RAJA plants trees along the Albtal cycle path

In many places, the Day of the Tree is celebrated on 25 April. In Karlsruhe and Ettlingen, this has been celebrated for many years, always in different ways and usually already in March to give the trees better starting conditions due to the climate. This year, RAJA’s tree donation of 8,000 € provided the platform for the Tree Day celebrations.

With the wish to plant trees in the vicinity of the company headquarters, RAJA turned to the Arbeitskreis Oberrheinische Waldfreunde e.V.. They found the perfect planting site in the Albtalradweg, which connects the cities of Ettlingen and Karlsruhe. A path that many RAJA employees also cycle regularly.

One month before the official Tree Day, RAJA planted several young trees in cooperation with the Arbeitskreis Oberrheinische Waldfreunde e.V. and supported by the Gartenbau Ring. On 22 March, numerous volunteers came together at the Albtalradweg (near the A5) between Karlsruhe and Ettlingen and thus committed themselves to more sustainability. Each tree planted removes about ten kilogrammes of CO2 from the atmosphere per year. The tree planting campaign supports the preservation of biodiversity and the quality of life of the people in the region. Trees provide shade, improve the local climate and are important for the well-being of many animal species as well as citizens.

Joining forces

In cooperation with representatives of the cities and local councils and greetings from the mayors of Ettlingen Mr. Johannes Arnold and Karlsruhe Dr. Frank Mentrup, the planting of the trees started in the morning of this sunny March day. RAJA participated in the tree planting campaign with about 20 committed employees and thus contributed to the fact that alders, willows and oaks could be planted along the Alb for the first time across municipalities.

“We want to make our contribution to the topic of sustainability locally as well and were looking for appropriate opportunities”,

Katrin Pavelka, Head of PR & Events at RAJA, explains how the tree donation came about. RAJA sees itself, not only as a player in the packaging industry, as having a duty to deal responsibly with natural resources. The company, which is based in Ettlingen, already observes this principle when procuring products: 86% of the products sold are manufactured in Europe. In addition, the range of sustainable packaging materials is continuously being expanded, as is the ongoing reduction of the company’s own carbon footprint.