The Environment

"Economy and ecology in harmony"

This is StepOver GmbH's motto. In addition to the significant efficiency increase and corresponding cost reduction, the use of handwritten electronic signature devices also leads to the saving of tons of paper, contributing to the conservation of natural resources.

"To give just one example: the German insurance company Nürnberger is saving between 750,000 and 1 million sheets each year by using StepOver signature pads."

(Robert Bärnreuther – Manager of the Consulting Technology Department)
This represents around 5 tons of paper per year. Recycling is another priority of StepOver GmbH: the StepOver signature devices are not only manufactured in Germany, but also recycled, e.g. turning an old pad housing into a brand-new product.

Approximately 10 m² new trees for each signature pad

In order to improve the ecological balance of the company even further, StepOver GmbH is the first manufacturer in the world of handwritten e-signature hardware and software products to plant approx. 10 m² new trees for each signature pad sold. The partner of this ambitious project, aimed at binding large volumes of the greenhouse gas CO₂, is the well-known German non-profit making organisation PrimaKlima weltweit e.V.

CO₂ and the greenhouse effect

Each person and each company directly or indirectly uses fossil energy sources such as oil, coal and gas, e.g. to get electricity from the wall socket, to drive a car or simply to heat the house or to cook. During the combustion process required for energy production, fossil carbon reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is released into the air.
When this gas is in the Earth’s atmosphere, incoming sunlight can pass through almost unchanged, whereas the reflected radiation is partially blocked, leading to the heating of the planet. Current estimates state that the contribution of human-produced CO₂ to this greenhouse effect is about 2/3.

Why trees?

Trees absorb CO₂ from the air and bind these compounds in biomass; in this process, the oxygen contained in carbon dioxide is released again in the air. Typically, a hectare of new trees with average lifetime can approximately absorb 10 tons of greenhouse gas each year. However, this is not the only advantage that trees offer to the planet and its inhabitants: they protect against erosion, improve the land quality, create new habitats for multiple animal and plant species and, not least, they provide valuable, natural and regrowing wood resources.

The projects

• 1. Germany:
  Forestation in partnership with the Wald für Sachsen Foundation (Leipzig) in Großenhain/Naundorf, Laubmischwald.
• 2. Congo:
  70 km south of Bukavu, in Burhinyi province. Project partner Dialog International e.V., Düsseldorf. Objective: 1 million trees against erosion, for improved habitat and income, environmental protection, further social measures and knowledge transfer; diverse, mostly local tree species.
• 3. Argentina:
  In the province of Chubut (east side of the Andes); oak, pine, cypress, Douglas fir, in cooperation with the Bosques de la Patagonia Foundation, Esquel.

The association PrimaKlima weltweit

"Think globally, act locally and globally." That's the motto of the initiative for climate protection PrimaKlima weltweit e.V., founded in 1991. This association works together with important organisations and public institutions in Germany and the rest of the world in forestation projects, already having planted more than 8.2 million new trees, 60% of which are in Germany. It is financed and supported by private sources, as well as large service providers from the banking and insurance sectors and other leading companies. One element to guarantee the correct implementation of the planting process and the maintenance of (international) forestation projects is the PrimaKlima criteria catalogue, which is based on the principles of sustainable forest management of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

For further information please visit: www.prima-klima-weltweit.de