Greening of Company Premises

Goal of the Project

The goal of the pilot scheme, developed by the Heinz Sielmann Stiftung, the Lake Constance Foundation and the Global Nature Fund is to sensitize companies in all of Germany for a near-natural configuration of their company areas and to intensify the integration of biodiversity in entrepreneurial thinking.

Background

Near-natural company premises are contributing valuably to the preservation of biodiversity and in addition, they have an important exemplary function for society. Especially in populous and urban regions, these areas can create precious ecological habitats and work as stepping stones in the biotope network.

Project Activities

Throughout Germany, companies are briefed about „Greening of Company Premises”, interested companies are advised and at least six to eight company areas are exemplarily redesigned. The consulting can either be focused on the close to nature design of the company area or can turn out more extensively in the form of a biodiversity check. This check analyzes during the whole corporate process where actions to protect biodiversity can be accomplished. It also gives guidance. Within the project a practically relevant approach is developed and implemented to motivate companies to take tangible steps towards the protection of biodiversity. Staff, adjacent companies, the municipal administration and conservationist organizations can be included.

Planned Procedure

To create best practice samples, in the first half of the project six to eight company areas from different branches and with different framework conditions are redesigned near-naturally. The experiences from these pilot projects are used as case studies for the following Germany-wide implementation. The chosen measures are used as demonstrations to illustrate the numerous possibilities for the design of close to nature company areas. This includes for example the establishment of areas of standing water, the construction of drystone walls, perennial flower meadows or bee meadows, hedges with native groves and biodiversity friendly roof greenings.

Target Groups

The address of the companies happens in cooperation with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IHK), umbrella organisations, trade associations as well as labour unions and communities.

The project is a model initiative which generates experience in the field of greening company premises and provides experience and concrete examples of realization which can be used throughout the whole country. In four regional forums the results and experiences of the activities are carried into different parts of Germany. In addition to big companies, small and medium enterprises are addressed as well to support biodiversity and the redesign of their company areas. They also get informed about the possibilities and chances biodiversity offers.

The project uses synergies from the cooperation with the “European Business and Biodiversity Campaign” and builds on the experiences with biodiversity checks. Additionally, the results and experiences of the Interreg-Project “Companies and Biodiversity in the Lake Constance Region” have influence on the undertaking. Scientific support is coming from an UFO-Plan-Project which investigates the entrepreneurial advantages of greening Company premises and the implementation of biodiversity goals in the development of companies.

Project Sponsorship

The project is supported until July 2016 by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with funds from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.

Project Partners:

Supported by:

Official Project Titel:

Project Duration:

Project Partners:

Supported by:

Business and Biodiversity: Greening of Company Premises

June 2013 - July 2016

Heinz Sielmann Foundation, Lake Constance Foundation

German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN)