Social responsibility
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| Children are our future. This is why Tetra attaches great importance to
their education.. Every year, Tetra gives advice to around 100 schools and
nurseries on how to set up aquariums. Learning, observing and trying out
are the fundamental pillars required for the healthy development of a child’s
mind, soul and body, a particularly important aspect in this day and age,
when the world is dominated by electronic media. This childlike thirst for
knowledge and enthusiasm can be stimulated with a beginner’s aquarium,
which is of high educational value. We especially designed our AquaArt
Discover Line aquariums for the target groups of families and children.
Thanks to EasyCrystal® filter technology, AquaArt aquariums are easy
to operate and maintain. They also contain detailed information on how
to set up and care for an aquarium, and also give examples of furnished
aquariums, to introduce children as effectively as possible to caring for
their own small ecosystem.. Childlike thirst for knowledge is encouraged by setting up an aquarium, selecting fish and caring for their needs. Children are then able at an early age to learn the positive effects of sustainable actions and, by dealing with fish, learn values such as responsibility and reliability. Feedback from nurseries and schools confirm this, and encourage us to further extend projects involving child education. Tetra has sponsored the Tetra aquarium in Osnabrück Zoo for many years. By sponsoring the zoo and giving them our know-how, it has been possible to continually modernise and extend the aquarium. Thousands of children are introduced to the fascination of underwater life every year. “Biolab” is an educational biology laboratory supported by Tetra at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, the Natural History Museum in Milan. In this “hands-on” museum, visitors, most of whom are children, are interactively involved in the exhibition. Children are given an understanding of evolution and biodiversity, as well as an appreciation of flora and fauna using different freshwater and marine aquariums and terrariums. Using a likeable cartoon character, a little boy called “TetraKid”, our “TetraKid” campaign in France motivates children and youths to learn more about aquariums and all their biological and chemical interactions. On our child-friendly web site www.tetrakid.com, we tell children all they need to know about their new hobby in a fun, interactive manner. |
Tetra also partners a pet academy in the school holidays. Tetra education
experts introduce children to the subject of aquariums in a fun aquatic
nature trail. At the end, each participant is given an “ornamental fishkeeping
licence”. Tetra is committed to making sure children deal responsibly with animals | |||
Responsibility for health and the environment |
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Helping people with personal problems is one of Tetra’s principles of
social commitment. This commitment begins in our own company. The
health working group, established in 2000, for instance, has become a fixed
institution at Tetra. The working group is the central interface where all issues related to the subject of health management are combined. The core element is an addiction support and prevention programme. We actively confront the potential health and social problems of our employees, and offer non-judgemental assistance. The aim of the agreement is to offer those affected, and their families, as well as their colleagues and superiors, structured assistance in dealing with addiction. All those in need of help, who would like to make use of our assistance, will receive help. Tetra receives the necessary support, whether for detox, therapy or counselling, from the Diakonisches Werk (outreach) in Melle. In 2006, we added a further building block to our social commitment. A counselling agreement “Social counselling at Tetra” was formed with the deaconry in Melle. This social counselling aims to provide quick solutions to problems related to family and education, finance and debt as well as general social counselling cases. Furthermore, the health working group coordinates activities such as smoking cessation courses and prevention of cardiovascular disease. The company also bears some of the costs of voluntary fitness courses for employees. Together with health insurance companies, we organise regular health weeks for our employees, where diet advice is given, along with free vitamins, health checkups and other health-related tips. |
To enable our employees to become involved in environmental protection
outside the company, we offer promotion days, such as on the subject
of saving fuel. For instance, Tetra allowed its employees to take part in a
fuel-saving training programme run by the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung in
work time. Over 100 of our employees took up the opportunity to be shown
by a professional how to save petrol while driving, and therefore reduce
CO2, and how to drive in an environmentally friendly manner. Tetra was the
company with the highest number of participants in the region of Osnabrück
– Melle. Over 100 Tetra employees atteneded a fuel-saving programme run by the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung on how to save petrol while driving, and therefore reduce CO2 During activities, such as our health weeks, we give all kinds of health-related advice | |||
Responibility for the region |
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Social commitment does not end at the company gate. Tetra also assumes
responsibility throughout the region. We support cultural events, such as
the Melle Puppet Show Festival, as well as the voluntary work of numerous
clubs, youth facilities and associations with regular funding and charitable
donations. Every year at Christmas, Tetra organises a tombola for our employees. The amount raised is donated to charitable establishments in the region, primarily in the field of youth work. Together with young patients, our experts set up aquariums in regional hospitals, such as in Osnabrück Children’s Hospital, and provide instructions on feeding and care, giving those on the ward pleasure and distraction. We have sponsored the Tetra zoo aquarium since 1999. Amongst other things, our sponsorship enables the aquarium to be modernised. The aquarium is a beautiful and informative way of teaching visitors to the zoo about the habitat of water and its fascinating occupants. |
Here’s to continued successful collaboration: Tetra Managing Director Wolfgang Mollenhauer (third from the right) and Head of Marketing Koord Janssen (third from the left) extended a cooperation agreement with the Managing Director of Osnabrück Zoo, Andreas Busemann (left), in January 2008. Tetra has been highly committed to the zoo for decades Positive development, thanks to Tetra: children are amazed by the Koi at Osnabrück Zoo | |||
