LVMH-owned beauty and fragrance house Guerlain has raised over €1 million to boost its Guerlain for Bees Conservation Programme.
The project centres on partnerships and initiatives dedicated to the cause of bees, which are, according to Guerlain, the “sentinels of the environment and guardians of future generations”.
The brand’s fund-raising efforts support its ambition to see World Bee Day (20 May) become a key annual event to raise public awareness of the valuable role bees play in biodiversity.
As reported, Guerlain marked World Bee Day this year with the launch of the #GuerlainForBees fundraising campaign. Guerlain pledged to donate 20% of its worldwide sales between 20 May (World Bee Day) and 22 May (International Day of Biological Diversity) to support bee conservation through its #WomenForBees programme.
The Maison also donated US$20 to the programme for each repost of its 20 May World Bee Day Instagram post. The post was created by Slovakian Artist Tomáš Libertíny , with hashtags #GuerlainForBees and #WorldBeeDay.
Guerlain thanked its supporters who have “played their part in making 20 May a special milestone date in humankind’s collective commitment to bee protection”.
Guerlain Chief Sustainability Officer Cécile Lochard said: “Resolutely focused on the future, Guerlain has made a strong and lasting commitment to bees.
“This commitment, anchored in the Raison d’Être of the House, permeates the whole of Guerlain and is expressed locally within our subsidiaries with passion and energy. It is illustrated in the concrete actions of the present to protect and promote the repopulation of endemic bees, and this is combined with educational outreach aimed at passing on beekeeping savoir-faire to future generations and raising awareness among young people.
“This holistic approach is reflected in our Guerlain for Bees Conservation Programme, one of the most ambitious international plans dedicated to the cause of bees, implemented around the world by a private entity.”
Guerlain’s history is closely linked to the bee, the symbol of the house since 1853, when the first Bee Bottle was created. Guerlain made a solid commitment to bees over ten years ago, forging a partnership to protect the endemic bee of Ouessant Island through working with the Brittany Black Bee Conservatory Association.
That paved the way for other collaborations and initiatives dedicated to bees which include:
- Partnership with the French Observatory of Apidology (OFA)
- Creation of the Bee School in collaboration with the OFA
- Women for Bees in partnership with UNESCO
- Patronage of the GoodPlanet Foundation
- Support for the ELYX Foundation
- Patronage of the French committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Patronage of the National Museum of Natural History
- Partnership with the Shan Shui Conservation Center.
This year Guerlain welcomed a tenth partner – CONAPI – within the framework of its Guerlain for Bees Conservation Programme.
CONAPI is one of the largest cooperatives of beekeepers, and the leading producer of organic honey, in Italy. This new partnership aims to draw the attention of local communities to the threats to bees and the wider implications of climate change.
Financed by the World Bee Day fundraising campaign, the partnership draws on CONAPI’s knowledge and expertise to promote initiatives in Italy such as the Bee School. Over 1,000 children have already learned about the role of bees and climate protection in Milan, Rome and Bologna.
The partnership is also working to promote female entrepreneurship through beekeeping.
