Earth Day – worldwide day of action for environmental protection

World stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jane Fonda do it, as does former American Vice President Al Gore. They, along with many other personalities, officially support Earth Day because environmental protection is a matter close to their hearts. This year, Earth Day takes place under the international motto “Restore our Earth”. The worldwide day of action for environmental protection celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Even though all Earth Day events were cancelled or postponed due to the Corona crisis, this does not change its significance. But why is Earth Day so important for the environmental movement?

Earth Day as the starting signal for the modern environmental movement

Earth Day was born out of a spontaneous student movement in 1970. 20 million Americans took to the streets on 22 April 1970, protesting at universities, colleges and in hundreds of cities against the pollution of soil, water and the air. The number of protesters represented 10 percent of the US population at the time. People demanded new, environmentally friendly ways for our planet. The popular action showed that there is an environmental movement and that it has a strong lobby. Since then, Earth Day has been celebrated annually in April. The aim is to strengthen the appreciation for our planet and to draw attention to environmental problems such as climate change, species extinction or plastic waste. The first Earth Day is seen as the starting signal for the modern environmental movement. Year by year, the environmental action day gained in popularity. On its 25th anniversary in 1995, more than 200 million people worldwide participated in Earth Day. No surprise then that Earth Day is strongly linked to environmental politics in many countries around the world.

Restore our Earth: What is your FOODPRINT?

What does food have to do with the climate?

What we eat and how we prepare it not only has a significant impact on our health, but also on the climate. Sustainable consumption is often associated with doing without. But in fact, sustainable consumption has nothing to do with doing without, but with a change to a more resource-efficient way of life.(https://earthday.de/).

That is why Earth Day in Germany (also in view of the covid pandemic) has focused on the topic of sustainable nutrition for 2021. Everyone can make a contribution here (even under the existing conditions).

The Earth Day motto therefore:
“Every bite counts. Protect what you eat – protect our Earth”.

Google and Earth Day

Not only movie stars like Leonardo DiCaprio but also the billionaire corporation Google supports Earth Day.

Since 2001, Google has accompanied the annual event with doodles and a matching logo. In this way, Google also refers to Earth Day on 22 April and provides additional information and highlight topics on the environmental action day, thus using the reach of the search engine for a good cause. The 2019 doodle reached almost every country in the world.

Impact of the Corona crisis on the environment

The Corona virus is causing a standstill: In many countries around the world, people are under quarantine, production in factories is at a standstill and exports from China have stopped. Is nature recovering now?

Pictures and videos from Venice are spreading on social media: crystal-clear water in the canals, visibility down to the bottom and fish swimming happily. This gives hope that the tourist break will bring about a recovery of nature. However, the reason for the clear water is the lack of churning of the substrate by shipping traffic. The sediments settle and are not stirred up, and the water quality remains unchanged.

The industrial region in northern Italy is heavily affected by the Corona crisis. There, satellite images from the European Space Agency ( ESA ) show a decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels in the air. The decline in nitrogen oxides is also particularly evident in China: according to an analysis by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, carbon dioxide emissions there fell by 25 per cent, about 200 million tonnes of_CO2, in February compared to the previous year. To estimate the order of magnitude: Germany produced 805 million tonnes of_CO2 in the whole of 2019.

The improvement in air values benefits the environment, but no statement can be made about sustainability. After all, once the Corona crisis is over, production will ramp up again, the next flight to a holiday paradise will be booked and the desire to consume will increase, thus ending the brief respite for nature.

Everyone is called upon to protect the environment

Everyone is called upon to protect the environment! With the message to rethink our behaviour for the preservation of nature, Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to implement changes. Especially with the current Corona restrictions, the 50th Earth Day should make us think twice. Some tips to live more sustainably right now:

1. Discover your green thumb
   All plants are part of nature, whether tree, meadow, herb or balcony plant. Every plant, every garden is important for nature and the environment, and gardening can also be fun. Tips on environmentally friendly and climate-adapted gardens can be obtained from NABU – Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.v. (Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union).
2. Rethinking consumption
   We are consumers, but does that mean we have to buy everything thoughtlessly? Coffee in capsules, for example, is relatively expensive and produces unnecessary plastic waste. Ready-to-eat salad in bags also falls into this category: according to Ökotest, salad from the bag is contaminated with pesticides, mould and germs. The fresh head of lettuce looks much tastier.
3. Start now!
   Easier said than done! Life does not have to be radically changed right away. If you start with small steps, you will soon realise how easy it is to live a more environmentally friendly life. Start now with small things, do without plastic when buying groceries, buy green electricity and support producers and traders of regional fruit, vegetables or meat.

RAJA and the environment

At RAJA, we are constantly working across the board to improve our environmental performance. For many years, the RAJA Group has been active in this regard at all levels of the company:

• We pursue an environmentally friendly purchasing policy by identifying market developments and supporting our suppliers in the development of new environmentally friendly packaging solutions
• Informing and advising our customers on environmentally friendly packaging solutions and promoting our digital sales media
• Limiting the carbon footprint of our deliveries, 86% of our products are manufactured in Europe
• Promoting best practices in packaging summarised under the 5 packaging principles : reduce, reuse, replace, regrow, recycle.
• Since this year, we have been sending most of our catalogues open, i.e. without film or packaging. For some items this is not possible, in which case a compostable film is used.

We also pay attention to sustainability at our company site in Ettlingen:

• Since November 2019, we have had charging stations for e-cars in the staff car park to support the change in traffic towards environmentally friendly vehicles.
• Basically, we save up to 80% of the energy used compared to old illuminants due to the new LED lighting. In addition, energy is saved by demand-responsive lighting through the use of motion sensors and light meters as well as self-regulating workplace lights.

• We dispense completely with conventional energy sources such as gas or oil and heat and cool buildings with a groundwater-powered heat pump and heat exchanger. This also applies to the recovery of energy from the building’s exhaust air.
• The purchased electricity is an energy mix of conventional as well as renewable energy sources. In this way, we support the energy transition.
• To keep energy losses during building ventilation as low as possible, the building is equipped with fully automatic control technology that regulates the indoor temperature to the desired level depending on the prevailing outdoor temperature. The climate concept is completed by underfloor heating/cooling.
• A decalcification system is used for the treatment of our drinking water, which not only improves the taste of the drinking water, but also prolongs the life of the water-bearing equipment, as the lime content is reduced by up to 70%. Ultimately, this also benefits the environment, as we have to use less cleaning agents with the soft water.
• To promote the well-being of our employees, we have placed over 200 plants throughout the building, which not only positively influence the air quality but also contribute to a better working atmosphere.

With this in mind, Happy Earth Day!