WHAT IS INSECT-RESPECT?

With our INSECT-RESPECT seal of approval, we raise awareness of the value of the six-legged creatures, create new habitats and train landscape gardeners to be insect-friendly.

PHILOSOPHY & VISION

Social design as a driving force

We want to make the world a little more empathetic and sustainable. Our activities are based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. We consciously put ecology and social issues before the economy. Our motivation is to shape society: to do as much good as possible.

The seal of quality

INSECT-RESPECT is the seal of approval for a new approach to insects. The animals are of great benefit to society. That is why INSECT-RESPECT creates new habitats for insects and promotes products and projects that raise awareness of the value of insects and the threat they pose. The label stands for a triad of principles in insect control and defence: 1. avoidance and reduction, 2. ecologization and 3. compensation of insect control through the creation of insect-friendly areas. In this way, INSECT-RESPECT promotes local biodiversity and a sustainable transformation of the economy.

Vision: Saving instead of killing

By creating awareness of the value and the threat, INSECT-RESPECT actively reduces the demand for biocides. If insects are to be controlled at all, then with insecticide-free products and preferably with the INSECT-RESPECT seal of approval and the associated insect promotion as compensation. Think and act preventively as a matter of priority so that control does not have to occur in the first place.

INSECT-RESPECT actively reduces the biocide market

Our approach

Reduce insect control:

Raise awareness of the value of insects among consumers, and thus change their behavior towards less and exclusively targeted insect control.

Ecologize insect control:

Promote more ecologically aware insect control, and thus shift from environmentally harmful biocides to environmentally friendly measures.

Compensate for insect control:

Create compensation opportunities for the reduced but necessary control of insects.

“A STORY THAT INSPIRES COURAGE.”

Andreas Sentker, DIE ZEIT

“Most innovative and sustainable business model in the industry”

Prof. Dr. Stefan Schaltegger about INSECT-RESPECT

“Blueprint for entrepreneurship in the 21st century.”

Prof. Dr. Harald Welzer about Reckhaus & INSECT-RESPECT

Our history

The art of change

The story of INSECT-RESPECT begins with a special task. Dr. Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus, the managing partner of the family business of the same name, commissioned the two concept artists Frank and Patrik Riklin from Atelier für Sonderaufgaben to find an idea for the market launch of a new fly trap.

Instead of solving the commission, the two artists confronted the entrepreneur with the question: How much value does a fly have? Your answer: Save instead of kill . Die daraus entstandene Gegenstrategie mündetete in einen Prozess der Entwicklung von INSECT-RESPECT. Den Höhepunkt bildete die gemeinsame Kunstaktion «Fliegen retten in Deppendorf», die am 1. September 2012 ein ganzes Dorf mobilisierte und eine Fliege mit dem weltweit ersten Flugticket für ein Insekt in ein Wellness-Hotel führte. Im Vordergrund stand dabei nicht die Bekämpfung, sondern der Diskurs über das zwiespältige Verhältnis zwischen Mensch und Insekt und die von der Kunst angestossene Transformation eines Unternehmens. Im Hintergrund bewirkte das Konzept der Gegenbewegung bei Dr. Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus ein weitreichendes Umdenken und Umhandeln.

In collaboration with biologists from ARNAL, Büro für Natur und Landschaft AG, detailed calculations were made of how biocides affect the insect population. A model was derived from this to compensate for this impact by creating insect-friendly habitats. This compensation model serves as the basis for INSECT-RESPECT, the world’s first quality label for a new approach to insects. Other companies can also label their products with the quality mark and thus compensate for the negative effects. The story as a movie:

AWARDS

INSECT-RESPECT has already received over 35 national and international awards. Here is a selection of the prizes.

Winner of the B.A.U.M. Environment & Sustainability Award 2024

Winner of the B.A.U.M. Environment & Sustainability Award 2024

Dr. Reckhaus is awarded one of Germany’s most prestigious sustainability prizes in the SME category. The award honors individuals who are considered role models for sustainable business practices. The jury particularly highlighted Dr. Reckhaus’ transformative impact in his own industry – and beyond.

Winner of the European Green Award 2024

Winner of the European Green Award 2024

The annual award recognizes thought leaders from across Europe and highlights their role as trailblazers for transformation. In the ‘Change Maker’ category, the European Institute of Applied Sustainability chose Dr. Reckhaus 2024 as the winner.  

Finalist 17th German Sustainability Award 2024

Finalist 17th German Sustainability Award 2024

The expert jury of the German Sustainability Award has selected Reckhaus with INSECT-RESPECT as one of the pioneers of transformation in the industry. The Dr. Reckhaus Insect Rescuer was also selected as a finalist.

Winner of the Swiss Ethics Award 2015

Winner of the Swiss Ethics Award 2015

One of our first prizes: Dr. Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus was awarded the Swiss Ethics Prize in Lausanne on 24 November 2015. In its statement, the jury emphasized the courage of the entrepreneur: “The Reckhaus company is strategically positioning itself in an industry that is known for its negative environmental impact”. The Swiss Ethics Prize has been awarded by the School of Engineering and Administration of the Canton of Vaud (HEIG-VD) since 2005. It promotes ethics, sustainable development and social responsibility in the strategies of companies and public organizations. Here to the video

PARTNER

INSECT-RESPECT can count on strong partnerships to work together for insects.

Birdlife Switzerland

Birdlife Switzerland

Together with BirdLife Switzerland, INSECT-RESPECT organized the Day of Insects in Switzerland in 2018 and 2019. BirdLife is one of the largest nature conservation organizations in Switzerland and is committed to the protection of birds and their habitats as well as international cooperation in nature conservation. The organizers want to use the Day of Insects to promote overarching cooperation and a lobby for insects.

Biodiversity in Good Company

Biodiversity in Good Company

INSECT-RESPECT has been a member of the Biodiversity in Good Company Initiative since March 2018 . The initiative aims to preserve biodiversity and maintain the value of species diversity. Dr. Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus, Managing Director of Reckhaus GmbH & Co. KG and initiator of the INSECT-RESPECT quality mark, is of the same opinion. “Companies have a responsibility to do something about insect decline!” INSECT-RESPECT would like to exchange ideas with like-minded people in the initiative, learn from pioneers in other industries and jointly create visibility for this commitment.

Zücher University of Applied Sciences

Zücher University of Applied Sciences

The “Urban Ecology” research group of the Institute for Environment and Natural Resources at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW supported INSECT-RESPECT in the development of the compensation model and with technical questions relating to green roofs.

Kiel University

Kiel University

The research group “Functional Morphology and Biomechanics” of the Zoological Institute of Kiel University supports INSECT-RESPECT with feedback on scientific publications.

SUPPORTERS:INSIDE

INSECT-RESPET has a wide network of supporters.

Dr. Eckhart von Hirschhausen

Dr. Eckhart von Hirschhausen

Together with his Healthy Earth – Healthy People Foundation, he is one of our supporters. He was there for Insect Day 2023 and was also involved in the event beforehand.

Dr. Hans Herren

Dr. Hans Herren

CEO Millennium Institute, Alternative Nobel Prize 2013 “Nature keeps us all alive – a fact that we like to ignore in order to extract as much as possible from it in the short term. INSECT-RESPECT challenges this behavior and leads by example. This hits the nail on the head. It’s not only a sign of a long-term vision, but also the realization that a better world starts with oneself.”

Nina Ruge

Nina Ruge

TV presenter and UN Decade Ambassador for Biodiversity “Insects don’t have a lobby. They’re not cuddly, there’s no beady-eyed childish scheme – and sometimes they bite and scare us too. But they are the humus of life. They are the “busy bee” fertilizers, the soil looseners, the favourite food not only of birds … They are the ones who make it possible for nature to be a miracle. Let’s offer them a lobby with INSECT-RESPECT – and protect them, the wonderful insects of our habitat”

Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer

Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer

Former Federal Environment Minister, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) “With the best will in the world, the value of insects cannot be expressed only in euros and cents. In 2014, I had the honor of presenting an environmental award and was astonished to see a company called Reckhaus, which deals with insecticides, among the nominees. Social commitment in this area could not be more tangible. It is an incredibly great responsibility to reconcile what you do professionally with the demands placed on us by creation and society. I hope that others will follow this example.”

Our team

INSECT-RESPECT is a broad team of insect enthusiasts.

DR. HANS-DIETRICH RECKHAUS

DR. HANS-DIETRICH RECKHAUS

Founder and transformer

MARIE ANDRÉ

MARIE ANDRÉ

Management Switzerland

 

 

HELGE JUNG

HELGE JUNG

Landscape gardener & insect whisperer

 

 

TEAM OF THE RECKHAUS GROUP

TEAM OF THE RECKHAUS GROUP

A total of over 20 people are working on INSECT-RESPECT at our Bielefeld and St. Gallen sites

 

INSECT-RESPECT