Sustainable bee project for the 160th company anniversary
Sustainability and natural conservation are anchored deeply in our corporate culture. We are using our 160th company anniversary as a welcome opportunity to further intensify our efforts in these areas. Alongside our partner, beefuture, we would like to honour the littlest heroes in our ecosystem – which is why we have adopted five bee hives and their flying residents.
Beefuture – GEZE is in!
beefuture GmbH is working to rescue the bees for the long-term, and offers a unique opportunity for companies to join this important mission by adopting bee hives. The committed team at beefuture professionally looks after the threatened insects all year long. Of course, GEZE was proud to join the initiative. With this project, we are not only underscoring our love of nature, but also making an active contribution to protecting bees and their habitats.
Why are bees so important?
Bees are a key, irreplaceable pillar of our ecosystem. More than 80% of our native plants, including vegetable and grain crops, are dependent on pollination by bees. Their tireless work ensures over a third of global food production, making them an essential part of our food chains and biological diversity. There is a good reason the honey bee is considered the third most important useful animal. The extinction of bees would have disastrous consequences – for the environment, animals, and people.
The facility provides a new habitat for bees, bumblebees and other insects threatened with extinction, in bee and insect hotels.
Bee power at GEZE: for a blossoming future
We have been concerned about the well-being of bees for some time. Several years ago, we created a large biotope with a wild flower meadow and insect hotels in Leonberg, which today house countless wild bees. To ensure we do not endanger these residents, we specifically placed the GEZE hives outside of the natural habitats of wild bees. This helps us ensure harmonious coexistence, and protect our wild bee populations.
The GEZE honey comes from organic beekeeping and is harvested by hand. © GEZE GmbH
Honey harvest – Bee keeper for a day
In late July 2023, we are eagerly anticipating the first harvest of our climate-neutral GEZE year-round honey, which will be of a much higher quality than what is available from a store. Our employees can purchase this 100% natural product, farmed using an ecological bee keeping approach, for a small donation. Donations contribute to sustainable projects to support bes. In this way, we are not only supporting our own GEZE bees, but helping our employees actively support other initiatives to protect bees and their habitats. To teach our employees more about our bees, we offer them the opportunity to take part in the honey harvest and a honey tasting in the fall, alongside our bee keepers. This allows our employees to experience the fascinating world of bees and the art of honey production in person.
Did you know?
- One bee hive produces around 15 - 30 kg of honey per year.
- The amount of nectar a bee collects in its entire life is enough to make one teaspoon of honey.
- To produce one jar of honey, bees need to visit around 5 million flowers.
- Around 50,000 bees live in a colony in the summer, but only around 5,000 live there in the winter.
- A worker bee lives approx. 35 days during the summer, and approx. 6 months during the winter.
- The queen bee has a lifespan of about 3-5 years.
Sustainability and environmental protection are a top priority at GEZE. © GEZE GmbH
Sustainability and environmental protection at GEZE
The work GEZE is doing to support bees is part of our comprehensive commitment to sustainability and environmental and climate protection. We are taking on comprehensive responsibility, and actively working to ensure an intact, healthy natural world in many areas. In addition to adopting bee hives, we are supporting various projects to reduce our ecological footprint, promoting the use of renewable energy, and advancing resource-saving technologies. With this diverse approach, we hope to make a positive contribution to the environment and leave future generations a better and greener world.
Product, Planet, People
We are pursuing our sustainability strategy based on these three action areas, systematically taking on responsibility for our environment, people, and our region. This is a matter of course for us as a family business. For 160 years, we have relied on long-term concepts instead of short-term profits. We are proud of all of the people and diverse personalities who want to create a liveable future with us.
Our GEZE beehives are kept by a beekeeper in Ulm. © GEZE GmbH
The bees have already been busy producing honey. © GEZE GmbH
Head of Marketing & Data Management Angela Staiber and Digital Marketing Manager Julia Albus proudly present the first GEZE honeycomb. © GEZE GmbH
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