in Morocco, Senegal and the Ivory Coast. Staff produced creative works of art from everyday objects that would otherwise end up in the garbage. In workshops and discussion panels, the employees also discussed the topic of recycling and recovering important materials from trash with the partner organization AESVT (Association of Teachers of Life and Earth Sciences).
In Germany, Deutsche Post Adress, jointly owned by Deutsche Post and Bertelsmann, under the guidance of the municipal Green Spaces department, cleared Himalayan balsam from a section of the Dalke River in Gütersloh's Riegerpark. Arvato CRM employees in Dresden took action to clear the the Elbe River Cycle Path of garbage and debris. At the Corporate Center in Gütersloh, numerous employees cycled to work on "be green Day" and were invited to have their bikes checked by the "Dr. Bike" team. During their lunch break, many also took the opportunity to attended a "Lunch Talk" organized by "be green" in cooperation with Gütersloher Verlagshaus. Jürgen Tautz, a bee expert, and Diedrich Steen, Program Manager at Gütersloher Verlagshaus and a passionate beekeeper himself, presented their book "Die Honigfabrik - eine Betriebsbesichtigung" (The Honey Factory - A Guided Tour) recently published by Gütersloher Verlagshaus.
Contact
Markus Harbaum
Head of Communications Content Team
Phone: +49 (0) 5241 80 2466
