Werkstatt N: Sustainability Council honors VAUDE Second Use Program

Tettnang, 08.03.2016

VAUDE has been honored by the German Council for Sustainable Development for its Second Use Program which the company created to help ensure that its products are used longer. In cooperation with eBay, the outdoor outfitter supports the private resale of used VAUDE products on a "re-commerce platform" to prolong the lifespan of its products. For the fifth time, the German Council for Sustainable Development is awarding its "Werkstatt-N" seal of quality to 100 groundbreaking projects and project drafts that are making sustainable thinking and action come alive.

"All award-winning initiatives are important role models for sustainability that is lived out in the midst of society. They demonstrate creative and innovative ways to successfully incorporate responsible action with each other, in business and with the environment", said the Council President Marleen Thieme.

"With the Second Use program, VAUDE wants to counteract our throwaway mentality. This initiative is not linked with any economic advantages; on the contrary, it entails considerable effort on our part. But we feel responsible for more than just the sale of a product; maintenance, the use phase and recycling are also included. The Second Use Program is an important component in addressing this. We are therefore very pleased to receive this award ", said Jan Lorch, "Werkstatt-N" seal of quality
VAUDE Second Use Program

With the company's re-commerce platform on eBay, VAUDE is supporting private consumers with purchasing and re-selling used VAUDE products, which extends the product's life cycle. Here's how it works: when you upload a used VAUDE product on eBay, it is automatically sorted into the VAUDE Second Use Store. VAUDE does not earn anything for the sale of the product.   The response has been great: about 700 items are currently available on the re-commerce platform. Together with eBay, VAUDE has developed this innovative service for the German market.

The Jury
The jury, which consists of council members of the German Council for Sustainable Development, reviewed 380 applications with regard to a comprehensive understanding of sustainability and the originality of the company's approach (among other criteria). As a Workshop N-Project, initiatives that have already been put into practice are honored. The Werkstatt N-Impuls quality seal is awarded for project drafts that have yet to be implemented. All winning projects and drafts become part of the Werkstatt N network where they can interface with other initiatives. The current Werkstatt N projects and project drafts can be found online at www.werkstatt-n.de.
A few selected contributions will also be presented at the annual German Council for Sustainable Development Conference to be held on May 31^st, 2016 in Berlin. For more information about the event, please visit: www.nachhaltigkeitsrat.de/konferenz

The German Council for Sustainable Development
The German Council for Sustainable Development consists of 16 public figures who are appointed by the Chancellor for a term of three years. The council's tasks include developing contributions to implement the National Sustainability Strategy, specifying concrete areas for action and projects, as well as making sustainability an important public issue. More at www.nachhaltigkeitsrat.de
The Council for Sustainable Development has also launched the Sustainable Shopping Basket, a federal government guide and app that points out sustainable consumer alternatives for all areas of life and gives concrete rules of thumb for consumer decision making: www.nachhaltiger-warenkorb.de
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VAUDE ist Deutschlands nachhaltigste Marke. Mehr dazu: http://nachhaltigkeitsbericht.vaude.com/gri/news/Deutscher-Nachhaltigkeitspreis-2015.php
Der neue VAUDE Nachhaltigkeitsbericht ist online: http://nachhaltigkeitsbericht.vaude.com/
VAUDE Newsroom: http://www.vaude.com/de-DE/Unternehmen/Presse
VAUDE bietet funktionelle und innovative Produkte für Berg- und Bikesportler. Als nachhaltig innovativer Outdoor-Ausrüster Europas leistet VAUDE einen Beitrag zu einer lebenswerten Welt, damit Menschen von morgen die Natur mit gutem Gewissen genießen können. Dabei setzt das Familienunternehmen weltweit ökologische und soziale Standards. VAUDE (sprich [fau?de]) steht für umweltfreundliche Produkte aus fairer Herstellung. Am Firmensitz im süddeutschen Tettnang beschäftigt das Unternehmen rund 500 Mitarbeiter.