It’s the most lucrative time of year: according to predictions, in the 2018 Christmas season, the retail sector alone will experience sales totalling EUR 100 billion. At the same time, scientists are warning against exceeding the limits of the planet’s capacity and urging decisive action, for example with regard to climate protection and resource consumption.
How can we enjoy a high quality of life while at the same time more effectively conserving our natural resources? DBU General Secretary Alexander Bonde explains: “At the DBU, it is our goal to maintain and develop the Earth in such a way as to ensure that it remains a liveable planet. The projects we fund are all based around the concept that an intact planet is the only way to ensure a functioning society and economy.”
Knowledge is key when it comes to sustainable action. That is why the DBU funds tools for sustainability ratings, for example for manufacturers: DBU project partner DETE Dr. Tettenborn GmbH, Nuremberg, was able to use CaMoS software (CaMoS stands for carbon monitoring system) to create a simple, cost-effective way to determine the CO2 emissions generated by the production of their paints and coatings. This allowed them to directly implement measures to optimise their production processes. Along with evaluation systems for emissions and resource and energy consumption, the DBU also supports the development of environmentally friendly consumer goods – from sustainable solutions for outdoor textiles to low-emission production processes for sanitary items all the way to the environmentally-friendly production of massage beds.
Food handling and consumption is also an important topic for the DBU: according to reports by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Germans throw away 18 million tonnes of food every year. Nearly 10 million tonnes of that waste could be avoided. The DBU’s “Stop Food Waste” project, which is part of the “Enjoy us” initiative, launched a competition for businesses and organised a brunch made using food that would normally be discarded. The brunch was held on the large square in front of the Berlin Main Station and was open to the public. The team also held a “parliamentary breakfast” in front of the German Bundestag to raise awareness of the issue. The Ernährungswandel (Nutrition Transition) platform, which was launched in September with support from the DBU, contains information about sustainable agriculture and nutrition and also invites users to submit their own posts. The Klimamarkt web shop allows you to evaluate your shopping habits with regard to the amount of CO2 emissions generated: in this online shop, you can place products from eight different categories such as plant-based foods, meat and animal products, electronics, and even travel offers into a shopping cart and then calculate the ways in which you could potentially reduce the associated CO2 emissions.
And anyone looking to learn about sustainability from the ground up can participate in the online learning modules offered by the University of Bremen’s Virtual Academy of Sustainability. The free classes are available to everyone in Germany, are aimed at students and professionals in all industries, and cover topics such as “Sustainable Management”, “The Global Financial System and Sustainability” and “Climate Protection and Climate Change”. Participants can work through each module at their own pace and, when they’re finished, if they pass the final exam, they receive a certificate and even get credit points for the course.
