Initiatives with added value

Sustainability is part of our core business and integral to our Corporate Strategy. It is a vibrant element in our activities at all levels, from our internal Sustainability Challenge to framework agreements and SDG-Scouts®. Three examples illustrate how far our commitment to sustainability goes.

Women power an upcycling project in Kenya

Sustainability is a key concern of GIZ staff. In 2024, we established the company-wide Sustainability Challenge as a suitable way of honouring and celebrating their commitment. Staff on all continents were able to submit their projects, which were judged in four categories: fragility, the workplace, diversity/inclusion and cost-effectiveness. A total of 37 projects, nominated by 23 countries, participated in the challenge in 2024. Over 5,000 colleagues got involved in the vote to choose the winners.

The joy and jubilation knew no bounds when the Banner to Bags Project from Kenya was crowned the winner of the workplace category. The idea was for seamstresses in a Kenyan district that is home to a large number of refugees to make bright and colourful bags out of old GIZ banners and roll-ups, thereby allowing them to generate additional income. The concept was lauded not only by GIZ staff who voted but also by the jury, who chose the winners from the ranks of the finalists with the most votes.

"It was simply incredible to get such a positive response," says Jennifer Okumu, who is responsible for communication at GIZ’s Kenya Office. She and her colleagues Lorraine Nguku and Esther Muthee were behind Kenya’s entry. "In our country office and the project offices in Kenya and Somalia, a large number of banners are produced that can only be used once or at some point no longer look so good. In GIZ’s Kenya Office alone, almost 300 old banners had gathered over the years."

Jennifer Okumu and her colleagues had the idea of using the banners to produce bags and give refugees a new source of income. Okumu shouldered responsibility for the overall coordination and communication regarding the entry to the Sustainability Challenge. Lorraine Nguku, whose duties include communication for projects in the field of (forced) displacement, established contact with a refugee project. Esther Muthee, gender advisor in GIZ’s Kenya Office, took on responsibility for logistics and budget monitoring. The EUR 3,500 prize money for the Sustainability Challenge has been invested by the winners to support the project.

The main actors in the sustainability project are women from Kakuma, a small town in Kenya, which is home to one of the world’s largest refugee camps. Women from the camp and the surrounding district are given dressmaking and business training as part of the project that GIZ is implementing there. Most women are already working as self-employed seamstresses, creating ideal preconditions for upcycling used banners.

Okumu and her two colleagues managed to recruit someone from a leather processing company to support their project. He showed the women how to process the firm materials that banners are made of. That was hugely beneficial. "I’m delighted that I’ve learned so much. I look forward to using the new techniques and developing my business," says seamstress Gloria Echoto Iopurui.

37 projects
Grafik: Weltkugel mit Standort-Anzeige.
from 23 countries participated in the challenge.
A smiling woman stands in front of a blue metal wall wearing a printed t-shirt and carrying a brightly coloured fabric bag with a floral pattern on it.
Seamstress Gloria Echoto Iopurui from Kakuma proudly presents her new bag.
A woman works carefully at a sewing machine to make a bag from recycled materials; in the background are other women working on similar projects.
A seamstress is practicing with the new material.
Three women and one man stand together at a table; they are cutting and shaping materials that are laid out on a work surface.
In workshops participants learn how to use new materials.
A group of women in a factory hall practise handling recycling materials and use them to sew products.
Together they practise using the recycled material from the old banners.
Group photo of women and men in front of a blue building; many are holding bags made of recycled materials that they have sewn together themselves.
Participants proudly present their results. They can now use their new knowledge in their everyday work as seamstresses.

A Kenyan textile company, which has experience with recycled materials, developed a prototype for the banner bags. "Since the women in Kakuma already sew sanitary towels, it seemed appropriate to use the banners to make small toilet bags to carry them," explains Esther Muthee. Larger shopping bags and pencil cases were added later on. "The bags have been really well received. Everyone in the GIZ Kenya Office wanted one straight away," Jennifer Okumu tells us. That allowed the seamstresses to generate their first income with the sustainable products immediately. "Some of the seamstresses we trained are now selling bags made from recycled materials. The Challenge project gave them pointers as to what materials are suitable," explains Muthee with enthusiasm. It’s difficult to imagine a more sustainable project.

An outdoor exhibition stand with a rack full of brightly coloured bags made from recycled materials. Next to the stand is a ProSEET project banner.
The bags made from the recycled material are now for sale.

3 questions for Marcel Nitschmann

Profile picture of Marcel Nitschmann.

"The impact on the climate is huge."

Marcel Nitschmann

Head of section in GIZ's Procurement and Contracting Division
Photo: © GIZ / D. Ostermeier 

Since 2024, GIZ has procured air conditioning units for its offices around the world centrally. Marcel Nitschmann, who heads up a section in the Procurement and Contracting Division, explains the advantages.

Mr Nitschmann, in April 2024 GIZ concluded a framework agreement for the procurement of environmentally friendly air conditioning units for project offices around the globe. What exactly is behind this?

GIZ has offices in more than 80 countries worldwide, the vast majority of them in tropical areas. These offices, and many of GIZ’s partner organisations, need air conditioning. Until very recently, air conditioning units were mainly procured locally. But most of them contain coolants that are harmful for the climate since natural coolants are not yet widely available. The framework agreement allows us to procure ozone-friendly, green air conditioning units centrally. The impact on the climate is huge: climate-friendly units emit between 200 and 1,000 times less greenhouse gas than units that are available locally in our countries of assignment.

How has this service been received in the field structure?

In 2024, as many as 1,400 air conditioning units were ordered via the framework agreement, and subsequently delivered to various partner countries. The advantages for our colleagues there are obvious. It is now very easy for them to procure air conditioning units with less harmful impact on the environment, making a significant contribution to GIZ’s sustainability performance. There are also economic advantages. Units that use natural coolants are more expensive to purchase than conventional systems, but their energy efficiency rating is much better. They only use about half as much electricity, so the procurement costs are very quickly recouped.

What is the strategic value of the framework agreement for GIZ?

Sustainability is key to our Corporate Strategy. Sustainable procurement is also one of four focal issues in our current Sustainability Programme. The cross-project framework agreement makes an important contribution to both of these. It is one example of the holistic approach adopted by our Corporate Strategy. Sustainability shapes both our project work and our business activities. For instance, we advise the German Government and partner governments on the implementation of the Montreal Protocol, which regulates the use of substances that are harmful to the ozone layer and climate. With the framework agreement, GIZ is leading by example in this area. Conventional air conditioning units used to date have coolants that are a major factor in fuelling global warming. By contrast, the coolant used in the new units is practically climate-neutral.

SDG-Scouts®: youth ambassadors for sustainability

To mainstream sustainability within GIZ even more effectively, we actively participated in the Germany-wide SDG-Scouts® initiative. It offers interested trainees and young professionals workshops on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Participants then share their newly acquired knowledge with colleagues. As sustainability ambassadors, they initiate projects within their companies to hone awareness among staff of the need for climate action and environmental protection.

A total of 10 trainees and young professionals undertaking dual study programmes at GIZ took up this offer in 2024. "At GIZ, sustainability is a major focus anyway, and it’s also an integral part of project work around the world," says Malin Michelsen, one of the programme participants. "But for staff who are not directly involved in project work, the issue can often seem a bit abstract. As sustainability ambassadors, we see it as our job to make the topic as tangible as possible for them."

GIZ’s sustainability ambassadors have undertaken to pass on their expertise to other trainees at in-company workshops. The first of these was held at the start of 2024. One of the items on the agenda was how GIZ can do even better in terms of sustainability, with one example being the procurement of environmentally friendly office supplies and laptops. Workshop participants also discussed the contribution that every individual can make to reducing GIZ’s environmental footprint by using materials, water and electricity sparingly.

SDG-Scouts®

The SDG-Scouts® are an initiative of the German Environmental Management Association (BAUM). The training of young professionals as sustainability ambassadors lasts between six and eight months. It consists of several workshops and in-house practical phases, bringing together young people from different companies. Participants become more familiar with the structures inside their own companies and also have the opportunity to gain a broader picture.

More information
A group of people sitting at a long table in a seminar room while a woman at the end of the table, by the board, speaks; the word ‘sustainability’ is written on the board.
In internal workshops, the GIZ’s sustainability ambassadors pass on their sustainability knowledge to other trainees.

The peer-to-peer discussions looked at sustainable consumption as well. "In this way, the SDG-Scouts® project is also helping GIZ meet its socio-political mandate," explains Esther Berrens, training coordinator at the Eschborn office. She was the one who suggested that GIZ get involved in the initiative. The company’s 10 sustainability ambassadors intend to continue their engagement, in doing so attaining the key objective of the SDG-Scouts® initiative, which is to raise awareness of sustainability among the managers of tomorrow and support them in their role as multipliers.

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