Successful clean-up campaign: Employees of Heraeus Precious Metals collect waste in Hanau's Kinzigauen meadows

The topic of sustainability has a very high priority at Heraeus Precious Metals and is part of its strategy: By 2025, the precious metals division of Heraeus has committed itself to being CO2 neutral and to no longer using fossil fuels from 2033. In addition, the protection of biodiversity plays an essential role.

This year, Heraeus Precious Metals was awarded the Sustainability Prize of the City of Hanau for its initiative to protect biodiversity: The winning project initiated by the business unit serves to sustainably promote biodiversity in the Kinzigauen, a species-rich natural forest reserve located in the immediate vicinity of the Heraeus plant site. As part of the initiative, Heraeus Precious Metals has committed, among other things, to holding an action day twice a year and collecting waste in the Kinzigauen meadows.

The event kicked-off on 20 September with a team of around 20 members of the management and participants in the business unit’s talent program. Together with Kathrin Dhonau, magistrate of the city of Hanau, and Gabriele Schaar-von Roemer, head of the Hanau Environmental Center, they collected more than 30 kilograms of trash and more than 2,250 cigarette butts in just under two hours. A single cigarette, with its mix of toxins, can contaminate between 40 and 60 liters of clean groundwater or negatively affect plant growth. More than 90,000 liters of water were protected from contamination thanks the waste collection campaign.

"When it comes to sustainability, we do not only focus on big transformation projects, but also on taking small steps to make a significant contribution to a greener world," explains André Christl, CEO of Heraeus Precious Metals.

In addition to the cleaning campaign, Heraeus Precious Metals has hung 100 bird nesting boxes, which were previously assembled by the trainees, in the Kinzigauen meadows. These will provide a nesting place for many birds in the future and offer them protection.

Following the trash collection campaign, André Christl handed over a donation of 5,000 euros to the Hanau Environmental Center. The money originated from a fundraising campaign among Heraeus employees and was generously rounded up by Heraeus Precious Metals. It will be used to support climate and energy education courses offered by the Hanau Environmental Center for schools and educational institutions in the Hanau region.