Environment
In 2016, the Deutsche Umwelthilfe commended 1. FC Union Berlin for their environmentally-friendly waste management. At the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, the focus is on waste avoidance and so the club mainly uses reusable cups for drinks as well as large containers for mustard and ketchup. The sausages are offered in a roll and not on a paper plate and so hundreds of thousands of disposable cups and dishes are saved annually by Union fans.
In 2013, Union took over the first official stream sponsorship for a part of the Wuhle, which is located adjacent to the stadium. The stream is under the protection of 'Eisern', with the aim of maintaining the ecological quality of the water.
Health
Sport facilitates a healthy lifestyle - that we've known for a long time. At 1. FC Union Berlin, however, the focus is not only on physical activity, but also on a healthy and balanced diet. This applies to our professional players, as well as, to the junior and women's departments and to the many youth projects offered by the club.
Interest in healthy nutrition is to be particularly encouraged among young people as is the handling of natural foods. Under the guidance of our foundation "UNION VEREINT. Shoulder to shoulder", Union are currently working on expanding the content of the popular holiday camps to include a comprehensive lesson on nutrition. The participating children are to be sensitized to balanced food through meals prepared together.
Union Berlin also succeeded in attracting publicity to healthy nutrition through the prominent support of the "Bio-Brot-Box Berlin-Brandenburg" initiative by former Union professional Christian Stuff. For the first time in 2013, "Stuffi" was involved when, together with many other supporters, 52,000 breakfast boxes were put together for some of the first-grade pupils in Berlin.
Further information on the Union Foundation is available here:
The importance of health was made clear to all club members in 2015, when Lisa Görsdorf, first-team player in our women's team, and Benjamin Köhler of the men's team fell ill with lymph node cancer almost at the same time.
Together with the German Bone Marrow Donor Database (DKMS), 1. FC Union Berlin called for a large-scale typing campaign as part of a home game at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. The "Unioner gegen Krebs - Unioner fürs Leben" campaign events were organised by the many 'Eisern' supporters groups.
For our away league match at VfB Stuttgart in 2017, the two clubs and DKMS organised a trip for children suffering from cancer from Berlin, who were allowed to enter the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart as mascots, holding the hands of Union players walking out on to the pitch.