Karstadt is committed to biodiversity
There is a threat of 15.500 species becoming extinct over the coming years. The reasons for this include climate change, over-fishing and rainforest clearance. In order to protect biodiversity, numerous stakeholders need to work together: Industrialisead countries as well as emerging and developing countries, non-governmental organisations, business, the media, science and culture. It is one of the goals of the UN's Nature Conservation Conference that poorer countries should derive more benefit from the natural resources exploited by mankind. This is the only way, for example, of preventing poor farmers in South America from converting even more forest into fields. "As a large department store operator we see ourselves as having a responsibility to commit to this goal". "We are doing this, by supporting fair trade, for example, and selling Fair Trade certified products in our stores."
Other themes of the event were the "Organic Cultivation of Cotton for Textiles", "Energy Efficient Equipment" in Karstadt's product range, "Promoting Ecological Agriculture" as well as the "Ecological start to the school year". Even reception class children can behave in an environmentally aware manner. Karstadt's cute environment hedgehog, Clemens Clever, is designed to provide a great deal of advice in this area.
"Experience Nature" is a project to which Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH is committed as part of the Nature Alliance. This pooling of corporate strengths is supporting the Federal Environment Ministry's campaign for biodiversity. Members of the Nature Alliance advocate conservation and sustainable exploitation of biodiversity. They help to inform the public about the UN's Nature Conservation Conference and its goals.
Karstadt was involved as early as 2007 as one of the main sponsors of the Germany-wide tour for biodiversity. This multimedia information and education tour with the title "En route to diversity" organised by the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) stopped at 16 Karstadt sites. In a specially customised bus, the team talked to interested local people about the threat to biodiversity in this age of climate change.
The "Experience Nature" exhibition opened on 19th May 2008 in Karstadt stores in Dresden, Kiel, Mülheim, Munich am Bahnhof and Wiesbaden. For a whole week, display panels drew attention to how closely nature conservation and environmental protection, consumer behaviour and fair trade are connected. The reason for the exhibition was the UN's Nature Conservation Conference on biodiversity, which took place at the end of May 2008 in Bonn.
Sustainability and nature conservation have been major themes for Karstadt for many years. We are involved in numerous information and communication projects and are thereby making a contribution to biodiversity.
Presentation of a cheque to the Association for the Protection of German Forests in the Wiesbaden store at the "Experience Nature" exhibition.
In many other stores, regional environmental organisations have benefited from donations of 2.000 euros each.