16.05.2019

STILL takes on sponsorship for bees

STILL is actively campaigning for bee colonies in the Hamburg area

STILL, the Hamburg intralogistics specialist, is supporting a sustainable regional project in the context of its environmental commitment. Together with the BEEsharing initiative, the company actively works to prevent bee mortality, thereby contributing to the protection of nature and species diversity in the region. BEEsharing is a network for beekeepers, farmers and friends of bees, and offers companies their own bee sponsorships. On Wednesday 15th May 2019, STILL undertook such a sponsorship for four bee colonies that will from now on be located on the roof of the headquarters building in Hamburg.

Following the installation, symbolic frames for a honey super were handed over. From left to right: Merlin Kaszta (Project Manager), John Petersen (Beekeeper), Thomas A. Fischer (CSO), Wolfgang Reuter (Co-Founder and Managing Director of BEEsharing)

The number of bees in Germany has been steadily declining for decades. Due to their importance for biodiversity, bees are protected by Germany’s federal Nature Conservation Act, but there is an increasing lack of suitable habitats for the animals. Thomas A. Fischer, CSO of STILL, says “That’s why we are very pleased to be able to offer a protected home for four beehives.”

The Hamburg location in Billbrook is perfectly suitable for this, since with its bankside areas close to the river Bille, a tributary of the Elbe, it offers ideal conditions in which bees can live all year round. The bees look for their food within a radius of up to five kilometres. In this way, the STILL bees will pollinate countless trees and plants in the future, along the nearby Bille river and in the industrial zone’s areas of greenery, thus making the district of the city more ecologically diverse.

Every company has a responsibility to society. That’s why STILL is certified in the areas of Quality Management, Occupational Safety, Environmental Protection and Energy Management. In this context, it is also appropriate that STILL is also an active member of the Hamburg Environmental Partnership in 2019, and is thus continuously engaged in environmental and climate protection. Companies from various sectors of industry voluntarily commit themselves to future-oriented, resource-conserving, socially responsible behaviour and economic activity.

Under its “Zero Emission” remit, STILL already consistently focuses on environmentally friendly, low-consumption propulsion technologies in its product portfolio. The overriding objective is to largely avoid climate-damaging emissions by measures ranging from economical combustion engines and classical lead-acid batteries to hybrid and lithium ion solutions.

In conjunction with the French company Carrefour, for example, the Hamburg industrial logistics supplier implemented Europe’s biggest fuel cell stacker truck project, with a total of 137 trucks.

Questions of sustainability and thus of the long-term consequences of business activities are now acquiring a key position when customers and purchasers compare solutions and products. By giving a home to the four bee colonies, STILL contributes to species conservation, and sets a regional example for biodiversity conservation.

According to Thomas A. Fischer: “We are confident that our company’s successful future is inseparably linked to our commitment to sustainability – on both a small and a large scale.”