BIB EMPLOYEE ACTION
›SWAPPING SUITS FOR BOOTS‹
BIB EMPLOYEES GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY
It's cold and damp, and the sky is an autumnal shade of grey. The trees are so bare that you could be forgiven for thinking that they have never produced any green leaves. It's November in Germany. It may not the nicest time of year for a walk in the woods, but all the staff from BANK IM BISTUM ESEN nevertheless set off together last year to visit an area of woodland near Ratingen. They had a clear goal in mind: to give something back to the natural world and get to know it a bit better at the same time.
Anyone who talks about sustainability as much as BIB has to follow up their words with actions. The idea behind the staff day out was therefore to get back to the roots of sustainability – a concept which originally stemmed from forestry. 200 years ago, Hans Carl von Carlowitz – a senior mining official at the court of electoral Saxony – became the first person to promote the idea that wood and woodlands
should be preserved in the long term.
His aim was to cut down only as many trees as could regrow; to use natural resources sustainably so that they would continue to provide people with a livelihood in the future. However, woodlands do not just provide a valuable habitat for flora and fauna. Trees are also the most important means of curbing pollution through greenhouse gases and stopping climate change in its tracks.
›SWAPPING SUITS FOR BOOTS‹
BIB EMPLOYEES GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY
It's cold and damp, and the sky is an autumnal shade of grey. The trees are so bare that you could be forgiven for thinking that they have never produced any green leaves. It's November in Germany. It may not the nicest time of year for a walk in the woods, but all the staff from BANK IM BISTUM ESEN nevertheless set off together last year to visit an area of woodland near Ratingen. They had a clear goal in mind: to give something back to the natural world and get to know it a bit better at the same time.
Anyone who talks about sustainability as much as BIB has to follow up their words with actions. The idea behind the staff day out was therefore to get back to the roots of sustainability – a concept which originally stemmed from forestry. 200 years ago, Hans Carl von Carlowitz – a senior mining official at the court of electoral Saxony – became the first person to promote the idea that wood and woodlands
should be preserved in the long term.
His aim was to cut down only as many trees as could regrow; to use natural resources sustainably so that they would continue to provide people with a livelihood in the future. However, woodlands do not just provide a valuable habitat for flora and fauna. Trees are also the most important means of curbing pollution through greenhouse gases and stopping climate change in its tracks.
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planting trees is great fun
On their arrival in the woods, the BIB employees were welcomed by head forester Christoph Menzel from the private forest of Graf Spee. He explained to the bank staff how to plant a young tree. All of the employees then had the chance to show whether they had been listening carefully. With a sturdy spade in one hand and a small sapling in the other, the BIB team enthusiastically set out to make their own small contribution towards preserving the woodland and the climate.
They combed the undergrowth on the forest floor, looking for the wooden stakes in the ground which marked the spots where the young trees had to be planted. With two or three vigorous cuts of the spade, they then dug out small holes for the saplings. Almost 100 young trees had soon been planted in the soil. After this successful planting operation, head forester Christoph Menzel took BIB's budding botanists on a guided tour of the woods to explain to them how sustainable forestry works.
But this day out with a difference was far from over. A 15-year-old boy from Duisburg also explained to the bank staff why it is so important to plant trees around the world. Jona is one of many young Climate Justice Ambassadors from the global children's initiative Plant for the Planet, who are dedicated to planting more trees to counteract climate change.
In recognition of the organisation's work, Heinz-Peter Heidrich, Chief Executive Office of BIB, presented Plant for the Planet with a cheque for EUR 2560 at the end of Jona's talk. The amount is equivalent to one euro for one tree for each member of BIB.
learning about the natural world can be fun
A paper chase at the end of the day showed the employees just how much fun you can have learning about trees and woods. Lots were drawn to make teams of ten to 12 and all the staff soon discovered their competitive streak.
The teams had to stop at six points and complete different tasks. Tawny owl, chaffinch or jay?: identifying birdsong correctly was just one of the six challenges. The employees also had great fun with the fir cone throwing challenge, which saw one member of each team holding up a woven basket and catching the cones thrown by a colleague. Their strength and coordination were also put to the test in a tree trunk sawing competition. At the end of this sustainable company outing, prizes were awarded to the winning team.
From executives to trainees, the BIB employees did more than just rediscover the roots of sustainability. They also made a small contribution towards putting it into practice. What's more they had great time doing it.
On their arrival in the woods, the BIB employees were welcomed by head forester Christoph Menzel from the private forest of Graf Spee. He explained to the bank staff how to plant a young tree. All of the employees then had the chance to show whether they had been listening carefully. With a sturdy spade in one hand and a small sapling in the other, the BIB team enthusiastically set out to make their own small contribution towards preserving the woodland and the climate.
They combed the undergrowth on the forest floor, looking for the wooden stakes in the ground which marked the spots where the young trees had to be planted. With two or three vigorous cuts of the spade, they then dug out small holes for the saplings. Almost 100 young trees had soon been planted in the soil. After this successful planting operation, head forester Christoph Menzel took BIB's budding botanists on a guided tour of the woods to explain to them how sustainable forestry works.
But this day out with a difference was far from over. A 15-year-old boy from Duisburg also explained to the bank staff why it is so important to plant trees around the world. Jona is one of many young Climate Justice Ambassadors from the global children's initiative Plant for the Planet, who are dedicated to planting more trees to counteract climate change.
In recognition of the organisation's work, Heinz-Peter Heidrich, Chief Executive Office of BIB, presented Plant for the Planet with a cheque for EUR 2560 at the end of Jona's talk. The amount is equivalent to one euro for one tree for each member of BIB.
learning about the natural world can be fun
A paper chase at the end of the day showed the employees just how much fun you can have learning about trees and woods. Lots were drawn to make teams of ten to 12 and all the staff soon discovered their competitive streak.
The teams had to stop at six points and complete different tasks. Tawny owl, chaffinch or jay?: identifying birdsong correctly was just one of the six challenges. The employees also had great fun with the fir cone throwing challenge, which saw one member of each team holding up a woven basket and catching the cones thrown by a colleague. Their strength and coordination were also put to the test in a tree trunk sawing competition. At the end of this sustainable company outing, prizes were awarded to the winning team.
From executives to trainees, the BIB employees did more than just rediscover the roots of sustainability. They also made a small contribution towards putting it into practice. What's more they had great time doing it.