Whether it's animal welfare, beekeeping or firefighting walls for firefighters' kids: the winning teams of this year's REWE Group Star competition for young talent have developed exciting projects to make a lasting difference.
"Today, it is more important than ever to do more than you have to," said REWE Group Management Board member Daniela Büchel at the opening of the REWE Group Star award ceremony, which was presented this year for the twelfth time to sustainability projects by the company's junior staff.
Doing more - that was precisely the aim of the trainees and their projects.
A total of 70 participants competed for the REWE Group Star with 18 projects. In the end, five teams won and were presented with their Star on site by Daniela Büchel, Head of Sustainability. This year's award ceremony was held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel am Stadtwald in Cologne.
In the twelfth year of the Group-wide young talent competition, prejudices against young employees were dispelled "It is always said that Generation Z is not committed, but you are a prime example that this is not the case," said Büchel, praising the winning trainees. Jochen Brühl, project consultant at REWE Group, described the teams as "beacons of society", demonstrating his appreciation for the work they had done.
All five winning groups showed a great deal of team spirit, commitment and passion for the community in their projects. Sustainability is a firmly anchored core value at REWE Group, and the trainees' projects were also dedicated to this. Some were committed to helping children with cancer, while others built a fire wall for the voluntary children's and youth fire brigade. One team even enjoyed beekeeping and produced regional honey. As different as the projects were: They all aimed to make life a little more sustainable.
Justin Mettbach, Franz Paul Xaver Testi, Lennox Edel and Lena Babel from REWE Region Mitte, flanked by REWE Group Management Board member Daniela Büchel (right) and Petra Meyer-Ochel, Head of COE Human Resources Development (left), make up the "Green against Cancer" project team. Through various activities (organising two barbecues, helping out in the front garden, supporting the summer party and handing over a gaming machine), the team collected 1,442.38 euros in donations for the Mainz Children with Cancer Association. They also supported the parents' house and took over the work of the volunteers at the summer party to ensure that everyone present had a carefree day.
Kevin Kolb, Viktor Pavlovic and Mihajlo Juric from REWE Region South are "The Honey Bears". During the course of the project, they focussed on raising their own bee colonies. This included, among other things, beekeeping the honey themselves and then selling it. As a result, the range of regional products could be expanded with the honey, delivery routes could be reduced and environmental and species protection could be supported. Around 40 jars of honey were sold when the self-produced honey was sold in the company's own market. It is already clear that the honey bears will be continued as an apprentice project.
Khaled Chouk, Rebecca Käding, Michelle Thuma and John Müller from the toom Baumarkt DIY store have joined forces in their project to form the "Reuterstädter Pappenheimers". Using materials from their toom Baumarkt DIY store, they were able to build a new fire wall for the children's and youth fire brigade. The previous fire wall only consisted of a hole through which the children could shoot water into a canister. The newly built fire wall mimics a house and has several windows containing flames that tip over when they come into contact with the water. A plus point is the water collection station, so the water can be used again and again.
Rebecca Daniels, Leo Haag, Michelle Weinand, Lennard Dawurske and Franziska Thomas from the REWE Region West took part in their project "Bring on the dirt". They collected and disposed of 123.5 kilograms of rubbish during a "dirt away day" in their community of Morbach. In the first round, 25 people took part. Due to the great enthusiasm on site, a second round is already being planned. By disposing of the rubbish, the team was not only able to reduce waste, but also counteract environmental pollution and provide the animals living there with a safe home again.
Vanessa Jahnke, Corinna Reiss, Laura Schröder, Anna Saskia Brück and Melanie Jonas from REWE Deutscher Supermarkt AG & Co. KGaA formed "The robin faction". In their project, the team cleaned, sanded and painted old cat food tins to turn them into attractive bird feeding stations. Recycling the cat food cans saved waste, while sanding them down ensured that the birds did not injure themselves while eating. After thorough research and consultation with NABU (German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union), they also mixed the food for the birds themselves. The team collected a total of 405 euros from the sale of the feeding stations and donations, which NABU is now using to build nesting boxes.
