a) Starting school with the Blue Angel
The start of every new school year sees huge demand for paper products, but only one in ten copybooks is made of recycled paper, reflecting a relative low priority for environmental protection. As a result, the judges at the Blue Angel organisation, Germany’s environment ministry, the national environment agency and RAL GmbH got together to initiate a campaign designed specifically to encourage children and adults alike to buy more recycled paper with the Blue Angel stamp. Called “The Blue Angel starts school – top grades for our environment”, the campaign helps reduce the consumption of natural resources, and itcame into its own during 2011, the UN’s International Year of Forests.
Banners on all Herlitz websites were a visible expression of our support for the campaign. The campaign’s homepage also named us as a source of school materials made of recycled paper so consumers could see just what options they have if they are interested in buying environmentally friendly products.
b) Forum for environmentally aware consumption in Germany
This forum represents a place where people can discuss how to assess sustainability and guarantee transparency. Consumers need to be able to recognise which products and services are environmentally friendly, and reliable information plays a key role in facilitating their purchasing decisions. Herlitz takes part in this forum for dialogue and plays an active role in encouraging awareness of issues relating to environmental protection.
c) Peter and the Wolf
Berlin’s symphony orchestra and German comedian Otto Waalkes collaborated on a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s musical fairytale Peter and the Wolf in 2011 as part of a project to open up the world of music to children. Herlitz was involved in the event as a sponsor of child-friendly products – during the interval, children got a chance to have a go on the orchestra’s instruments and test equipment for (pre-)school lessons.