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ENGAGEMENT
Exercising Our Responsibility
As entrepreneurs we not only take responsibility for our own actions, but for society as a whole responsibility we acknowledge and accept, for viable and sustainable solutions to the complex economic, social and ecological problems of our time can only be found through the active involvement of all forces of society.
mas|contour accepts this challenge by supporting the following initiatives:
Air travellers make voluntary payments to atmosfair to offset the damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions from their flights. The atmosfair emission calculator is used to determine the amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted during each flight. The funds raised in this way are invested in solar, hydropower, biomass and energy efficiency projects to contribute to saving the same amount of greenhouse gases – including their impact on the climate – as was emitted by the aircraft. atmosfair selects and finances climate protection projects in developing countries, based on a set of strict eligibility criteria. The project is being implemented under the patronage of former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer.
mas|contour engages in climate-conscious travelling. Whenever possible on business and holiday trips, we prefer to use trains, buses and other modes of public transport. If there is no alternative to flying, we pay our atmosfair share, that is, we pay our voluntary contribution in compensation for the greenhouse gases emitted during our flight.
ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) is an international children’s rights organisation based in Bangkok, Thailand. EPCAT Germany is a member of this international network, which is composed of over 300 organisations in more than 60 countries. The network’s mission is to raise the public awareness of and eliminate child pornography, trafficking of children and child prostitution in all parts of the world. EPCAT aims to uphold and implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to explain causes of abuse and to respond to these crimes using all of the law enforcement tools available. Involved in different areas (politics, legal system, economy, education), EPCAT Germany works in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental organisations to organise public awareness campaigns and projects, develop preventive strategies and establish the legal basis for the protection of children.
mas|contour is a sustaining member of EPCAT Germany. In our work we actively support the organisation’s goals and objectives.
At the international travel fair World Travel Market (WTM) in London, the World Responsible Tourism Day will be held each year focussing on topics such as “Tourism and water consumption” and “Tourism and poverty reduction”, and responsibilities of private sector in these areas. The World Responsible Tourism Day is supported by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Nicole Häusler is a volunteer member of the World Responsible Tourism Day Advisory Panel.
Short Film „DER GAST“
In 2006, “Der Gast” won the Kurzfilmpreis für einen Tourismus mit Zukunft – travel spot (“Short Film Award for Tourism with a Future – travel spot). masIcontour co-financed the broadcasting of the short film on the Berlin subway TV during the International Tourism Exchange ITB in 2007. Download des Kurzfilms
The topic of climate change has been all the rage of late. We all know what we can and must do. As the Berlin-based campaign “PROST KLIMA!” shows, one of the city’s highlights – restaurants, bars, clubs and hotels – play a significant role too, in that they have been greatly affected by steadily increasing energy prices in recent years. The PROST KLIMA! campaign offers consulting advice to restaurant and hotel owners on how to reduce their energy consumption. The aim is to reduce the businesses’ energy costs significantly while also reducing CO2 emissions. As a result environmental awareness of efficient use of natural resources is increased among restaurant and hotel owners-come-fellow campaigners. Participating businesses receive a detailed power consumption analysis and evaluation and the PROST KLIMA! label.
mas|contour actively supports the objectives and implementation of the campaign. In May 2007, Matthias Beyer and students of a Sustainable Tourism master’s degree programme at the University of Applied Sciences of Eberswalde conducted a survey for the PROST KLIMA! campaign among more than 1,000 Berliners. The purpose of this survey was to explore consumers’ knowledge about and attitudes to issues of climate protection as well as the general acceptance of climate protection activities in the restaurant and hotel sectors.
BUND has been active on issues of nature and landscape protection and sustainable development for more than 30 years. With over 390,000 members and sponsors, it is one of Germany’s largest environmental organisations. By developing long-term solution strategies, identifying environmental and nature protection objectives and implementing specific projects, BUND has been demonstrating that sustainability can be practiced in all of our everyday lives. With a nationwide task force, BUND has been campaigning for sustainable tourism and environmentally-friendly sports and recreational activities for many years.
Matthias Beyer is a volunteer deputy spokesman for the BUND federal task force for recreation, sports and tourism, a member of the Expert Panel and a representative of BUND to the board of trustees of Viabono, the umbrella brand for quality and environmentally conscious travel services in Germany.
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