HUNTER doubles the flowering meadow in front of the door.

Making the world a liveable and lovable place for humans and animals - this is the vision that the family-owned company HUNTER has dedicated itself to. In the process, some of the smallest but most important creatures are not forgotten: Insects. HUNTER has doubled the size of the flowering meadow at the company's headquarters in Bielefeld - in future, insects will be able to help themselves to a 1,800 square metre flower buffet. Right next door, two beehives and a wild growth area provide shelter for bees, bumblebees and other insects. The flowering meadow is just one of many environmental protection measures that HUNTER has implemented in recent years.

»Sustainability is not a fixed goal for us, but the everlasting responsibility to look for better solutions and new, environmentally friendly ways. If it can be done better, we do it better,« says Nadine Trautwein, Managing Director of HUNTER. And there was still room for improvement on the areas around the company premises. That's why the family business is transforming them step by step into an insect paradise.

In the beginning, there was the 1,000 square metre area that has been left to grow wild since 2016. There is hardly an insect protection measure that is easier to implement. And there is plenty of space on the HUNTER premises: adjacent to the leather factory, shop and office areas is a green area of around 13,000 square metres. This is especially popular with employees and their four-legged friends during their lunch break. At the same time, an initially 100-metre-long flowering strip was planted, which not only provides insects with a habitat, but also with food. HUNTER gradually enlarged this flowering meadow. This year, the family business has doubled the area again - now there are 1,800 square metres where it blossoms, thrives and hums.

1,800 square metres of flowering meadow and a sponsorship for bees

In cooperation with a beekeeper from Bielefeld, two bee colonies moved into the HUNTER company grounds as early as spring 2022 - now, for the second year, regional HUNTER blossom honey could be produced, which many of the company's employees, partners and customers already look forward to. HUNTER also works together with the organisation Feldwerk, through which the pet supplies manufacturer has taken on a flowering meadow sponsorship of 800 square metres in the East Westphalia-Lippe region in addition to its own flowering meadow.

A little better every year

Both sponsorship and own wild growth areas are only one of many measures that HUNTER has implemented in recent years. Further steps in the direction of sustainability were, for example, the expansion of the product range to include upcycling toys, the expansion of the electric fleet, the expansion of HUNTER's own photovoltaic system or the climate-neutral printing and dispatch of the catalogues. In April 2022, the family business joined the regional climate initiative "CO2-neutral by 2030" of the Lippe Chamber of Industry and Commerce. This has given HUNTER additional motivation to tackle sustainability measures even more specifically and quickly.