DS Smith partner with leading bee and biodiversity experts, Apilab, to monitor natural habitats at thirteen packaging facilities in France

With Apilab, we have enlisted the help of bees to measure biodiversity activity across thirteen DS Smith packaging facilities in France, and we announce the first results of this scientific project that launched in 2025.

As a sentinel species, the bees are employed to monitor the natural environment, and they do this by providing early warning signs of changes in their ecosystem.

Apilab has developed a unique methodology that is AFNOR-certified and validated by the European INSIGNIA protocol. The bees forage within a 3-kilometre radius to collect millions of micro-samples each day. They deposit the non-invasive sampling materials, including nectar and pollen captured on silicone bracelets, propolis grids and Apistrips, in their hives. The samples are analysed by Apilab experts in the laboratory and assessed for floral biodiversity, air quality, and pollutants.

This innovative biodiversity mapping approach enables the measurement of industrial impact on local ecosystems, supporting the objectives of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The CSRD requires companies to disclose detailed environmental, social and governance (ESG) information to enhance transparency and accountability of their business practices. It also supports the monitoring of ecosystems around industrial and manufacturing sites and tracks changes in biodiversity over time.

“This biodiversity mapping allows us to identify the strengths and areas for improvement of each packaging site,” comments Julien Clery, CSR Manager, DS Smith Packaging, France.

Analyis across the thirteen facilities studied, ranging from urban environments, green spaces, and rural areas, reveal an average of twenty-five plant families detected per site via environmental DNA, with a variation of twelve to thirty-five families depending on the region. Also, a high presence of dominant taxa such as Salicaceae (23%) and Fagaceae (22%), including willows, poplars, and chestnut trees, important nectar sources for pollinators.

“This biodiversity mapping allows us to identify the strengths and areas for improvement of each packaging site,” comments Julien Clery, CSR Manager, DS Smith Packaging, France.

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,” he concludes.

The project is a key contributor to the wider international Apilab biomonitoring network that consists of over five hundred natural areas.