"Grow-a-Tree" to Incubate a New “Green Generation” in China

June 29, 2009 - PRLog -- Shanghai/German –  Specialty chemicals company LANXESS AG donated 100,000 RMB to support the "Grow-a-Tree" project for children in elementary schools in China.  In March 2009 31,639 students in the Provinces Shanxi and Gansu in China were provided with locus tree seeds and  biodegradable planting cartons and learned how to plant a tree with these plant kits. The seedlings are kept either at home or at school until they will be planted outside in spring 2010. This project helped the children to learn the basic principles of nature and ecology.



The schools, students, teachers and staff were rewarded with participation certificates for their organization and support of this project.



“As part of our global education initiative, this project targets school children and can get kids involved at an early age, so they will know from the beginning how important the environment is”, commented Martin Kraemer, CEO of LANXESS Greater China. “By focusing on children, I hope that "Grow-a-Tree" can educate a new "green generation" in China, who will be well-prepared for the task of protecting China's environment in the future.”



The LANXESS global education initiative focuses on supporting education in schools and universities.  It contains a sponsoring of schools and the organization of workshops for talented students worldwide.  In 2008, LANXESS offered financial support to the tune of more than 1 million Euros for the education initiative.



“I would like to thank LANXESS for all the support and the generous donation to promote environmental education and awareness in China.  This number of participating children was far beyond my expectations”, said Mr. Yun Zhou, Director of the International Cooperation Center of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.



Since 1993, more than 200,000 children across China have participated in the program. The program is supported by the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the US Virtue Foundation.



“Trees for Life” started in China in 1993 under the support and with the cooperation of the International Cooperation Trees for Life Canada. “Trees for Life” was founded in 1991 in Canada and is a non-profit, charity organization which promotes and provides resources for children’s environmental education.


LANXESS is a leader in specialty chemicals with sales in 2008 of EUR 6.58 billion and currently around 14,600 employees in 23 countries. The company is represented at 44 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacture and sale of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.


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In 2005, LANXESS was initially listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and LANXESS Chemical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. officially started its operation. Today, LANXESS has 11 subsidiaries, 3 joint ventures and 6 R&D centers in China, with 850 employees.