Summary Airbus bees help monitor emissions at Hamburg Airport, with honey revealing positive pollution findings. Hamburg Airport partners with the German Wildlife Foundation to boost bee population and habitat. Hamburg Airport is committed to reducing CO2 emissions, achieving carbon neutrality in 2021.
Aircraft aren’t the only thing taking flight at Germany’s Hamburg Airport. For 25 years, bees have helped monitor emissions surrounding the airport. The start of Hamburg Airport's beehives In 1999, mindful of its environmental impact, Airbus introduced a project collecting honey from hives installed at the airport near the Airbus paint shop and next to the runway where the company carried out test flights.
The honey revealed the surrounding areas' soil, water, and air quality. The bees collect pollen and nectar from hundreds of thousands of flowers in the area. An independent laboratory analyzes the honey produced, and the findings from the honey analysis have been overwhelmingly positive.
Chemical deposits in the flowers would be detected in the honey, and the lab tests show that the pollution levels are no higher than off the Airbus premises and even lower than in Hamburg's city center. Tens of thousands of Airbus bees produce more than 160 kilos of honey each year. The honey is not sold but given to clients, suppliers, Airbus staff, and their families.
Over the past 25 years Since 2015, FHG has been involved in Hamburg Airport’s bee project initiated by the German Wild.