Getting involved in the Circular Economy
Working for the Green Alley Award as a working student
Guest blog by Laura Feldmann
Having worked at a supermarket for almost three years during my bachelor studies has definitely raised my awareness of the amounts of packaging, plastics and food waste being produced and thrown away on a daily basis. As the topic gained more and more media attention, I started thinking about ways to reduce my own ecological footprint and became interested in environmental and sustainability-related activities. I remember attending a conference on jobs revolving around sustainability topics, organized by my university. Only a few days later I came across a job ad by Landbell Group, looking for a working student for the Green Alley Award, Europe’s first startup prize for the Circular Economy. That is when I realized: writing an application letter is not so difficult once you are really into the topic.
Rising above myself
When I joined the Green Alley Award team at the end of February 2019, things were heating up and the application phase for startups was just about to begin. By creating social media images and getting familiar with the Green Alley Award style guide, I jumped right in. Soon, I developed an eye for detail and learned what it takes to plan a social media campaign. Spring went by and a new challenge presented itself: picking up the phone and reaching out to contacts from all over Europe, asking them for their support to spread the word about our award amongst their startup community. I still remember sitting at the office with my headset on, reading through my script for the umpteenth time and repeating the lines in my head in different voices. What if no one picks up, or if I don’t know how to answer their questions? Is my English even good enough? Those were just some of the thoughts that crossed my mind while staring at my phone. Looking back now, I feel like sometimes you just have to go for it and embrace the uncertainty of the situation. It took only a few calls to get into a flow and now, after having called hundreds of people from so many different European countries, I can really say that this experience sure has boosted my confidence.
Inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit
Summer came and I enjoyed the exciting insight into the Circular Economy startup world by going through all of the Green Alley Award applications: a record number of 274. The whole team was busy managing the applications while dealing with what felt like a record heat with temperatures soaring to up to 35 degrees almost every day.
One thing is for sure: we never got bored and taking a short stroll to the nearby ice cream parlour made the temperatures more bearable. Going through all of the startups’ ideas made me realize how many challenges we face nowadays and how important it is that there are people addressing these issues and dedicating their energy to finding sustainable solutions to global environmental challenges. The time until the event just flew by and finally the day came when the Green Alley Award team boarded the train to Berlin. Never before had I helped organize such a big event and I was hoping that all of our efforts from the past months would pay off. In the end, the evening was a great success and I was happy to be able to get to know the six finalists in person. Watching the startups pitch their ideas live on stage once again made me realize that this award is for a great cause and also a privilege to work for.
The bigger picture
When we came back from Berlin, we reviewed the evening and discussed the feedback that we had received. We thought about ways to implement the suggestions and started planning the next Green Alley Award. In the last months we were, once again, busy preparing for this years’ award and I am thankful that I was able to witness every step on the way. As time proceeded, I did not only get more insights into the work of the Green Alley Award team, I also got a more comprehensive idea of the different tasks that determine working at Landbell Group and how important it is that companies take on corporate responsibility and therefore, lead the way towards a circular economy.