Education for Sustainable Development
Rethinking contact with nature in companies
How can the triad of ecology, economy and social responsibility be brought to life in everyday working life – beyond reporting obligations and CSR rhetoric? The NatFair project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), shows an innovative way: contact with green nature has been proven to improve mental well-being, promote social cohesion and strengthen environmentally conscious behavior.
Experimental studies show that contact with nature in the workplace can have a positive effect on employees’ health. We also hope that NatFair will have effects at an organisational level – for an improvement in social cohesion or the psychosocial safety climate.
Close to nature and fairly designed
NatFair aims to investigate the effectiveness and implementation of contact with nature in the business world for the first time. BAUM provides support as a bridge builder into the economy and supports five participating companies in the form of accompanying project management.
In times of skills shortages and increasing demands on employee retention, NatFair can offer an excellent opportunity to position companies as attractive employers and increase team efficiency at the same time.
Targeted support for corporate goals
The project is based on scientifically sound measures that are to be adapted in a participatory process together with the employees and sustainably integrated into the real world of work. Overall, positive effects are expected in the following areas:
- Strengthening personnel development: By integrating contact with nature into company processes, the health and mental performance of employees is actively promoted. This is a rarely used but effective instrument of workplace health promotion (WHP).
- Employee retention and employer attractiveness: prioritizing well-being, health and good cooperation is becoming increasingly important when choosing a career.
- Increasing team efficiency and cooperation: Shared experiences with and in nature can support teamwork and promote cooperation, especially where cohesion becomes fragile due to mobile working.
- Promoting an environmentally conscious attitude: contact with nature reinforces environmentally conscious attitudes and behavior and promotes a willingness to act sustainably within the company. This contributes directly to the company’s sustainability goals.
- Improvement of the psychosocial safety climate (PSC): The possibility of active participation in the WHP leads to an increase in the PSC. This means that employees perceive the willingness of management to act in the interests of their mental health. A high PSC promotes evidence-based job satisfaction and the economic success of a company.
Interdisciplinary thinking – made practical
In cooperation with companies and employees, proven nature interventions – nature walks, plants in the office or mindfulness training in green spaces – are adapted to company structures and scientifically evaluated. The aim is to anchor the experience of nature not as a one-off measure, but as an integral part of the corporate culture.
In addition to BAUM, the project is supported by a strong team of researchers and practitioners:
- Institute for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf / UKD
- Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Ulm University Hospital
- Henkel Chair for Sustainability Management at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
- Institute of Biometry and Epidemiology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ) and Faculty of Medicine, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
- Institute for Workplace Health Promotion BGF GmbH
- m.partners GmbH
How does participation work?
The participating companies commit to two compact workshops (from the beginning of 2026) in which employees develop ideas together with experts in order to then experience contact with nature regularly and together during a six-month implementation phase. Registration is possible until the end of May 2026 at the latest. The best thing is that participation is free of charge and the costs are deliberately kept low.
Interested? Get in touch with our NatFair contact persons
Kathrin Albrecht is a sustainability and project manager and, as a graduate engineer (FH) in interior design and communication expert with a Master’s degree in Communication & Leadership, has particular expertise in the field of architecture and sustainability communication in the construction industry. She supports NatFair in part-time with full conviction for the study design. Kathrin Albrecht is fascinated by the fact that nature interventions work on so many levels and that this can now be statistically proven.
Rainer Kant has been Senior Project Manager at BAUM since 2005. As a qualified forestry scientist, he is responsible for the area of biodiversity and ecosystems. His passion topic, forests, with a focus on climate and biodiversity protection and the opportunities for action by companies, is particularly important to him. He represents this focus as a book author, expert, in various advisory board activities as well as on guided tours through the forest and in seminars. What particularly inspires Rainer Kant about NatFair is that low-threshold nature interventions can have a strong impact on people and companies.
