Young leaders in the waste wood industry recently founded the so-called “Junge Gruppe” (meaning: Young Group) of the German Waste Wood Association. The group was set up by Matthias Warnke, among others head of the waste wood unit at the Brüning Group, and Benny Wilhelm, material flow manager at MVV Umwelt Ressourcen. At the first meeting in Frankfurt am Main on 22/23 August, the two were also elected as leaders of the Junge Gruppe by almost 30 participants. Two meetings are currently planned per year at alternating locations.
In the future, the group will serve as an exchange platform and networking for members under 38 years of age – a good opportunity to also increase the attractiveness of the industry for young people and to develop new ideas and perspectives.
Matthias Warnke explains: “The event showed that many members of the German Waste Wood Association sent participants who had not been to the association before or who had rarely been there. Thus, some of them were able to get a taste of the association for the first time. The networking evening in particular offers a good opportunity to get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere. The German Waste Wood Association lives from its members and that they get involved in the expert committees. With the Junge Gruppe, we want to introduce even more young people to the association’s work.”
On the one hand, the content will be about the classic and well-known topics that affect the waste wood sector or the German Waste Wood Association, and on the other hand, of course, the focus will be on topics that specifically affect young leaders. At the first meeting, we had Hendrik Bauer on board, responsible for the area of sustainability and certification, who spoke about the topics RED II and the German Fuel Emissions Trading Act. Both topics continue to dominate the industry and are characterised by complex content that is not always easy to understand. “Nevertheless, Hendrik Bauer brought the topics across to the participants in a very lively and practical manner,” adds Matthias Warnke.
In any case, we are very pleased about the commitment and the foundation of the Junge Gruppe and hope for a lively and constructive exchange among the members.