IU Group completes employee fitness challenge for a good cause

Munich, Germany, 5 April 2024. For the third time in a row, IU Group declared March as fitness month. Following the motto "I&U Around the World", more than 1,200 IU Group employees collected as many kilometres as possible for a good cause through sporting and sustainable activities. For every circumnavigation of the globe achieved, the company will plant 1,000 trees in Tanzania to strengthen the climate and support local communities with the help of the "Grow my Tree" project from the Impact Hero organisation. The teams covered a total of 423,364 kilometres, achieving the equivalent of 10.5 circumnavigations, which equates to 10,500 trees.

Moving for climate protection & sustainability 

Planting 10,500 trees in the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania has a carbon sequestration potential of around 231 tonnes of CO2 per year and supports the restoration of biodiversity over an area of around 45,000 square metres. The number of trees equates to around 105 working days for the people in the region and enables them to learn more about sustainable development. The work in tree nurseries and in planting, caring for and monitoring trees creates sustainable income opportunities that benefit women in particular. At the same time, the incentives for illegal deforestation are combated through education and financial empowerment. 

The tree projects supported by Impact Hero help combat climate change, create habitats for animals, ensure healthy soils and restore water cycles, while strengthening local communities through income and education opportunities. Impact Hero works with project partners in over 20 countries in the Global South, where the impact is greatest. For IU Group, Impact Hero is the ideal partner for its employee campaign, as it is increasingly committed to sustainable development on an economic, social and ecological level and is guided by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

Healthy & responsible employees 

Teams from all IU Group locations and facilities around the world came together to take part in the challenge. Using the fitness app "TeamFit", the teams recorded their activities, which were converted into kilometres. Any form of movement counted, such as walking, home workouts, house cleaning, mindfulness and breathing exercises and much more. A special focus this year was on sustainable activities. For example, anyone who swapped their car for a train or bike, drank tap water instead of bottled water, took a vegetarian or vegan day or shortened their shower time collected additional kilometres in a simple and sustainable way. Around ten per cent of all kilometres achieved were based on sustainable activities, which puts it in second place compared to all other activities. Only steps taken accounted for an even greater proportion of the overall result, with 25 per cent. In addition, all participants received many helpful tips for a more sustainable lifestyle during the challenge period as well as background information on IU Group's many other ESG initiatives. 

"Sustainability and social responsibility start within the company itself. Through campaigns like this, we try to raise awareness within IU Group and support our employees to grow personally and make a positive contribution together - for our students and our environment," says Čaičics.

Why planting trees with Impact Hero?
 

Statistics & project insights
 

IU Group certificate