Basketball: Sustainable success on the sidelines
ALBA BERLIN fans collect more than 700 smartphones together with Interzero - and save 8.7 tonnes of greenhouse gases
+++ ‘Donate a mobile phone. Donate to the future‘: Interzero's successful collection
campaign in favour of ALBA JUGEND continues
+++ Donation cheque and environmental certificate presented: Confirmation of positive ecological and social impact
+++ Good practice example: Award from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection
Berlin/Cologne. Climate protection is a team sport - ALBA BERLIN and the circular economy expert Interzero show how sustainable success can be achieved together: at the Albatrosses' home game on 20 October 2024, the top basketball club and its main sponsor and environmental partner presented the results of the collection campaign ‘Donate a mobile phone. Donate to the future ‘. Together with the fans, 702 used mobile phones were collected, refurbished or professionally recycled last season.
The environmental protection certificate and a donation cheque for 3,807.57 euros that have now been presented document the ecological and social impact of the campaign. The refurbishment of the donated devices saved a total of 8,700 kg of greenhouse gases and 2,100 kg of primary resources. All of the proceeds from the sale of the refurbished mobile phones - including via the Interzero online shop gebrauchte-technik.de - go to into the charitable youth work of the club.
‘We are delighted with the success of the campaign and would like to thank the fans for their fantastic support,’ says Igor Ryabinin, Head of Sustainability and Social Affairs at ALBA BERLIN. ’The results from last season are a great incentive to continue the campaign. They show that every mobile phone donated is a success for the environment and for a good cause.’
ALBA BERLIN fans are once again invited to donate their old mobile phones in the current 2024/25 season. Interzero will be setting up special collection boxes at all home games of the men's and women's professional teams and in the fan shop. ‘As the club's environmental partner, we share the goal of making ALBA BERLIN a top team in terms of sustainability,’ says Jan Höschel, Managing Director of Interzero Product Cycle GmbH. Our campaign has shown that environmental education, resource conservation and social commitment can go hand in hand. We are delighted to continue the campaign - for more recyclable materials in the cycle, the promotion of youth sport and a world without waste.’
Donating mobile phones for a good cause - a model that is setting a trend
‘Donate a mobile phone. Donate to the future.’ was publicised in the media, via social media and through various activities in the arena with a joint campaign by ALBA BERLIN and Interzero. In addition to the ALBA fans, Interzero employees at 18 locations throughout Germany also took part in collection old mobile phones last season. Other partners such as A&O Hostels, Klosterfrau and WINGS also joined the campaign. The project was recognised by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection as an example of good practice as part of CIRCULAR EURO 2024. A circular economy with a social impact - a win-win situation for the environment and society.
In addition to ALBA BERLIN, Caritas, ROTE NASEN Deutschland e.V. and Sports for Future also collect mobile phones for charitable purposes. Interested private individuals, organisations and/or companies can also order free collection boxes for their own projects via the sammel-box.de website or use them to support existing initiatives. One thing is certain: with an estimated 210 million mobile phones, there are still plenty of valuable resources lying unused in the drawers of German households. It's high time to put them back into the cycle.
Further information on the campaign can be found at: interzero.de/handyspende.
Free use of the attached photo is authorised, provided the source “Interzero” is acknowledged.
- Interzero
About Interzero:
Interzero is one of the leading service providers in the field of closing product, material and logistics loops as well as innovation leader in plastics recycling with the largest sorting capacity in Europe. Under the guiding principle of “zero waste solutions”, the company supports over 50,000 customers throughout Europe in the responsible handling of recyclable materials, thus helping them to improve their own sustainability performance and conserve primary resources.
With about 2,000 employees, the company achieves a turnover of over one billion euros (2021). According to Fraunhofer UMSICHT, Interzero’s recycling activities could save 1.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases compared to primary production and more than 11.1 million tonnes of primary raw materials in 2023 alone. As a pioneer in the circular economy, Interzero is winner of the German Sustainability Award as well as the related special award in the “Resources” transformation field for 2024.
Further information can be found at www.interzero.com.