Bees play a key role in the pollination process, having a wide-ranging impact on agriculture and biodiversity on our planet. However, they have long faced challenges, including, among others, the loss of their natural habitat, which has led to a decline in flowering plants that are their primary food source. Panattoni's industrial sites are becoming a new habitat for bees. Here, information on the state of the bee colony and its behaviour is monitored by an IT system and evaluated by artificial intelligence.
Panattoni currently has at least 64 bee colonies in eight locations in its parks, with approximately 500,000 bees per park. These bees have the ability to pollinate within a radius of up to five kilometres, which includes urban greenery as well as adjacent forests and fields, contributing to high honey production. Last year, 1.4 tonnes of honey was spun from hives at Panattoni's industrial sites. Panattoni also promotes beekeeping and highlights the role of bees in our ecosystem through educational workshops for children from nearby primary and kindergarten schools, which are held right in the parks.
World Bee Day is celebrated on 20 May, the birthday of Anton Janša, a beekeeper and painter from Kranj, who is considered one of the founders of modern beekeeping. This year, on this day, Panattoni organised an event for schools called "Bees from all sides" at Panattoni Park Prague Airport II near Pavlov in Central Bohemia. The interest of primary school children in getting a glimpse into the world of beekeeping was really high.
"We have always tried to minimize the environmental impact of our industrial parks and show a possible sustainable way. Placing bee hives on the premises was thus one of the logical steps that subsequently motivated many others to take up this beneficial activity. Mr. Pavel Mach, who, thanks to monitoring systems using artificial intelligence, has improved the conditions for bees to a heavenly level, has taken us to a completely different dimension in bee care," says Pavel Sovička, Panattoni's Managing Director for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In the context of the World Bee Day celebrations, Panattoni is presenting its innovative approach to sustainability and biodiversity protection. Eight sites across the Czech Republic are home to beehives in smart hives, which represent not only an environmental benefit but also a significant part of the company's commitment to sustainable development as part of its global strategy "Go Earthwise with Panattoni".
Industrial parks are becoming an ideal environment for bees, which can be attributed to several factors. Bees have plenty of space and are protected from unauthorised access thanks to their location behind a fence. A major advantage is the proximity of retention tanks, which serve as a reliable source of water. Another positive aspect is the species diversity in the surrounding area, especially if the park is located near a city.
The innovative IT system ProBee plays an important role in the management of bee colonies. This allows remote monitoring of the hives using a set of sensors that measure temperature, weight and acoustics. This makes it possible to see, for example, whether the bees are bringing nectar from their surroundings or whether they are consuming their stores. This data is uploaded to the cloud and then analysed by Softech's artificial intelligence, giving beekeepers valuable insights into bee health and behaviour. Where there is an internet connection, online cameras are also in operation and the bees can be monitored continuously via these.
Pavel Mach, author of the ProBee system, adds: "We have been working with Panattoni since 2022 and are gradually expanding their bee community. This helps us in our efforts to cover the republic with a network of sensors and to create something like an information service for beekeepers and various institutions about bee behaviour in their region. In the future, it might be interesting to do tests on the composition of honeys from different locations and compare them."
"Pavel Mach's smart hives can now be found mainly on the roofs of institutions or in industrial areas. In Panattoni industrial parks, we currently have beehives monitored by this smart technology in eight locations across the Czech Republic. We want to continue this cooperation in the future. It is a great complement to the flowering meadows that are planted on the parks as part of the BREEAM New Construction certification," confirms Robert Chmelař, Property Management Director at Blue Assets, the company responsible for the management and maintenance of industrial parks.
Blue Assets specialises in providing first-class property management services. As a leader in the industry, it understands the complexities of property management and approaches clients with a personalized approach that respects the unique needs of each property and its owners. The installation of beehives in Panattoni parks is welcomed by tenants, who often even ask to expand the number of hives themselves.
