It is always a consideration whether the further use of an older device does not require less energy or water than the production of a new, energy-efficient device. Therefore, the energy requirement along the entire product life cycle (from production to use to disposal) must be considered. Companies need the competence to weigh up the right time for a new purchase of devices, but also the determination to then purchase the most sustainable and not only cheapest devices.

LED 'light bulbs' are now available for really all lamps, even with pleasantly warm light colors. Also, think about the lights outside - are they LED as well?

Standby power consumption is often reminded and extrapolated. For example, if a screen consumes 5 watts in standby, that is 120 watt hours (Wh) per day, i.e. about one eighth of a kilowatt hour (35 cents/kWh). Companies can quite easily calculate for themselves what savings potential all their computers, screens, beamers and even routers have if they do not use StandBy.

Modern lamps require little electricity, and yet it is worthwhile not to let them burn unnecessarily, for example when we are not in the room for a long time. Corridors, toilet rooms, cellars often have the light burning unnecessarily. In some indoor and outdoor areas, companies also sometimes have the light on too long or too early.

Apart from the fact that every device can have a high power consumption, a refrigerator is not regularly defrosted, the door seal is leaking, the washing machine is driven with too high temperatures and spin numbers, etc., there are still some unnecessary things that consume a lot of electricity: In the company, these can be exaggerated light installations, electric bollards, and much more.

Thermal insulation is extremely important. Investing here means saving energy and costs. The argument that building will then become too expensive must be clearly put into perspective. One way, of course, is to have to insulate smaller living spaces. The other to become generally more efficient when building. Then ecological building materials will also become affordable. Old houses that can no longer be sensibly insulated are perhaps worth so much more as a new building that financing is not a problem. (Note: the figures are for Germany)

Building materials such as concrete, plaster, steel or even aluminum have a high ecological footprint and mean many greenhouse gases. The foamed insulation materials are also in the criticism. In addition, the negative consequences of conventional paints and adhesives are often unknown, which then lead to toxic exhaust gases in waste incineration plants due to ultimately ineffective filters. Natural building materials and colors are significantly more expensive, although the non-natural materials are often extremely expensive when it comes to disposal. So it is the good feeling, the better smell and the healthier building biology that make us do the right thing here.

Air conditioning systems are also gaining in importance in temperate latitudes. Intelligent construction and ventilation and the use of thermal protection roller blinds can avoid these power guzzlers. In warm regions, a corresponding education of the guests can take place. Often a fan is also useful.

Intelligent ventilation does not mean too late and not too long. It is too late when we get tired when the air is used up, get a headache and the humidity becomes too high. It is too long when the air has already been replaced and is cool, but we also ventilate the materials (walls, furniture) even longer. Heat ultimately means that things or air vibrate. When the air is exchanged, but the objects and walls are still vibrating, the fresh air is quickly heated. Even if the walls get cold, mold can form on them and we need expensive heating energy to make everything vibrate again. By the way, CO2 measuring devices help to ventilate in time and not for too long. However, these should not be a useless gadget, but perhaps used for practice one after the other in the rooms and gladly lent. A nice game is the competition, how good the sense of the people in the room is to ventilate in time and not too long. Companies in particular have the potential to keep the doors in the entrance area not too far and not too long open.

The area we need for rooms and outdoor places means the area that is sealed, the building material that is needed, and most often the room that needs to be heated. If we use the rooms here, possibly sublet them or share them with others (e.g. co-working spaces), we take big steps towards sustainability. Especially in the course of home office, the shrinking of company space is not a step backwards, but a progress.

Vegan means refraining from fish, meat, milk, cheese and other animal foods. Unthinkable for many people, on the one hand because of the taste, and on the other hand because they consider it unhealthy. To the taste, it can be said: Among the extremely diverse vegan alternatives, something certainly tastes just as good or even better. We just have to try it - from vegan cheese to egg salad to burgers. Many celebrities and athletes are vegan. Vegan is booming. Regarding health, it must be said: Our early ancestors ate healthier than we eat today. There was mixed food with only little meat and fish and also little grain and instead more legumes. If you eat a vegan diet, you have to pay attention to two nutrients: vitamin B12 and unsaturated omega 3 fatty acids. B12 can be bought for sucking (or as an additive in foods that are no longer called organic). Omega 3 fatty acids are available in linseed and algae oil. After a few months vegan, a blood test can show whether there are deficiency symptoms. As a rule, vegans eat healthier and are fitter than others. What else does it bring: In addition to ethical reasons (keeping and killing animals), vegans help to prevent the deforestation of forests, because most areas in the world need the feed. In fact, we will not be able to feed the growing world population in the way we Germans. Vegans also prevent greenhouse gases from the methane emissions of cows, save enormous amounts of drinking water and prevent the pollution of soils, groundwater and waters.

Unlike the vegan diet, a vegetarian diet can also include milk, cheese or eggs. Vegetarian days are healthy, mean less animal husbandry and thus less consumption of land and water. People in the industrialized world consume more than three times more animal products, which according to the EAT-Lancet Commission would be healthy for us and the planet. We don't have to become vegans or vegetarians right away, but maybe just flexitarians.

Food from the region, from the weekly market and from the farm shop have not been transported far (there are of course also exceptions there) and strengthen the local economy. However, there are also inefficient short transport routes when vehicles with little load drive to the points of sale. E-mobility and cargo bikes can help here. Unfortunately, the regional is often also played out against the organic offer: regional, sprayed with pesticides food is not as good as regional organic food, and regional meat is not as good for the environment as the renunciation of meat.

Organic is extremely important for biodiversity. We have the greatest species extinction since the extinction of the dinosaurs and the consequences are greater than those of climate change. Pesticides and mineral fertilizers endanger our future. In addition, soils from organic farming usually store more carbon and thus help against the climate catastrophe. The counter-argument is often that the yields in organic farming are lower than in industrial agriculture and therefore more forests have to be cut down. This is true, for example, with cereals that are not unrestrictedly healthy. But if we eat less meat, waste less food and eat more healthy legumes, we have plenty of additional space available and can feed the entire world organically and even plant a little more forest. Organic in the canteen or at the kiosk or at company events is of course more expensive - but if it is not exemplified somewhere, what do we expect in the private sector.

Which is better - the organic apple from New Zealand or the sprayed apple from the region? Answer: both wrong. Organic food from the region means less transport and is therefore even better than organic food with wide transport. Organic in the canteen or at the kiosk or at events is of course more expensive - but if it is not exemplified somewhere, what do we expect in the private sector. Sometimes a direct delivery from providers from the region is a way to save costs.

Seasonal organic products in addition to regional organic products also have less energy expenditure for storage. In the respective months, other products are available seasonally, so that we can eat healthy and tasty all year round with little transport and storage effort with regard to a seasonal calendar.

Legumes are not only an alternative source of vegetable proter to animal products, but also extremely important for world nutrition. They bind nitrogen from the air in the soil and can achieve just as high yields in organic farming as in industrial agriculture. So we have to cut down fewer forests. In addition, legumes are healthier than cereals. Harari describes in Sapiens how we could probably get much older if we didn't eat so much cereal products. After all, legumes are important for bees and biodiversity. Lupine, for example, also grows in northern Germany and can be used for meat substitutes, yogurt, coffee substitutes, ice cream or even noodles.

Fortunately, tap water has long been a trend. There are drinking water dispensers in schools and the students have their drinking bottles with them, and managers also bring their drinking bottles to workshops. Many children do not even get used to the unhealthy sugar drinks. Tap water is more strictly controlled than bottled drinks and saves a lot of energy and packaging. Companies can set up water dispensers - if necessary also work with filters, for example to remove chlorine odors.

Food is wasted from the field to the factories and transport routes to the throw away by us, the restaurants and the supermarkets. This ultimately means that more areas are needed for cultivation and thus forests are cut down and biodiversity is endangered with sprays and fertilizers. We can shop more specifically, throw away goods not only because of the best before date, save food in the household (e.g. freeze bananas or make durable spreads and soups from leftover vegetables yourself), save specifically rescued food (e.g. too small or wrinkled goods) and also donate leftover food in many places, e.g. to the food banks. Canteens and kiosks and also events can query the demand in advance and thus prevent food from being thrown away. A dish can also be deliberately offered the next day, which advertises the utilization of the leftovers from the previous day.

Despite the claim to do without your own company car or to share cars in the pool with others, allows you to save a lot of money and is good for a better world.

Car sharing can be organized with your own fleet - also across areas and, if necessary, also for private use after working hours or on weekends.

Flying is a great experience for most people like experiencing distant places. Flying short distances should rightly lead to 'flight shame' - some countries are planning to ban domestic flights completely. The problem with flying is, on the one hand, that we travel a lot of kilometers, even if the energy requirement per kilometer and person is not so high. On the other hand, greenhouse gases are transported directly to the heights where they harm us. So we should only use the plane for rare long-distance trips and then rather stay longer in the places. Many, on the other hand, fly several times a year, partly within Europe - some even to sustainability conferences or just to spontaneously escape the harsh weather in Germany. Unfortunately, flying is even subsidized and is often cheaper than train or car.

We are used to the fact that everything is packed and we don't care much about the packaging. For some foods, the packaging is more expensive in the production than the content. Paying attention to the packaging sends a signal to manufacturers and retailers. Refills are an option as well. For food, there are so-called unpackaged shops or at least the possibility of using deposit containers (own step) or cotton bags brought along for loose vegetables and fruit. To fill up the pantry or to cater for events, attention should therefore be paid to the packaging. Office supplies can be delivered unpacked in deposit boxes (e.g. from Memo).

Consistently separating waste, including green waste, glass and paper, is not as self-evident as can be assumed. Many make little effort here and don't really know what belongs in which bin. The residual waste bin also costs the public sector a lot of money, while the recyclable and green waste bin are free of charge. But also special waste, such as batteries, incandescent lamps, electrical appliances, etc. must be disposed of properly.

Non-recycled paper is often cheaper, but means cutting of forests, contamination of water during production and a high energy requirement. Recycled paper for toilet paper, writing paper, packaging, envelopes, wrapping paper, etc. should be a matter of course today. But we have to pay attention to it and choose it. Recycled paper is also snow-white, but it should then not be bleached with chlorine but oxygen.

Saving paper helps to protect forests - recycling paper also ultimately means more demand for fresh pulp from trees. We don't even need to print many things in the first place, but can save them on devices that we already have. For internal processes but also for dialogue with customers, digital forms should continue to prevail.

Many things are actually thrown away, although others could still do something with it. It is more convenient for us not to repair it than to have a stand at the flea market or to have to send it for little money. But the good feeling of doing the right thing motivates. A company can avoid garbage here - even if throwing it away probably meant little effort.

In the past, it was considered controversial whether birds should be fed, or whether they forget to find food themselves and instead promote the concentration of many birds in one place diseases. Today it is clear that with our well-kept gardens, leaf vacuum cleaners and perfect combine harvesters, we leave too little for the birds and they have to be fed. Many argue that we should even feed them in the summer.

It is hard to believe that the future of our diet depends on the use of pesticides and their influence on insects that have to pollinate our plants. Many pollinators are threatened with extinction and in addition to the purchase of organic, we can offer these insects flowers on our areas. In fact, some plants are neither bee-nor bird-friendly. On the other hand, fruit trees and most vegetables are already great opportunities to promote bees, bumblebees, etc. At the flower meadows there are one- and multi-year-olds.

Road salt is convenient and safe, but a considerable burden for pets, the trees and the surface water. Replacing this with split means more effort, but it's worth it.

Sidewalks can be kept mechanically or by flames weed-free or the herb can also grow sometimes. The beds can be kept mechanically herb-free or laid out from the outset in such a way that herb does not matter. Pesticides are one of the main causes of species extinction and water pollution.

This is about living and working in the region, about strengthening the community. The birdhouse from a social workshop or the PV system from the electrician on site (if he has further training). The award criteria of the municipalities must of course be legally secure. If the work is good, a discreet advertising sign can also draw attention to the craft business in return.

At Fair-Trade, we usually think of the label of the same name - which is no longer in disrepute. But there are also other labels - some rather greenwashing, some quite trying to do better. Fair is not always the same as organic and organic is not always fair (but some labels combine both). The importance is immense: fair working conditions in the world ensure less migration, more climate protection and a more peaceful world. Extremely remarkable is the background of chocolate and the connection between child slavery (!) And the common products from Nutella to children's chocolate to the Mars bar: https://edition.cnn.com/world/freedom-project Companies and events can therefore be pioneers for a better world themselves here in the food or in the work clothes or the hand-sewn football.

Many people who earn above average can only do this because others earn below average. The gap between rich and poor is getting bigger and bigger. Consumers complain about cheap wages, but the price increase by 50 cents is rarely accepted. What we deserve is not, as liberals or neoliberals like to think, just a question of diligence. It is the product (!) Out of diligence, skill and the right framework conditions. Anyone who knows many talented and hard-working people who are simply not lucky develops empathy and is willing to pay more, even if it is through tips. Companies can set an example in the case of remuneration, in particular for less well-paid activities within the scope of their possibilities.

Volunteering, whether at the fire brigade, in the sports club or the help in the neighborhood, is enormously important for togetherness and society. Companies can help here to honor volunteering and accompany it through donations.

We experience what happens all over the world when the successful depend on large parts of society: radical currents get influx, the climate catastrophe is denied, hatred against foreigners but also against their own politicians is stoked. Some "ego trolls" who want to punch through their interests are deliberately playing with such a breeding ground when, for example, conservative parties speak of ideology with the progressive parties or an automobile boss is against vaccination in order not to have to close his works, or others complain against wind power and e-mobility and pro-nuclear power without any expertise. Dissatisfied citizens take this up as 'troll lemmings', feel they belong to the common enemy images and complain on social media against everything that means change towards future viability. It is the fight for so-called memes and no longer, as in the past, solely for sovereignty of interpretation, especially since the experts agree on most questions. As uncomfortable as it is, we should therefore stand against it in social media and not wave off in frustration. In our environment, we can also get together with others and talk about politics or the design of togetherness - even if many do not want to talk about politics privately at all, because they have an opinion, but not the feeling that they can support it themselves. For example, there is the Open Society Day and regionally certainly many other initiatives. Politicians can motivate, join a party, go to public council meetings, and participate in demonstrations. Having been to Fridays for Future once is an experience! Companies can show attitude! Ideology is not the opinion of the other, but what is not scientifically proven robustly (i.e. more than a single study). https://www.know-why.net/model/Ch6pG92HeaVbtguDEvK11Iw

Both organ and blood donations or even bone marrow donations cost us overcoming - until we or our loved ones are dependent on it. Here, too, the same applies - those who do it can be proud of themselves. Entrepreneurs can go ahead and release their employees, for example, if it is blood donation during working hours.They also can spread information about the topic and management can be a role model.

Support of clubs, squares and halls for the gathering of citizens

Social department stores are usually organized as a private sector or as an association. A company can support them with material and financial resources.

Cultural promotion can take place in all facets - from young people who make music to exhibitions to the care of traditional festivals.

Globally, conventional cotton is an environmental problem due to the use of sprays and the high water consumption. In addition, the textile factories poison entire rivers and exploit people during conventional dyeing. In addition to ecological cotton, there are other natural fibers with sometimes much less damage to the environment. In the case of virgin wool, attention must be paid to the certification, which excludes animal suffering. By the way, there is now also outdoor clothing made of densely woven organic cotton as an alternative to the plastic fibers. Plastic fibers always allow microplastics to enter the wastewater during washing and microplastics in the environment may lead to multi-resistant super germs - a long history. With the points for clothing, if you do not buy conventional cotton, but sometimes choose recycled and sometimes organic cotton, you can give a full 3 points for both. By the way, organic is also possible with curtains, tablecloths and bed linen!!!

This is about workwear or, for example, in the tourism sector clothing with advertising. Even large, conventional clothing stores sometimes take back old clothes and promise to produce new yarns from them. Often the problem is the quality of short-lived clothing, which is then difficult to recycle and yet ends up in the waste incineration plant or on the dump in developing countries.

This is about workwear or, for example, in the tourism sector clothing with advertising. In particular, the manufacturers of outdoor clothing now use recycled PET bottles for their yarns and they also do without the worst chemicals, such as PFCs. Nevertheless, the question is always whether we have to wear clothes that are designed for the Himalayas in everyday life. Because synthetic fibers also release microplastics from the plastic fleece sweater to the wastewater. Some use a washing bag that is supposed to collect these plastic fiber remains.

This is about workwear or, for example, in the tourism sector clothing with advertising. Vegan shoes and belts are no longer distinguishable from their leather variants. And who pays attention to the fact that the tanning processes do not allow heavy metals to enter the environment or that the leather is certified accordingly? We should be careful with some plastics, such as PVC with plasticizers, which are also not good for the environment.

All major drugstore discounters now have natural cosmetics in all areas - from deodont to lipstick to sunscreen (although sustainable sunscreens are a real challenge, as tests prove again and again). On the one hand, natural cosmetics are usually healthier, and on the other hand, no non-degradable substances enter the environment. In the tourism sector, it is accordingly about the soaps in the toilet facilities and on the rooms including shower gels.

Organic cleaning agents can be found in all supermarkets and drugstores. An essential feature is biodegradability and, of course, the vegetable raw materials as an alternative to petroleum-based raw materials. Even if conventional cleaning agents are classified as safe, organic cleaning agents are certainly safer and are less harmful to health and also burden the sewage treatment plants less.

Many furniture cannot stand being moved or even disassembled and reassembled. They are primarily cheap and the business model is that after a few years we want to buy new furniture. Looking at how valuable the furniture is and then being able to repair it takes us a whole lot further on the way to a better world. It is also amazing what good pieces there are on the used market.

Leaf vacuums and blowsers are even worse than the idea of mowing small lawns with a large lawn mowing tractor at all and then for hours. Boys with toys. The leaf vacuums and blowers emit noise and ultrafine particles and harm the soil organisms more than rakes or brooms.

Unfortunately, many devices can no longer be repaired at all, for example if the control unit breaks down from the washing machine and costs more than a new washing machine. And yet there are workshops that also repair mobile phones, washing machines, lawn mowers, etc. - and even if it is as expensive as a new device, it is the good feeling of having done something for a better world again.

Transparency in the supply chain should not only strive for the larger companies committed to doing so. This also includes the knowledge of the working conditions under which people work. Child labor and slavery are still common and inhuman working conditions and hunger wages are often at the beginning of the supply chain in the mines and factories abroad. Here, a company can exert pressure and remunerate better accordingly.

Especially at the beginning of the supply chains, there is a lot of environmental pollution but also land robbery (expropriation such as clearing). Paying attention to standards here makes raw materials and precursors expensive. But transparency in complying with and exceeding standards can make a decisive contribution to the better marketing of end products today.

To minimize material requirements, on the one hand, the product itself can be lightweight, for example according to the principles of bionics. On the other hand, during production, an optimization of the blanks, the throwing away or complex melting of material can be prevented. This also includes the optimization of quality, which avoids incorrect productions.

Recycling materials are sometimes more expensive - but in the future we will be dependent on the so-called anthropogenic warehouse. However, companies can already advertise with it today. Design for Recycling means that your own products are also as easy to recycle as possible.

Not just the EU is looking at ESG criteria - Ecological, Social and Governance (ESG) in companies. The governance covers not just diversity, equality and inclusion (DIE), but also risk management, transparency, and a lot more. We make DIE a part of BoB - the rest is rather a topic of a company's strategy for more sucess. Sometimes companies only have the opportunity to address one of the DEI's topics. If you do address all three you get three points!

Part of the governance criteria are the possibilities of employees to be part of the company and its decisions, to co-own parts of the company and to have transparent strategies.