Henkel supports the implementation of environmental audits at selected schools in Düsseldorf. Within the framework of the local Agenda 21, the Düsseldorf company advises students and teachers on the systematic environmental auditing of their schools. The objective of these audits is to identify potential savings in water and energy consumption and reduction in waste materials.Furthermore, the active involvement of the students is intended to promote the role of young people in environmental protection.

The Walter Eucken and Max Weber vocational training schools have recently presented their results in an environmental statement. The student teams were able to achieve total savings of 20,000 DM by reducing waste generation and expenditure on heating, electricity and water. From Henkel's point of view, this cooperation furthers two other objectives. Besides imparting ecological knowledge and raising awareness of environmental measures, they provide new stimuli for the participating students ¬ including Henkel trainees ¬ in their everyday working lives.

As early as June 1998, the Fritz Henkel School was the first school in North Rhine-Westphalia to present an environmental statement. Based on the considerable success of the Henkel-sponsored school, an Agenda 21 work group was set up in 1999. As a result, ten schools carried out their own environment audits in study projects assisted by Düsseldorf companies. This Henkel-supported joint project in Düsseldorf is also part of the national model project "Bildung für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung"[education for sustainable development] of the Bund-Länder-Kommission/BLK für Bildungsplanung und Forschungsförderung [federal/state commission for education planning and research promotion].