Executives from Koenig & Bauer (US/CA) made a presentation to 26 students at the German International School of Dallas on the abundance of paper-based products in their daily lives and the importance of recycling and sustainability.

Koenig & Bauer executives visited students at the German International School of Dallas to promote Earth Day

• TICCIT (Trees Into Cartons, Cartons Into Trees) national initiative established 12 years ago
• Partnering with the Paperboard Packaging Council to empower grade schoolers
• Teaching children the paper-making process and how recycling works

This spring, Koenig & Bauer (US/CA) is inspiring students to create a more sustainable future as part of the national initiative, TICCIT (short for Trees Into Cartons, Cartons Into Trees) by visiting the German International School of Dallas, a local private elementary school. The TICCIT program, created by the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC), a trade association for companies that make paperboard packaging, aims to teach first-through-fifth grade students about the importance of trees, recycling, and the environment.

“Koenig & Bauer is thrilled to support this year’s TICCIT program and teach young people about the importance of sustainability and recycling,” said Kilian Renschler, president and CEO of Koenig & Bauer (US/CA). “We know that importance first-hand—our customers create sustainable, recyclable paper packaging every day. Now it’s time to spread the word.”

To celebrate Earth Day, Koenig & Bauer executives: Kilian Renschler, accompanied by Gerrit Zwergel, senior vice president of finance and chief finance officer; and Eric Frank, senior vice president of marketing and product management; had a fun-filled, educational, and interactive day planned. It began with a presentation to 26 students ranging in age from kindergarten to fourth grade on the abundance of paper-based products in their daily lives and the importance of recycling and sustainability. The students were engaged in an interactive session that allowed them to ask questions and learn more about the paper making process, the world of print, and how it impacts their daily lives.

The Koenig & Bauer management team then went outside and joined the students in transferring live saplings into empty breakfast cereal boxes to be brought home with instructions on how to plant them. Each child was very excited to nurture their trees and watch them grow. The teachers at the German International School of Dallas took an active role in coordinating the event and ensuring that the students all actively participated in learning about the importance of recyclability and sustainability.

“This was a very important and exciting program for our students,” says Annegret Richardson, school director at the German International School of Dallas. “We teach about recycling and nature throughout the year. Koenig & Bauer’s program enhanced those lessons. We taught our students about Earth Day throughout the week leading to the Koenig & Bauer event and this was the grand finale. Our students were so excited and couldn’t wait for the program.”

Created in 2010 by the PPC, the TICCIT program is held at schools across the country around Earth Day. After classroom learning sessions, students pot tree saplings into paperboard cartons filled with soil to take home and plant with their families. The paper cartons will naturally biodegrade once planted, completing the “trees into cartons, cartons into trees” lifecycle.

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