WORLD BEE DAY THE HOUSE’S COMMITMENT GAINS A RENEWED MOMENTUM

THANK YOU! GUERLAIN WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A HUGE, WARM THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE FUND DRIVE FOR THE
2021 EDITION OF WORLD BEE DAY.

Through the wonderful rallying efforts
of our communities and the general public, we managed to raise €1 million to help expand the “Guerlain For Bees Conservation Programme” and accelerate the actions of this network of partnerships and initiatives dedicated entirely to the protection of bees.

Let’s take a look back at these three pivotal days. The United Nations chose 20th May as World Bee Day and 22nd as International Day for Biological Diversity. For the House of Guerlain, these two key dates marked a new turning point this year in its commitment towards the conservation of the Bee. Over three days, from 20th to 22nd May, Guerlain donated 20% of its global sales* and a further €20 for every share of the World Bee Day image posted by the House on Instagram on 20th May.

Today, driven by the success of World Bee Day, Guerlain is more committed than ever before to the Bee, this symbol of the House and infinite source of inspiration. With the conservation of this precious guardian of biodiversity as a core part of its Raison d’Être, Guerlain marks another significant step today in embracing new partnerships as part of the “Guerlain For Bees Conservation Programme”.

« GUERLAIN FOR BEES CONSERVATION PROGRAMME » EVER MORE ALLIES FOR AN EVER GREATER IMPACT

Guerlain is delighted to embark upon three new partnerships as part of the “Guerlain For Bees Conservation Programme”. Two of these partnerships have been financed through the World Bee Day fund drive and are signed with the French Committee of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and the National Museum of Natural History. The third is a large-scale partnership with the Chinese NGO, Shan Shui Conservation Centre. Today, Guerlain puts the spotlight on this collaboration that has been supported and financed at the local level for a year now by the House’s Chinese branch.

THE HOUSE OF GUERLAIN ANNOUNCES A THREE-YEAR SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMME WITH THE FRENCH COMMITTEE OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE.

Created in 1948, the IUCN is devoted to the mission of contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and to the sustainable and equitable use of natural resources. The organisation comprises an international network of 1,300 members, over 16,000 independent experts and hundreds of NGOs, who work tirelessly in making assessments on the welfare of biodiversity. At the national level, the IUCN’s French Committee brings together 2 ministers, 13 public bodies, 47 NGOs and over 250 experts.

Today, Guerlain makes a commitment to the French Committee of the IUCN by providing financial support that will enable it, upon the culmination of three years of research, to produce the Red List of Threatened Species of wild bees in France. With the support of scientists, naturalists and grassroots associations, the IUCN will chart the living spaces of these primarily solitary bees, which account for around 1,000 species in France and are just as endangered as domestic bees. By identifying the threats they face and measuring the rate of their decline, the IUCN will be able to raise awareness and alert public authorities in order to prompt practical actions to protect them.

GUERLAIN ANNOUNCES A THREE-YEAR SPONSORSHIP WITH THE FRENCH NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY IN SUPPORT OF ITS SPIPOLL PHOTOGRAPHIC MONITORING OF POLLINATING INSECTS PROGRAMME.

Introduced in 2010, by the Museum of Natural History, in partnership with the French Office for Insects and Their Environment (OPIE), this participatory project invites anyone who is out walking and equipped with a camera or a smartphone to takes pictures of pollinating insects encountered on their route by following a protocol developed by researchers and to post them on a mobile app or on the Spipoll website. In the space of ten years, this initiative has resulted in the observation of nearly 1.5 million insects (including bees, but also wasps, flies, beetles and many others). This exceptional database provides information to the scientific community while also helping to raise public awareness about biodiversity. Today, through offering financial support, Guerlain is helping to boost the app’s performance and scope. Data will be displayed in a more enhanced graphic format, giving both the public and the participants smoother access to the results of the project, especially on bees. The interface will be made more user-friendly to attract an even greater number of participants, by tapping into the different possibilities offered by AI, thereby transitioning, quite literally, to Spipoll version 2.0. Expanding the content with options for multiple languages will also enable the app to be rolled out more quickly on a global scale.

ALL OVER THE WORLD, GUERLAIN’S VARIOUS BRANCHES ARE MAKING THEIR OWN LOCAL COMMITMENTS.
IN CHINA, THE PARTNERSHIP SIGNED WITH THE SHAN SHUI CONSERVATION CENTER WILL ALSO SERVE TO STRENGTHEN THE “GUERLAIN FOR BEES CONSERVATION PROGRAMME”.

Founded in 2007, the Shan Shui Conservation Center (SSCC) is a Chinese NGO that actively works to preserve species and ecosystems in order to promote harmony between Humankind and Nature. Its focus is placed on endangered Chinese wildlife, such as the honeybee.

With a view to restoring their habitat and helping them to thrive, Shan Shui has already built 13 homes for the bees and replanted more than 1,000 trees that produce melliferous flowers, as well as 60 kg of bee-forage seeds, which are rich in nectar and pollen, making them an excellent food source for bees. As well as this, Shan Shui develops media content, educational programmes and tourist itineraries to inform the public of the current plight of these pollinating insects.

In support of these efforts to raise awareness and pass on knowledge to younger generations, Guerlain has implemented its Bee School programme in China jointly with Shan Shui and in collaboration with the Chinese National Department of Education. Up to 30 primary schools in Shanghai are expected to benefit from this unique educational outreach programme run by House of Guerlain staff. It aims to allow children of a young age to discover the role of the Bee and educate them on the importance of their protection.

MORE BUZZ

Embodying the heart of Nature, pollination exists as one of the key reproductive systems for a number of plants. This amazing process, honed over millions of years, enables pollen to be transferred from flower to flower, thus ensuring their fertilisation.

Animal pollination, i.e. that which is carried out by pollinators, plays a vital part in the process, as a regulating ecosystem service in Nature. 75% of all global food crops and almost 90% of wild flowering plants* depend on pollen transfer by animals, being done primarily by bees. These plants are essential in allowing ecosystems to function properly, since they provide food, habitat and other resources for many other species*. Both wild and domestic pollinators play important roles in pollination, although their relative contributions differ according to crop and location*.

Among these pollinators, the bee is one of the most efficient of the bunch.

Moreover, there are actually two types: the domestic bee or honeybee, as it is commonly called, and wild bees. However, there remains little knowledge regarding the latter. In fact, 9%** of all bee species in Europe are threatened with extinction, but for half** of these European species, there is not enough scientific data to assess the risk of extinction.

Wild bees are incredibly diverse in terms of size and varying colours, most are solitary and most do not produce honey. They make their nest in plant stems and in burrows dug directly into wood or soil, and they are great pollinators.

In testimony of the times we live in and currently under grave threat, wild and domestic bees are at the very heart of biodiversity. The House of Guerlain has placed their conservation at the core of its Raison d’Être, devoting to them a number of partnerships and initiatives with a view to their protection.