Editorial Everything’s turned green... wherever you look. Not just in our beautiful Lech Valley, but also in our industry. Of course we hear the odd murmur: ‘ah, so you lot are also jumping on the bandwagon now.’ Not at all: we’ve been on the bandwagon for quite some time. After all we live and work in the middle of a natural park. The Lech Valley has not only been recognised as a target of the Natura 2000 network of protected areas throughout Europe. It is also quite officially a nature reserve. That entails a certain amount of obligation. It’s an enormous privilege that we can live and work in such a wonderfully unique landscape, particularly in a world like ours. It’s certainly not something we take for granted. What matters is to preserve this environment. And of course not just this one...
		Yes, it’s possible: CO2-neutral media products Anyone truly and seriously committed to a sustainable and greener way of doing business – i.e. not just for the sake of appearances or because it’s opportune to do so at the moment – always thinks in terms of the bigger picture, which extends far beyond the confines of the local valley or local environment. They know that the links which bind us together are systemic in nature. Even primitive people in ancient times were aware of this fact: they passed on an important lesson of life to their children and following generations, namely that the resources which we have are all finite and must be kept in balance. So anyone using natural resources for his own ends always had to compensate for this at another level. The concept of carbon offsetting is an approach based on this ancient model of compensation. We find this line of thought attractive, so we would now like to give our customers the additional opportunity to commission explicitly CO2-neutral media products. What it means is that you acquire climate protection certificates in support of a first-class emissions-reducing project and hence neutralise greenhouse gas emissions that are generated during the production of your order. To be a little more specific, we have already acquired climate protection certificates for a methane recovery project in Hannstedt. If you’re interested in finding out more about CO2-neutral media production you’re more than welcome to talk to our quality manager Alex Wörle (extension 371). He’s been working quite intensively on this issue over the last weeks and months and would be pleased to calculate the average or precise carbon footprint created by a particular media production order.
		On the way to a greener media world Of course these are only single steps, as matters stand. But on the way to a more pleasant world, one which offers greater quality of life, we think it’s necessary to take things step by step. Especially at this particular moment, when many things seem full of gloom and doom, we should start out on this journey together. A journey to a greener world which is more fun to live in. Our world is that of the media, art, culture, education, games, entertainment and communication. And precisely by means of the content we are relaying to you here as well as the media products which we have the honour to produce for you we all of course automatically turn into messengers, too. For the way we carry out our manufacturing operations, the way we ship our products, the kind of packaging we choose and the way we dispose of waste also raises awareness among the people in our immediate environment - starting from our suppliers and business partners through to our own staff and right down to our existing and of course our new customers. After all, espousing genuine values and adopting a clear attitude have recovered their old importance. And quite clearly that is the other shiny side of the crisis coin.
		Definitely catching on: greener media clothes Yes, you’re right. Just because something is labelled green doesn’t necessarily make it environmentally friendly. And of course the same thing also applies to our industry. Naturally, purely “green” packaging is completely impossible per se. Unless of course we were to rest our discs on a bed of fresh hay. But more environmentally friendly packaging is always desirable – and realistic. And there’s now a considerable range of greener packaging options. True, they’re also more expensive. But they’re snazzier. By doing so you’re sure to garner more attention and of course appreciation among your customers. We’ve prepared an interesting collection of greener packaging for you. So why not have your sales and customer adviser show you a few samples. Oh, and incidentally: we pack your pre-assembled products exclusively in recycling cardboard boxes.
		1. Our green summer campaign: CO2-neutral Wrap Packs Are you aware of our Wrap Pack? It’s a prime example of greener media packaging. That’s because it’s multifunctional and doesn’t contain plastic. You can use the Wrap Pack both for mailshots and as an image folder. And because we’re really serious about the greener media world, we’ll even make the Wrap Pack truly green for you until the end of July. In other words if you order a Wrap Pack we’ll offset the CO2 on your behalf.So what you get is a CO2-neutral product.
		2. Make use of our kdg returns service Use our professional returns and disposal service. We’re competent in carrying out the proper disposal of your CD/DVD products. What’s more, we’ll ensure that the data carriers are actually destroyed and that the discs, the packaging and printed materials are correctly returned to the recycling process. Your customer adviser will be pleased to provide you with further details.