Focusing on working together.

What turbulent times we are all living through right now! In many areas, the focus is hardly on the ‘we’ anymore. Different approaches and ideas for solving the major challenges of our time are often opposed to each other and are exaggerated into seemingly irreconcilable opposites. This is precisely why we at Gira focus on the ‘we’: When, if not at Christmas time, should the focus be on working with and for each other? Growing together, standing up for each other, drawing strength and power from the diversity of the many - even beyond the festive season. After all, our day-to-day work has taught us the great value of partnership and cooperation - with our market partners, our suppliers, our neighbours and our employees. Because only together can we grow and successfully shape the future.

Colourful Christmas trees.

Since the end of November, a festively decorated Christmas tree from the Bergisches Land region has been standing in front of the Gira daycare, signaling the approach of Christmas. The tree was planted by the 45 children from our daycare centre in a joint effort with the daycare centre's staff. They decorated it with Christmas ornaments made from sustainable materials that they had previously made together. Each child had their own idea of what a great Christmas tree should look like. The blue spruce shines in a colourful and diverse way, vividly demonstrating the strength and beauty of such togetherness in diversity. This is all the more true as this special, unique tree with its very individual, Christmassy ‘outfit’ only reveals its full splendour in the overall picture with all the other Christmas trees in our company, in the region, throughout the country and all over the world. The Gira daycare centre chose its Christmas tree and its Christmas decorations with care. The tree and decorations should be as sustainable as possible. Let us inspire you!

Buy sustainably.

Christmas is even better with a Christmas tree that leaves the smallest possible carbon footprint. This is ensured by buying local trees, such as spruce or pine - preferably also felled locally - while the popular Nordmann fir trees are usually imported thousands of kilometres from Georgia and other distant countries. If you buy a Christmas tree that bears a recognised organic label (Naturland, Bioland, Demeter, Biokreis, FSC or the European Union's organic label), you can be sure that, unlike with plantation trees, it has been grown without the use of pesticides such as glyphosate and mineral fertilisers. Potted Christmas trees are not an alternative, especially indoors, as they are brought out of hibernation by the heat of the room. In addition, their roots suffer considerable damage when they are potted. These two factors often mean that trees do not survive planting out after the holidays. Detailed tips can be found on the website of the German Society for Nature Conservation.

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Decorate sustainably.

Environmentally friendly decorations can make your Christmas tree even more sustainable. These include ornaments from nature such as pine cones, nuts and fruit, as well as pendants made from untreated wood, fabric ribbons, straw stars and figures made from bee or soya wax or recycled paper. Tin foil tinsel, on the other hand, is far from sustainable as it contains lead and must be disposed of as hazardous waste. The same goes for tree decorations that are thrown away after a single use or that, like sprayed snow, prevent the tree from being composted after the holidays.

Planting sustainably.

Together with researchers, forest owners, companies and private individuals, woodify is creating near-natural climate forests that bind CO2, store water, cool their surroundings and promote local biodiversity. To date, woodify has protected 973 hectares of forest, enabling the additional sequestration of over 200,000 tonnes of CO2. The 351-hectare Oberbergischer Kreis climate forest, a degraded forest that are in need of regeneration, contributes almost 87,000 tonnes of CO2. We at Gira are working together with woodify and have been supporting the sustainable, climate-friendly forest project on our doorstep for 30 years.

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Sustainable gift giving.

Christmas is also a time for giving and receiving gifts. However, there are many people who spend Christmas alone. Gira trainees therefore established the tradition of the ‘Christmas miracle’ nine years ago. In 2024, our ‘trainees’ will once again ensure that people from our immediate neighbourhood who do not spend Christmas with family and loved ones are given a little joy in a major hands-on campaign. This year, the residents of two care facilities for senior citizens and two children's homes in the Bergisches Land region will receive presents. Our junior staff have collected wish lists there so that our colleagues can fulfil the little wishes written on them: Shortly before the holidays, our trainees will once again hand over several hundred colourfully wrapped parcels. The many smiling faces and shining eyes are a moving thank you for this commitment.

Sustainable help.

The Gira Christmas donation is also an expression of the social responsibility that Gira fulfils outside the factory gates. We support various local, national and international initiatives and charitable organisations whose work provides a valuable service to our community. This year, these include four food banks in the Bergisches Land region, Aktion Lichtblicke in North Rhine-Westphalia, SOS Children's Villages and Médecins Sans Frontières.

Radevormwalder Mittagstisch

The Radevormwalder Mittagstisch is a social organisation that provides food, clothing, household items and, since 2024, pet food to socially disadvantaged people in Radevormwald with the help of 25 volunteers and donors. Every Tuesday, the volunteers cook and offer a delicious meal with their ‘fresh cuisine’. In total, around 500 people are fed in this way.

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Remscheider food bank

Founded in 1998, the Remscheider Tafel is organised as a non-profit association. Its aim is to counteract the waste and destruction of food as well as to make ‘leftover’ food available to people in need. The number of people supported increased again in 2023.

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Wipperfürther food bank

Since 2014, the Wipperfürth food bank has been collecting surplus food from discounters and supermarkets that is still usable in order to distribute it to people in need. The food bank has issued 450 customer cards. A single person or a family of several people can be behind a card, which the 35 volunteers currently supply every week. In 2023, the Tafel received the town of Wipperfürth's volunteer award.

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Christliche Islandtafel food bank

Organised as an association, the Christliche Islandtafel has been a point of contact for people in need in Hückeswagen since it was founded in 2001. Its 25 volunteers distribute food, used clothing and freshly prepared meals to over 30 families two days a week. Demand has multiplied due to the war refugees from Ukraine.

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Aktion Lichtblicke

Aktion Lichtblicke e.V. has been working throughout North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) since 1998 to help those who have no lobby and are often overlooked: Children, young people and their families who are in material, financial and emotional distress following severe strokes of fate. The campaign was launched by the 45 local radio stations, the supporting programme radio NRW, the Caritas associations of the five NRW dioceses and Diakonie Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe. In over 57,000 cases, concrete help was provided - help that benefited more than 250,000 children and families.

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SOS Children's Village

Giving children hope and a future starts with a safe home. This is how the non-profit organisation describes the core of its mission. Founded 70 years ago, the politically and denominationally independent social organisation is active in 138 countries and territories on four continents. It runs 533 children's villages, in which around 37,400 girls and boys live. The support offered, which also includes schools and various family strengthening and youth programmes, benefits more than 2.5 million people in need. This includes Bolivia, whose SOS Children's Villages organisation we support with our donation. 36 per cent of Bolivians live below the poverty line. Child labour, limited access to education, domestic violence and extreme poverty describe the social problems suffered by the majority of the country's children and young people.

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Doctors Without Borders

Founded in 1971, the private, independent and non-partisan aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières provides emergency medical aid in crisis and war zones. Around 65,000 people, mainly from various medical professions, work in the 26 member organisations, which are based in over 20 countries - including Germany since 1993. The organisation is currently active in 73 countries. In 1999, Médecins Sans Frontières was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Focusing on working together.

Colourful Christmas trees.

Buy sustainably.

Decorate sustainably.

Planting sustainably.

Sustainable gift giving.

Sustainable help.

Radevormwalder Mittagstisch

Remscheider food bank

Wipperfürther food bank

Christliche Islandtafel food bank

Aktion Lichtblicke

SOS Children's Village

Doctors Without Borders

We wish your family, your loved ones and you a Merry Christmas and every happiness in the New Year!

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