14 Years of Climate Protection: 162.000 Trees Planted

Forests have a wide range of positive effects on the climate and the environment as a whole. The Pro Klima initiative—a joint effort by MB Energy, Petronord, and OIL! gas stations—therefore supports, among other things, reforestation projects in Germany. For example, in collaboration with the Schleswig-Holstein State Forestry Department and the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald e.V., more than 162,000 trees have already been planted in recent years. The initiative began in 2008 with a 100,000 m² site in Bönebüttel, Schleswig-Holstein, where 40,000 trees were planted. Other locations followed, with between 10,000 and 23,300 trees planted at each: Borstel-Hohenraden, Hemdingen, Hohenlockstedt, Bad Salzuflen, Weye, Hasloh, Forst Klövensteen, and Sarlhusen. As part of additional reforestation campaigns by the Pro Klima initiative, several street and park trees were also planted in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria to enhance the urban landscape. Employees of the participating companies actively contribute to the reforestation efforts, which also gives them a firsthand view of the project’s progress. In addition, joint reforestation campaigns are held with customers as well as local school classes and kindergartens.

In 2020, no joint reforestation activities took place due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the initiative sponsored the flowering of a 2,500 m² area in Löhne, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Furthermore, from 2008 to 2017, the Pro Klima initiative supported the OceanRAIN research project at the CliSAP Cluster of Excellence at the University of Hamburg, which aims to better understand the effects of climate change through precipitation measurements and the analysis of satellite data, and to draw conclusions for environmentally friendly action.