Author: Kerstin Seeger

* current investments or money to invest
* Financial responsibility or discussions with the financial officers:n
* Communication
* the feeling of promoting the right thing with invested money


Does my company own a Eurofighter or support the exploitation of people and nature? Very few of us want that, and yet we may be putting our company's money into investment products that support exactly that. In the end, we own a Eurofighter or support bad working conditions and the destruction of nature. All things that do not let our economy grow.
That's why it's a good idea to review investments and "de-invest" if necessary. "Deinvestment" or "divestment" is the opposite of investment. It means that unethical stocks, bonds or mutual funds are divested. Thereupon, investments can be made in other assets. But in which ones?

In the meantime, the first guidelines for sustainable investments have been developed. The ESG criteria are recognized sustainability standards in the financial world. E" (Environment) stands for ecological characteristics, "S" (Social) for social commitment and "G" (Governance) for sustainable corporate management. Further guidance is provided by seals and rating platforms, for example these:

* The FNG seal from the Sustainable Investment Forum was developed together with financial experts and experts from social and environmental organizations to verify funds by independent auditors.

* Climetrics is a climate rating for funds. It rates funds based on
of the climate impact of the stocks in its portfolio. Climetrics is backed by international climate experts such as the Non-profit organization CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project).

With a sustainable financial strategy, our companies can support ecological, ethical and social enterprises and projects. We could be rewarded with a "double dividend": a financial one and a happy one!
Also inform all colleagues or employees about the realignment of your financial strategy and pass on the know-how.

Variation
The financial check can of course also be applied in private life.

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

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This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger

* Appreciation of raw materials
* Desire to connect with local initiatives
* Thinking beyond depreciation cycles
* Some coordination effort
* Consultation with financial expert:in
* Save disposal fee


Does your company also discard IT technology after a defined period of time (usually a depreciation cycle) and replace it with new products, even though it is still functional?
Apart from the fact that one should critically question this circumstance, we can already do something in the meantime until the fundamental phenomenon is combated.

I recently agreed with a company that their depreciated IT technology and some furniture would be given to a non-profit -. a win-win situation for everyone: the company does not have to have its products scrapped, the association and its various cooperation partners receive functioning products.

Be on the lookout for local initiatives / organizations and ask if anything is needed, and if so, how the collection is reliably arranged. You have the small effort to list the products and, if necessary, to photograph them in order to hand them over to new hands. In addition, you should talk to your financial expert(s) about how the action can be reflected in the accounting system. So there is some coordination involved, although you would also have to coordinate and pay for the disposal of the equipment.

Should you not find a buyer:in, there are also companies that specialize in making business IT fit again for inexpensive resale (so-called „refurbished IT“). Examples include: „AfB - social and green IT“ or „Green Panda“. There are many more providers.

If IT still has to be disposed of, remember to dispose of it properly so that valuable raw materials can be recycled. For cell phones in particular, there are now collection campaigns and collection boxes run by various companies and initiatives almost everywhere. In some campaigns, you can even send in the cell phones free of charge. All devices contain valuable raw materials such as gold or copper. These are too valuable to be left unused, also because the extraction of raw materials causes massive problems: The mining is usually associated with human rights violations, child labor and destruction of nature! This makes proper recycling all the more important, so that these raw materials can be recovered and illegal exports of e-waste can be avoided. IT equipment should therefore not simply end up in hazardous waste.

ModificationAsk your employees whether they need company equipment for private use. Here, too, attention must be paid to financial issues (imputed income).

Bye, bye IT? If you are faced with this question, try this recipe.
Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

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This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger

* Interest in gardening
* Joy of experimentation
* Colleagues:inside, Team
* Balcony, roof terrace, courtyard, outdoor area in the company
* Procurement of materials and plants
* Persuasion time

Do you have a herb bed or other edible plants in your company? Why not, actually? How about basil and tomatoes in the summer? Add some delicious mozzarella and lunch is almost ready... Besides, such a planting bed is a wonderful team task (setting it up and also taking care of it) and promotes communication as well as the feel-good factor in the company. What more do you want?

Talk about your idea in the next team meeting: a raised bed can be built in a very small space. To get started, even a few converted flower boxes can be useful. It is best if one person puts on the responsible "gardener:in hat" and coordinates the setting up and planting. A small survey can also be started among the colleagues to find out which plants are desired. It is also nice if there is seating around the bed and thus a lively center is created. Plants stimulate many thoughts and conversations: about appreciation of plants and food, about nutrition, about one's own purchasing behavior, or simply about the beauty of nature. : )

Anyone who grows their own vegetables knows how proud and satisfied the harvest can make them, and how delicious it can be - no matter how small.
Ideally, you already have a few examples of how the planting bed could look like, and know what materials are needed.

Small tip
Maybe there is also an "urban gardening project" in your place. Just drop by there and find out about the bed possibilities.

We are very curious about the experience with this recipe.

Try this recipe right now.
Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

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This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger

* Tea kitchen and/or lunch break
* Colleagues:inside, Team
* Fairtrade and organic products
* Courage
* Persuasion time
* Changeover in purchasing

What does the kitchenette (if any) or the lunch break look like in your company? What kind of coffee comes out of the coffee machine? What other drinks are available? How is the refrigerator stocked?

If we think about the ECONOMY, we can start with the seemingly small things in our everyday work. You will see that once a small start has been made here, a stone will start rolling, and colleagues will start thinking about bigger things, too!

Encourage the use of organic and Fairtrade coffee in the future and suggest to look for organic and Fairtrade goods in the tea kitchen and at the common lunch break. Perhaps you are a team or company leader? Then you can influence purchasing even more easily, if necessary.

Raise the issue at the next team meeting. If persuasion is necessary, point out the eco-social consequences of conventional products and make it clear that you care about the conditions under which they are produced. In the best case, you can already recommend a particular brand or store to buy from. It should be in the company's neighborhood or on the driving route, and it should be practically feasible. So don't immediately recommend the coffee roastery on the other side of town....

Even if some colleagues initially dismiss the topic as "not that important," the bottom line is that you will benefit from paying attention to everyone's well-being and not displaying a "don't care" mentality. Give your colleagues some time and keep at it.

Try this recipe right now.
Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

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This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger

* Working time
* Rescheduling: Finish earlier
* Friends, family
* Telephone or nice meeting place, such as picnic area / urban gardening project / cafe / pub.

For years, Australian nurse Bronnie Ware accompanied terminally ill people in the last weeks of their lives. When she asked the patients what they regretted in their lives or what they would have preferred to have done differently, the same five topics usually came up.
In second place, "I wish I hadn't worked so much."
Without exception, this came from every man Bronnie Ware cared for. Even some women expressed this regret. The fear of not earning enough money or the pressure of having to make a career are more widespread in our capitalist world than ever before.
Rank 4: "I wish I had kept in touch with my friends."
Many regret that they have given too little time and attention to their friends, their family. Job, career, house and stuff were often more important.

Plan a "private work time reduction" in which you then devote yourself to your loved ones or your friend:in. For example, you could plan to finish 90 minutes early every Tuesday and then start a nice evening. And not, as may be usual, completely exhausted and exhausted, but relaxed and open for a nice evening. Plan this shortening in your schedule and inform your colleagues and maybe even your boss about it (surely you have enough overtime to try this out for some time). For longer-term schedules, plan a month in advance and inform your colleagues. Who knows, maybe you can infect others with this idea...?

Try this recipe right now.
Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

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This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger

* Colleagues:inside
* Workplace
* Change of perspective
* Perceive feelings and moods


Next to family and / or partnership, the workplace is almost the most important place of a person! At least it is a place where you spend the longest time of your day. Every person comes to work every morning with their own very personal issues. That is, each:r brings his whole story every day. Everything that makes him happy and everything that is in turmoil right now. Ask yourself for one day: How is my colleague really doing today? What do you think he/she brings? What language do their eyes speak? Are they fearful, angry, or sad? Some say that in each of us there is also an inner child – a little boy or a little girl. When shining and bright eyes meet us, we may see the child in our counterpart. Do you discover the child in your colleague?
Feeling can also mean: "Go and feel" Perceiving feelings starts with a person and changes teams, departments, companies and the world.

Modification
* If colleagues are not available, you are welcome to try it out with acquaintances.

Try this recipe right now.
Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

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This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger

* Desire to try out the WIRtschaft in a practical way.
* Desire for cooking & good food
* Regularity
* Desire to help out and think in an agricultural environment

Yes..., is all quite nice and nice - but where is the other economies live and in color!? I mean really different! Organized differently, financed differently and on top of that still eco-social?
You won't believe it - it exists, and it's certainly close by! If you want to get started in a very practical and down-to-earth way, the entry into Solidarity Farming is just right! In a Solidarity Farming (SoLaWi), you switch from the role of consumer to the role of "harvest-sharer" and take responsibility for a LandWIRtschaft. You pay a jointly agreed monthly contribution (this is usually fixed for the coming year) and in return you get what is growing. The harvest of a farm (or several farms) is divided equally among all SoLaWi members. So each week you get a more than ample portion of fresh, seasonal and regional organic vegetables delivered to one of the numerous distribution stations - and in a quality like almost nowhere else. The farmers receive a fixed contribution - regardless of crop failures, etc. They do not have to sell themselves on the market and can thus treat animals, plants and the soil in a completely different way.
In addition, you get to know "your" farm up close and personal, because helping hands are always needed, e.g. for harvesting or delivering vegetables.
In Solidarity Farming, food is no longer sold on the market, but flows into a transparent economic cycle that is organized and financed by the consumers.
Here you can find a SoLaWi near you: https://www.solidarische-landwirtschaft.org/solawis-finden/auflistung/solawis
For more info, contact the Solidarity Farming Network: https://www.solidarische-landwirtschaft.org/startseite
Movies: https://www.solidarische-landwirtschaft.org/mediathek/filme

Modifications
* If you want to set the difficulty to "easy", you can first read about SoLaWi and subscribe to the SoLaWi newsletter (https://www.solidarische-landwirtschaft.org/startseite).
* In the meantime, there are also other industries that are trying out this model (CSX - Community Supported everything). Health insurances and many more can be found here! Also here you can get on board.

Try this recipe right now.
Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!

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This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger