As part of European Sustainability Week, which was held in 2022 under the motto "Mobility", the training team in Haldensleben organized its third Environment Day at its site this year. After a welcome from the project team, divisional manager Thomas Hilgendorf introduced the trainees to HF's CR strategy in a theoretical unit. This was a great opportunity for the trainees to gain background knowledge, ask current questions and learn more about environmental protection measures.
After breakfast together, the group then set off on a tour of the site. This included a tour of the combined heat and power plant and a visit to the waste compactor where cardboard and film are bundled. The responsible colleagues explained to the participants in detail how the press works, how often the pressed material is collected and the quantities and costs involved. An appointment with operational safety was also part of the program, as they drive an electric car on the site. The environmental enthusiasts learned more about the vehicle from the employees and were even allowed to drive it themselves.
However, not only theory, but also practice was on the agenda: the trainees were given the task of building an insect hotel from discarded pallets. The filling material, consisting of moss, wood, straw or stones with holes in them, was collected and assembled in the forest. A metal roof was built in the training workshop to ensure that the dwelling would last a long time and be protected from the wind. The hotel is therefore doubly sustainable, as it not only serves as a new home for crawlers, but was also built using only existing materials at the site. Colleagues can now see it from the canteen.
But the participants' efforts did not end there: equipped with bin bags, gloves and grabbers, the trainees set off to collect garbage along the outer perimeter of the company premises. It was an instructive experience, as most of them were shocked to see how many bottle caps, packaging, beer bottles and countless cigarette butts were lying along the fences in the grass and on the parking lot.
Finally, there was a group task: The trainees were asked to draw what climate, energy and environmental protection measures are already being taken at HF and what each individual can contribute. In 20 minutes of creative work and a subsequent presentation, the focus was on the numerous measures: in addition to the projects visited - the combined heat and power plant, waste compactor and electric car - the biotope at the site, the beehives and the fox on the premises were also drawn. After so much effort and creativity, all the participants rounded off the day by eating hamburgers together.
