Packaging firm partners with bee monitoring expert on biodiversity mapping

Sustainable packaging company DS Smith has reported the first results from a scientific partnership that uses bees to monitor environmental conditions around its industrial sites in France.

The initiative, launched in 2025 in collaboration with bee biomonitoring specialist Apilab, has installed monitored hives at thirteen DS Smith packaging facilities. The project turns honeybees into what researchers describe as “environmental sentinels”, capable of providing early warnings about changes in local ecosystems.

Apilab’s monitoring system, which is certified by the French standards body AFNOR and validated under the European INSIGNIA protocol, relies on bees’ natural foraging behaviour. As bees travel within a roughly three-kilometre radius of their hives, they collect millions of micro-samples each day, including nectar, pollen, and airborne particles.

These materials are captured using non-invasive devices such as silicone bracelets, propolis grids and Apistrips placed inside hives. Laboratory analysis of the samples enables scientists to assess floral biodiversity, air quality, and the presence of environmental pollutants.

According to DS Smith, the approach provides a new way to measure the environmental footprint of industrial sites and supports compliance with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires companies to disclose detailed environmental, social and governance information.

Data collected across the thirteen locations — spanning urban, rural and mixed landscapes — indicate generally positive biodiversity conditions. Researchers recorded an average biodiversity score of 0.54, suggesting moderate to good levels of floral diversity. Environmental DNA analysis detected an average of twenty-five plant families per site, with totals ranging from twelve to thirty-five depending on region.

The most frequently identified plant groups included Salicaceae and Fagaceae, representing species such as willows, poplars and chestnut trees, which are considered key nectar sources for pollinators.

Julien Clery, CSR Manager for DS Smith Packaging France, said the monitoring provides practical insights for environmental management.

“This biodiversity mapping allows us to identify the strengths and areas for improvement of each packaging site. It is extremely valuable to us in terms of helping to guide our actions and inform our planning decisions when we create ecological corridors, plant native species, and approach our management of a variety of differentiated green spaces.”

The project also contributes to Apilab’s wider international biomonitoring network, which covers more than five hundred natural areas worldwide.

DS Smith said the initiative forms part of its broader sustainability strategy, Redefining Packaging for a Changing World, which aims to support the transition to a circular economy through more sustainable packaging solutions.