Berlin / Germany, February 2026. An important milestone for our educational work: over the past eight years, German NGO Deutsche Umwelt-Aktion (DUA) has conducted 3,500 educational sessions on climate protection. The concepts and materials for these lessons were developed by atmosfair itself. These teaching units introduce primary school children at an early age to how their own behaviour affects the climate and how they can make climate-friendly decisions in their everyday lives.

During a visit to a primary school in Technitz, Saxony, atmosfair project manager David Grüttner gained insight into the classroom. There, DUA educator Silke Schubert taught pupils using the teaching module “My CO₂ Footprint,” explaining how the earth’s climate works and the role humans play in it. The fourth-grade students then worked in small groups to estimate how many greenhouse gases they and their families produce. “The carbon footprint is very clear for children. It helps them quickly understand how they themselves contribute to global warming. The class was surprised at how much CO₂ a flight emits compared to the actually permitted footprint. We are very grateful to atmosfair for this well-thought-out educational concept,” said Schubert.

Silke Schubert from NGO Deutsche Umwelt-Aktion (DUA) and atmosfair project manager David Grüttner explain how the Earth's climate is formed and how it is influenced by humans.

Climate protection starts at shopping

The second teaching module from atmosfair is entitled “Food and Climate.” Here, the focus is on personal carbon footprints as well. However, the main emphasis is on the impact of food. Through role-playing games, children simulate shopping situations and learn which foods cause particularly high or low emissions. The children then discuss which shopping decisions are most climate-friendly. “The DUA is committed to teaching young people about environmental issues in an age-appropriate way. In them, we have found the perfect partner to implement our climate protection modules in schools,” said Grüttner during his visit to the school in Technitz.

The educational work follows the central principles of atmosfair: avoiding or reducing CO₂ emissions as much as possible and offsetting only the remaining residual emissions. This understanding is already being imparted to the youngest children. Since 2017, atmosfair has financed DUA lessons, reaching 1,300 primary schools in over 750 locations, including two schools in Austria and France.

Pupils at Technitz primary school playfully calculate their carbon footprint.