Want to take part? Save the date!
All spots for the first pilot run in summer 2023 have been allocated thanks to high demand. We will be happy to accept you for the 2024/2025 pilot period, which will take place from July 2024 to May 2025. The application deadline is 30 April 2024 and we look forward to receiving your application!
Sustainability Teams at work
Project duration: 2022-2025
Funding organisation: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
The motivation and commitment of employees are a decisive success factor for successful transformation processes - after all, it is the people who contribute their ideas and live sustainability in the corporate culture on a daily basis. This is exactly where we come in.
Strengthening sustainability expertise through practical learning in companies
A sustainable transformation can only succeed if it is implemented across the board in an organisation. To achieve this, it is important to get all employees on board. A bottom-up transformation not only offers the opportunity to utilise decentralised competencies. It also has the potential to increase emotional commitment to the sustainable transformation process.
Prof Dr Fabian Christandl (Fresenius University of Applied Sciences), partner for scientific project support
What we offer
We offer you an overall carefree package for your corporate sustainability education and employee participation in the corporate sustainability commitment. To be more precise:
You will receive everything you need to independently implement a ‘bottom-up’ participation process in your organisation - including helpful implementation tips, success factors and accompanying advice from our project team.
Our approach:
Employees and junior staff set up a bottom-up sustainability team to implement their own sustainability project from idea to success. Your role as a multiplier is to initiate the formation of the sustainability team and support the team as a mentor.
From knowledge to action - that's what we offer you and your employees.
Sensibilisierung
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Wissensimpulse zu Klimawandel & nachhaltigen Lieferketten
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Train-the-trainer Workshops zu Mitarbeitenden-Partizipation
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Networking Events mit allen Pilotorganisationen
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Wissenschaftliche Begleitung durch Hochschule Fresenius
Empowerment
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"Bottom-up" Nachhaltigkeitsteams
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Transformationsprozesse erfolgreich gestalten
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Projektbetreuung durch digitale Sprechstunden
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Best Practice Sammlung für Projektideen
Handeln
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Umsetzung von "bottom-up" Projekten im Bereich Nachhaltigkeit & Klimaschutz
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Wertvolle Kompetenzen für unternehmerischen Wandel
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Zertifikat für "bottom-up" Nachhaltigkeitsteams
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Zertifikat für Multiplikator:innen
Organising from the bottom up enables employees to actively participate and help shape change. Successful project implementation depends on cooperation at eye level - and on the different skills of all team members being recognised and used as an asset.
Prof Dr Riccardo Wagner (Fresenius University of Applied Sciences), partner for scientific project support
Sounddesign: Volkmar Sorg
How you can participate
A total of 20 pilot organisations (divided into two pilot phases) have the opportunity to take part in our programme free of charge and implement the establishment of bottom-up sustainability teams in their organisation.
Your benefits
- Strengthened sustainability culture through employee participation and training
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New perspectives by integrating the innovation potential of employees
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Impulses for sustainable organisational development through the sustainability teams
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Sustainability project by the sustainability team contributes to the commitment to sustainability
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Strengthened sustainability expertise among employees and junior staff
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Certificate of project participation for both sustainability teams and multipliers
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Employer attractiveness through positioning as a sustainable employer
Programme schedule of the pilot phases
FAQ - Questions and answers about participating in the project
We invite small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and organisations from any sector and of any legal form to take part. The prerequisite is that you have already gained initial experience with corporate sustainability. We expect a strong commitment to sustainability and initial or even advanced experience in sustainability management - as well as commitment and motivation for the joint project implementation! Participation in the project is free of charge for a total of 20 pilot organisations (in two pilot phases).
Who can participate as a pilot organisation?
As a mentor, it is your task to initiate the establishment of the bottom-up sustainability team in your organisation and to support the team during the pilot period. Together with the other pilot organisations, you will take part in a digital kick-off and a digital closing event and can draw on our advice during digital online consultation hours in between. You will also take part in interviews and online surveys before and after the pilot as part of the scientific support provided by Fresenius University of Applied Sciences.
How many time resources do you contribute to the project as a mentor?
What time and financial resources does the sustainability team need?
We recommend that you plan a certain amount of time that is available to the sustainability team for project planning and implementation during working hours. You can individually regulate how much time this should be and from what amount of time the project realisation is counted as free time. We also recommend that you provide the sustainability team with a (small) budget for project realisation. The amount of the budget is at your discretion and also depends on the planned project idea.
The size of the ‘bottom-up’ sustainability team can vary, but should comprise at least two employees and no more than 8 employees. We recommend encouraging a diverse composition of the sustainability team that is as cross-departmental as possible in order to stimulate creativity and knowledge transfer. You can set your own rules, e.g. by specifying the maximum team size or that only one person per department may participate.
How big should a bottom-up sustainability team be?
Possible project ideas range from the production of a climate podcast to the organisation of a ‘Company Sustainability Day’ and the optimisation of existing processes (e.g. waste separation, electricity use, procurement) with regard to ecological and social sustainability - there are no limits to creativity. We offer you some good practice inspiration and you as a mentor can also contribute suggestions for topics. Even if it is ultimately the employees who contribute their ideas and decide (with the support of the mentor) which project they would like to realise.
What could an exemplary sustainability project look like?
We provide you with everything you need to implement the training in your organisation free of charge. You will receive a ‘Train the Trainer’ manual with a clear schedule including implementation tips and success factors. In addition, we will provide you with a digital knowledge impulse (e-learning) to sensitise your employees - look forward to varied input on the SDGs, climate protection and fair supply chains! Of course, you will also benefit from the professional support of the KATE project team and the dialogue within the pilots as part of the digital consultation hours.
What materials do we provide you with as a mentor?
Strong partnership: B.A.U.M. ‘SDG Scouts’ training programme
There are profitable synergies between our employee participation programme and the SDG Scouts
'SDG Scouts - Trainees and Young Professionals for Sustainability’ programme run by our partner B.A.U.M. e.V.
In the three-part workshop series (in person), your junior employees are given the opportunity to play an active role in shaping sustainability performance with regard to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The B.A.U.M. training programme ‘SDG Scouts’ has been running successfully since autumn 2022, further groups will start in autumn 2023 and there is still the opportunity to register. Dates will be arranged in direct coordination with the B.A.U.M. contact person Karina Frochtmann (info@sdg-scouts.de).
Would you like to find out more about the B.A.U.M. ‘SDG Scouts’ programme?
You can find more information and the registration form on the B.A.U.M. project website.
Get started right away? Click here for the SDG Toolbox!
We are building on the project successes of the Zukunft FAIRändern campaign (2020-2022). In our free, digital SDG toolbox, you will find tried-and-tested, low-threshold educational materials for employees on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and corporate sustainability.
Discover our free, digital SDG toolbox for corporate sustainability education.
Choose from e-learnings, audio spots, videos and print templates - and create sustainable FAIR change!
Collection of materials for our pilot organisations
Would you and your employees like to implement a sustainability project in your organisation?
Then get started right away! Have fun with the materials.