Bees and biodiversity

At Boehringer Ingelheim, environmental consciousness and protection are priorities in everything we do. The establishment of sustainable principles, conservation of natural resources and promotion of environmental awareness are paramount considerations in all our activities and anchored in our Sustainable Development – For Generations framework. Within the pillar More Green we attach great importance to sustainable site vegetation programs. In doing so, we promote biodiversity at many of our sites and provide a living space for bees.

Bees are more than just small honey collectors: They are crucial for biodiversity and health all over the world. Together with other insects, they are responsible for plant pollination, which ensures the survival and diversity of food crops and medicinal plants. As a consequence, the United Nations Organization created World Bee Day, which is held annually on May 20.

Flower strips with bee-friendly planting.

Boehringer Ingelheim attaches great importance to the preservation of biodiversity. As a family-owned company, Boehringer Ingelheim thinks in generations. The responsible use of the environment and its resources is incorporated into our corporate guidelines. We take biodiversity seriously in all its aspects: diversity of species, habitat protection and genetic diversity. In doing so, we also remain true to the principles of the Nagoya Protocol.

Bee happy – ideal living conditions for bees

Poster campaign: Boehringer Ingelheim employees show off bee hotels at the site in Ingelheim.

This becomes very concrete at our headquarter in Ingelheim. Our corporate gardening department places great value on biodiversity when maintaining the large stock of trees and green spaces. On an area spanning approximately 110 hectares between the office and production buildings, our gardening department creates habitats for plants and animals.

Around 5,000 indigenous wild roses, which bloom in summer and form rose hips in autumn, as well as extensive orchards provide food and habitat for a wide variety of animals. Insects also find a home in flower strips, which cover an area of three hectares.

One of these strips is located directly at one of Ingelheim's factory parking lots and offers a particular advantage: it is home to a beehive, whose population is developing magnificently and is eagerly producing honey. "For me and my team it is great to see how nature can flourish in as difficult a location as a parking lot", Dirk Bogedan, head of the company gardening department, regales with great pleasure. The seed mixture used by his team to plant the flowering strip is especially bee-friendly.

The bees in Ingelheim and Biberach also find shelter in several bee hotels that were set up for them. On the one hand these bee hotels contribute to the preservation of insect diversity at the two sites. On the other hand, they were manufactured by a workshop that employs people with disabilities. Bee hotels and hives are not only found at the German sites: Similar projects ensure the survival of bees at the plants in Fornovo, Italy and Lyon, France.

Lasting success

Bogedan and his team are on duty every day – year in, year out – with significant success. In recent years, they have been able to create more and more habitats for plants and animals. The next step: The completion of a park that fits seamlessly into the overall sustainability concept and also contributes to the preservation of biodiversity.