The office bee – why the bee belongs in sustainable companies

The office bee – why the bee belongs in sustainable companies

As part of a project, we were able to gather new experiences about the honey bee. We find it so exciting that we would like to tell you more about it. Honey bees and wild bees are responsible for 87% (only honey bees about 70%) of the pollination of our ecosystem. It is therefore only logical that sustainable companies are also looking more and more closely at this topic…

07. Dezember 2020

As part of a project, we were able to gain new experiences about honey bees. We find it so exciting that we would like to report on it. Honey bees and wild bees are responsible for 87% (only honey bees about 70%) of the pollination of our ecosystem. It is therefore only logical that sustainable companies are increasingly focusing on this topic.

But not all beekeeping is the same! Conventional beekeeping scoops up the maximum possible share of the honey harvest and provides the bees with honeycombs made from foreign wax. The queen’s wings are clipped to suppress the swarming instinct. As a company, you should therefore focus on organic beekeeping. Here, only the surplus is harvested and the bees are deliberately not restricted in their naturalness.

Above all, the surplus honey plays an important role in overwintering: it serves as a food supply in the flowerless, cold months and thus ensures the survival of the entire bee colony.

Of course, one wonders whether bees limit the influence in everyday office life. Generally speaking, bees and wasps are often confused. Bees are gentle creatures and only sting when threatened. A bee will not survive a single sting. Even the common battle in summer for the sweet sandwich is normally only fought between humans and wasps. Wild bees and honeybees are only interested in flowers – with one exception, and that is honey!

Bees generally fly towards the light. It is therefore atypical for a bee to fly into the darker interior. So, if a bee gets lost in the office, it will be happy if it is kindly shown the way out.

„We have several beehives right next to our office window and also have some honey on our desks and we have never seen a bee in our office.” Paul Hartmann Stadtbienen e.V. (non-profit organization)

As a sustainable company, we can therefore only recommend taking a closer look at the issue of bee protection. However, the welfare of the animals should still be the main focus. Therefore, always look at ecological animal husbandry.

Further information and references, e.g. Stadtbienen e.V. (non-profit) or Union Investment, can be found under the following links.

Stadtbienen.org

Imke – Stadträume für Bienen by Union Invest

bdia seminar: “Sustainable working environments in cooperation with Interface”

Workspace design with a focus on people and climate

The world of work is changing. Designers and companies alike are facing a multitude of (new) challenges that have an impact on space, technology and organization. Liveable working environments, necessary transformation processes and responsibility for the climate are key building blocks for a sustainable working world.

In this seminar, you will learn about the importance of the building sector in the fight against climate change and the decisive role that the CO2 footprint plays in this. What concrete options for action are there for interior designers?

You will also learn how to create interior spaces that increase the productivity and well-being of employees. The integration of nature in the design approach of biophilic design makes just as positive a contribution as a community-promoting and identity-creating workspace design. The WELL Building Standard offers an exciting holistic view of health and wellbeing in the workplace beyond the physical space.

 

Referenten:

Tanja Künstler, Interface Deutschland GmbH

Tanja Künstler studied architecture and has been professionally involved with new office and working environments for over ten years. As a concept designer at Interface, she advises architects and interior designers on the planning and implementation of creative flooring concepts. In her view, good office planning always focuses on the need for contact with nature in order to create maximum well-being. As an expert in biophilic design, she regularly shares her extensive experience of this approach in public training courses organized by the Chamber of Architects.

Bastian Stölten, W+P workspace consulting GmbH

Bastian Stölten is an authorized signatory and Head of Business Development & Innovation Germany at W+P workspace consulting GmbH and exactly the right person to talk to when it comes to new work, change management and modern working environments. His motivation is to create the best possible workplace in companies and to generate a spirit of optimism among employees. His motto is: Turning the office into an experience and increasing the well-being of employees!

Jardin Wall – The smart wall greening of the future

Jardin Wall – The smart wall greening of the future

At W+P, we are constantly on the lookout for forward-looking products, topics and technologies that will help us to create promising long-term working environments for our customers. As part of our vision to realize C0²-neutral projects, the concept of “tangible sustainability” is a focus of our daily work.

With the “Jardin Wall” from a start-up in Klagenfurt, we have found a smart and sustainable product that is more than just conventional wall greening.

Using integrated sensors for humidity, temperature, air quality, light intensity and water level, each individual plant element as well as the peripheral conditions are measured and analyzed in real time. In addition, the plant is supplied automatically. The data is then evaluated centrally via an app and can be viewed on data dashboards. By collecting the data and the corresponding analysis options, the smart wall increasingly improves itself and can adapt the care of the plants to the individual care requirements.

Another advantage of the green wall is the numerous design options. For example, the separate plant containers can be adapted to customer requirements (color, material, shape and size) and the modular structure of the system means that differentiated “wall pictures” can be produced.

As the concept of the start-up from Klagenfurt has convinced us, we are already implementing the product in one of our projects in Munich in the context of a developed design concept.

We are also very much looking forward to the prototype of the product, which is designed in the shape of our W+P logo and will be installed in our Living Lab / WOW in Frankfurt’s Westhafen Tower in the coming weeks.

Together with the start-up, we will be taking a close look at the various functions and data processing. In addition to collecting data on indoor air quality, our tests will focus in particular on the efficient operational handling of the vertical elements.

We will also look at the use of the intelligent system outdoors.

❯  Visually appealing and individually adaptable design

❯   Automated maintenance of the workplace planting

❯   Sensors that record and analyze the environmental conditions

❯   Self-learning system that continuously improves care

Do you have any questions about the product or are you interested in integrating a customized green wall into your working environment? Then please contact us:

info@wagnerandpartner.com