Kimpton and ACC Liverpool Buzzing about Bees: Welcoming 140,000 Honeybees on World Bee Day

You will have to excuse the flowery copy on this one, but we’re buzzing to announce that the ACC Liverpool Group marked this year’s annual World Bee Day by welcoming some new and very exciting VIPs…that’s ‘Very Important Pollinators’, to its waterfront site with support from Hard FM partner, Kimpton.

The project was made possible by the support and sponsorship of a number of supply partners, co-ordinated by experts in bee husbandry. These included Sunlight Bees, Kimpton, Sodexo Live! and members of Kimpton’s supply chain Ultra Civils, Metro Rod, ADC, North West MEWPS, AHS, AWS, and Service Graphics who all donated towards the cost.

World Bee Day was marked by a community of more than 140,000 honeybees, who were officially welcomed to Liverpool’s event campus in two brand new beehives, each with its own queen bee. Supported by Wirral beekeepers Sunlight Bees, the hives have been installed in a newly planted wildflower garden on the site and following a competition on ACC Liverpool Group’s social media channels, the hives were named Oh BeeHive! and Let it Beehive!

The introduction of beehives and wildflowers to the site is an important development in ACC Liverpool Group’s sustainability journey. This initiative aims to increase the biodiversity on Liverpool’s event campus and showcases their commitment to environmental sustainability.

Habitats in urban areas that include wildflowers, grasses, and flowering plants attract insects and other invertebrates like butterflies, spiders, and millipedes, as well as birds and mammals. Bees pollinate our wild trees and wildflowers, which support other insects, and in turn support birds, bats, and other mammals by creating bee-friendly environments.

Members of the ACCL staff, some of the Kimpton team, and other sponsors of the project enjoyed bee-themed refreshments at the launch, and sunflower seedlings were handed out for people to take home and nurture before bringing them back to be planted in the wildflower garden in the summer.

Eddie dos Santos, Director of Operations at ACC Liverpool, said: “We know how important it is that we minimise the environmental impact of our operations to do our bit to tackle the climate crisis. The arrival of these beehives on-site marks a key milestone in our sustainability journey. They have captured the imagination of our colleagues, and we hope the public will be equally excited by the development. We’re grateful to Sunlight Bees for their advice and guidance and to our ever-supportive suppliers who have made the project happen.”

Matt Breakwell, Business Development Manager from Kimpton said “A crucial part of our ongoing relationship with ACC Liverpool is working in partnership to support their Sustainability Strategy. Having already completed a number of decarbonisation projects, we were delighted to be able to deliver the bees’ new home with the help of the specialist suppliers that support us to deliver the FM contract.”