The Remondis subsidiary CASEA extracts the raw material gypsum in the Southern Harz region. The necessary development of new fields is blocked or made more difficult by nature conservation organisations, citizens' initiatives, the media and, in some cases, politicians at all levels. The aim of our consulting mandate was to enable and secure further extraction and safeguarding jobs in compliance with all requirements of nature conservation law.
Measures that have been implemented for this purpose:
Comprehensive consideration of the actors and their connections through a precise stakeholder analysis
Development and coordination of a strategy to solve the problem: legal enforcement vs. jointly developed compromise
Commissioning of a DIW-study on the economic significance of the gypsum industry in the southern Harz region
Information of public opinion through strictly fact-based media work (print, online, film/FS, social media, press conferences)
Comprehensive and continuous information work for politicians
Establishing personal political contacts at all levels (municipalities, districts, state and federal government)
Moderation of discussion rounds at all levels
Mediation between all involved parties in the search for viable alternatives to extraction
Accompanying voluntary CSR measures: Sponsoring, nature conservation projects, university cooperations on research projects.
All in all, the measures led to the emotional debate giving way to an objective, constructive atmosphere. State Prime Minister, German Minister for the Environment, District Administrator and Mayor, together with CASEA, began to seek a solution that is feasible under nature conservation law, environmentally compatible and preserves the site and its jobs.