We regard it as part of our social responsibility to get actively involved in the regions where we operate and to contribute to a livable society for all. For us and our employees, it is therefore only logical to contribute our expertise and our individual skills in different projects and initiatives – both on our own doorstep and beyond national borders.
Help for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria
On February 6, 2023, devastating earthquakes shook the southeast of Turkey and the northwest of Syria. More than 47,000 people lost their lives. Just two weeks later, two more earthquakes struck in the Turkish-Syrian border region. We also have a large number of colleagues in the company who have family, friends and acquaintances in the affected regions. The decision as a company that we wanted to help was quickly made, with the Board of Management donating 25,000 euros to the joint account of the “Alliance Development Works” (“Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft”) and “Aktion Deutschland Hilft.” The Alliance forwards donations to its member organizations and ensures that the aid gets where it is intended to go.
Support for the WFP
BLG LOGISTICS has been supporting the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the largest humanitarian organization in the fight against worldwide hunger, for over ten years, and is in the meantime one of 28 partner organizations. Our contribution consists in making logistics expertise available to inspect and analyze the logistics capacity of ports, roads, railway lines, warehouses and other logistics facilities.
Last year, employees were able to contribute their expertise on a mission in southern Africa: In Namibia and South Africa, the colleagues analyzed a total of four ports and associated corridors to the northeast. The aim was to inspect the entire infrastructure of ports, warehouses, rail and road connections and find ways to efficiently provide humanitarian aid in crisis situations in threatened regions of Africa, as well as make concrete recommendations for action.
Free visit to Bremerhaven’s Klimahaus
Fourth-grade schoolchildren from Bremerhaven schools went on another day trip in 2023. BLG LOGISTICS again invited the elementary schoolchildren for a free visit to the Klimahaus Bremerhaven. Since 2013, up to 1,000 fourth graders each year have been offered the opportunity to participate in this generous initiative. On an area of 11,000 square meters, they can have fun learning about the earth’s different climate zones, the inexorable march of climate change and various scenarios for the future. As an award-winning extracurricular learning venue, the Klimahaus also shows what steps we can take to actively mitigate the effects of climate change.
Simulating a Climate Change Conference in Bremerhaven
As part of the Climate Change Conference Week in November 2023, ninth and tenth graders got to simulate a real UN Climate Change Conference. Just as in reality, as representatives of their countries the participants had to deploy their negotiating skills and make decisions in order to limit the increase in the average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100. This daunting and difficult task not only appeals to the emotions, but also strengthens analytical thinking and invites discussion. Keeping the goal in mind and developing solutions together through strong arguments was the central challenge, inviting the students to explore global correlations and the most important issues surrounding climate change in a hands-on way.
“Gift a Smile” campaign
At Christmastime, it has become a firm tradition for us to participate in the “Schenk ein Lächeln” (“Gift a Smile”) campaign organized by the charity Bremer Tafel e.V. Organized and coordinated by our junior management staff, BLG employees again donated almost 100 gifts in 2023, which were distributed to the children by BLG’s very own Santa Claus. The Bremen Winter Bus was another social commitment cause selected by our junior management staff. The project was initiated in 2012 as a drop-in center where the homeless could get a hot drink and soup. On St. Nicholas Day, members of the Board of Management also put their aprons on and baked waffles for colleagues at the BLG central departments in Bremen to raise funds for this good cause. Subsequently, the Board of Management generously more than doubled the money raised to 2,000 euros.
Engagement for sports und culture
The BLG Group has sponsored the Bremerhaven Eisbären for 18 seasons, and for 13 years as main sponsor. In July 2023, BLG LOGISTICS not only renewed, but also extended its partnership with the basketball team, with a focus on investing in the Eisbären’s sustainability goals in the future. One emphasis will be the Bremerhaven team’s work with young players. BLG’s CEO Frank Dreeke confirms: “Eisbären Bremerhaven’s commitment to youth development is exemplary and fits in well with our goals, namely to promote projects that make our region more environmentally, economically or socially sustainable.” The Eisbären are ranked 17th in the German Basketball Association’s (DBB) list of the 100 clubs in Germany with the most members. The Eisbären regularly see the biggest growth in their junior teams. With the youngest players, measures such as elementary school leagues, visits from Eisbären pros and vacation camps are a big hit.
In 2023, BLG extended its engagement in sports and now also sponsors the Fischtown Pinguins. In the ice hockey team’s arena, Board of Management member and COO Matthias Magnor put it in a nutshell: “BLG and the Fischtown Pinguins – it’s simply a good fit.”
BLG was also active in the music world. For many years, the company has supported the Bremen Music Festival, the Bremen Film Festival and The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Last year, the Bremen musicians won the Gramophone Classical Music Award in the category “Orchestra of the Year,” one of the classical music scene’s most prestigious awards. Since 2007, the orchestra has had its rehearsal rooms on the premises of the Gesamtschule Bremen-Ost (Bremen East Comprehensive School) in Osterholz-Tenever, a disadvantaged neighborhood with a variety of social challenges. The close proximity to the school gave rise to the “Future Lab,” in which members of The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen promote individual personal growth through music. In 2023, around 70 senior BLG executives took part in a conference at the comprehensive school within the scope of the “Melody of Life” show series and exchanged views with the students.