At DB Long Distance, DB Regio and DB Cargo alike, our young talents are taking a strong stand for the environment and coming up with clever ideas for a green future. With the "Eco-aware trainees" program, we are taking a step beyond our original training plan and raising awareness of sustainability and the environment among our junior DB employees during their training.
A thinktank for more environmental protection
In the "Eco-aware trainees" program at DB Long Distance our vocational trainees develop green ideas in the second and third years of their apprenticeships on how we can make our daily work even more environmentally friendly. The program has been in place since 2014.
In the ninth season, the trainees have once again proven that they are "environmental pioneers" with innovative and creative ideas. This year's projects are diverse: from improving the flora and fauna by introducing a tree donation campaign, reworking raised beds, building insect hotels, distributing seed balls for our customers on the train, correctly separating deposits, creating environmentally friendly dishwasher tabs to saving food and increasing energy efficiency.
Over a period of months, almost 60 trainees worked on a total of ten projects. Through their initiatives, they not only sensitized our employees on site to the topic, but also gave our customers and the public an understanding of the environmental friendliness of long-distance transport. In total, over 550 trainees across Germany have taken part in the program so far.
Green training for DB Regio trainees
At DB Regio, too, our vocational trainees have been able to implement their creative ideas for developing environmental projects since October 2022. In the dedicated "Eco-aware Regio trainees" program, we reinforce their enthusiasm for environmental protection from the first year of their apprenticeship. In joint projects, our trainees can make the set-up and processes of their own workplace even more eco-friendly and thus actively contribute to DB's green transformation.
With this in mind, trainees in Saarbrücken turned an old freight wagon into an insect hotel. Welding, drilling and hammering, they worked on this for two days. The mobile hotel is now stationed in front of the maintenance plant and is a welcome nesting place for all sorts of different species.
