"Gréng Footprints" in
Luxembourg
Interview with Paul Polfer,
National Coordinator of Climate Alliance Luxembourg
Luxembourg has been a partner in the Green Footprints campaign since the very beginning, where it is known as Op Kannerféiss duerch d'Welt (Kids on the Move). Paul Polfer, National Coordinator of Climate Alliance Luxembourg, gives us a brief insight into 20 years of collecting "Gréng Footprints" .
How is the "Gréng" Footprints campaign going in Luxembourg?
The campaign is well established in Luxembourg. In 2023, children are once again collecting a lot of Footprints. We have been offering it every two years since 2007 and have an average of 3,500 participants. An impressive example for me is the Bettemburg daycare center. Around 400 children took part there in 2021 and collected a total of 35,000 miles from May to the end of September. Isn't that great?!
Just in Luxembourg, participants collected 315,548 Footprints. This means that CO2 was saved on many journeys to daycare, school or other places. With the symbolic Green Footprints, our earth could be circled almost eight times!
It's always nice when schools and daycare centers send us photos of their activities, so we also get a little insight into what they have done as participants of the "Gréng" Footprints campaign.
I also find it interesting that many municipalities take part in the "Gréng" Footprints campaign and City Cycling, regardless of whether they are a member of the Climate Alliance or not.
What is your role as Green Footprints campaign coordinator in Luxembourg?
My role involves promoting the campaign. To achieve this, I write directly to local authorities, schools, and daycare centers, requesting their participation in the campaign by registering with us. Following their registration, I either dispatch the necessary materials to them or facilitate the collection of materials at our Climate Alliance Luxembourg office.I am also responsible for coordinating with our supporters (such as the Luxembourg Ministry of the Environment) and local organizers of the campaign.
During the campaign, I send reminders to the participating institutions to send me interim results and photos, and at the end, the sum of the collected Footprints so that they can be published on the Green Footprints’ Website.
What is special about the Green Footprint campaign in Luxembourg?
Due to the changed municipal structures, the focus of our campaign has now shifted to daycare centers. They are open 365 days a year here, and there is a right to a daycare spot.
What I am very pleased about is that the "Gréng" Footprints campaign has helped to firmly establish the "Pedibus" in Luxembourg. This an initiative for climate-friendly and safe journeys on foot which I am sure some people are familiar with from other countries. The Pedibus aims to accompany children on their way to daycare or school instead of their parents taking them by car.
The unique aspect in Luxembourg, however, is that accompanying the children on the way there and back is considered working time for the educators and teachers. Equipped with trolleys and high-visibility vests, these escorts pick up the children at designated stops at specified times and return them to these stops on their way back home.
Our highlight is always the handover of the collected Footprints directly to the Luxembourg Minister of the Environment shortly before the UN Climate Change Conference. Then, the children can explain their demands again in person. So far, the minister has also always emphatically attached her messages at the conference, which is a great thing for our participants.
What else do you do in the field mobility?
In the future, we would like to work more closely with schools and municipalities to improve school routes. At the moment, we are working together with the bicycle NGO ProVelo on the project "Séchere Schoulwee um Vëlo", which is intended to ensure greater safety on bicycles and reduce the number of parents driving their children to school. The aim is to set up a "Vëlobus" like the "Pedibus" in as many municipalities as possible.
Further information about the campaign in Luxembourg:
End of "Gréng" Footprint campaign 2011:
http://www.zoom-kidsforclimate.eu/luxembourg.html?&L=1
Launch of "Gréng" Footprints campagne 2015: http://www.kindermeilen.de/luxembourg1.html
Green Footprints at the Climate Conference 2015 in Paris with Caroline Dieschbourg,
Ministry of the Environment Luxembourg: http://www.kindermeilen.de/results2015.html
Green Footprints 2019: http://www.kindermeilen.de/621.html
Green Footprints 2021: http://www.kindermeilen.de/710.html?&L=0%27%22