Sure, both programs started with altruistic intentions, but the built-in goal of self-financing helped the Timberland alliance stay on track, and that will help ensure the long-term success of the project.
What's more, Germany's many large blue-chip companies not only have the scale to help them avoid job cuts, they have also been helped by the German government's recent short-term working scheme, in which the state subsidizes worker wages to help firms avoid layoffs.