Make a difference: Great commitment to the environment and society!

With their involvement in World Cleanup Day and the Social Days as part of ERGO Corporate Volunteering, numerous colleagues have set an example for a cleaner and more liveable future – throughout Germany and internationally.

Promoting our employees' commitment to society and the environment is an integral part of ERGO's corporate culture. A whole series of German and international teams came together to improve the environment on the one hand and to make a social contribution on the other. Not only was it a lot of fun for everyone, but it also helped to bring us closer together in line with the motto ’ERGO. Grow together.’

Campaign against litter

One of the global initiatives is World Cleanup Day, which takes place every year on 20 September. It aims to take a stand against the littering of the planet. In 2024, millions of people worldwide participated in over 190 countries. In Germany alone, more than 630,000 people took part in organised clean-up campaigns in almost 2,500 cities and towns. This year, ERGO joined the movement for the first time, which actively fights for sustainability and against environmental pollution.

Numerous colleagues did not hesitate for long and were enthusiastic about the idea – and actively pitched in. They filled more than 650 rubbish bags in the period from 16 to 27 September. The cleanups did not only take place at the ERGO locations in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne, Mannheim, Munich and Nuremberg. International participants included employees from Luxembourg, China, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Singapore.

The campaign was organised and implemented locally by the companies. For example, in Berlin, our colleagues were out and about in the park at Anhalter Bahnhof with spades and bags, which, with its generous green spaces and walking paths, is an inviting place to relax. They also took care of the area around ERGO Platz 1 and 2 and the banks of the Rhine in Düsseldorf. And in Nuremberg, our colleagues cleaned up the area around the administrative site and cleared rubbish from the streets.

ERGO employees also got involved in environmental activities internationally: in Luxembourg in the Trois Grands park and in Madrid in the Parque Valdelatas Alcobendas. In Zaragoza, Brussels, Gdansk and Copenhagen, colleagues were drawn to the water – to the Ebro, the canals, the beach and the harbour. And our Chinese colleagues from the China Life headquarters climbed the mountains of Jinan in search of rubbish.

Support for eleven social projects in Germany

ERGO has a long tradition of supporting social projects, which – like Cleanup Day – is an integral part of the corporate culture. As part of the Social Days, employees had the opportunity to get actively involved in charitable projects. And they took advantage of this. For example, in Düsseldorf, they helped and cheered on the young acrobats in the circus, helped spruce up and paint the playground at the Joachim-Neander School, and helped with the apple harvest in the Urdenbacher Kämpen nature reserve. In Hamburg, the focus was on planting an orchard in Schnelsen, in Cologne the aim was to give disadvantaged children a great afternoon of games, and in Munich, our colleagues took wheelchair users to the Oktoberfest.

Text: Bärbel Naberbäumer