McDonald’s Installs ‘Bee Hotels’ Into Their Billboards to Help Dwindling Bee Populations in Sweden

(Illustration - Shutterstock)

McDonald’s in Sweden is making headlines for a new “real-estate development” in the form of “hotels” for bees, miniature lodgings specifically designed for bees to live in. The project aims to save local, ailing bee populations.

A billboard comprising McDonald’s advertising on one side has six separate “hotel room” compartments for bees on the back end has popped up in the town of Järfälla outside Stockholm, Sweden. The architectural firm NORD DDB joined forces with advertising agency JCDecaux for this biodiversity-conscious collaboration.

“We’ve used the backside of this billboard to create living space for thousands of bees,” reads a billboard plaque showcased in a McDonald’s promotional video on YouTube. “To support biodiversity,” the engraving adds.

Pending success and positive feedback, the project will expand its bee-hotel portfolio in 2020. Comments from the public to date intimate that people are curious, and many are supportive of McDonald’s efforts to encourage Stockholm’s bees into roadside residences.

Illustration - Unsplash | Damien TUPINIER

“Hope the bees take to this innovative idea,” one viewer commented.

“Would love to see a follow up about how the bees like this,” another added to the conversation. “Looks like a fabulous idea to me, but then I am not a bee.”

As of November 2019, honey bees are not listed as an endangered species. However, their global population has been in rapid decline for several years. One of the major causes of population decline is the destruction of bees’ natural habitat.

NORD DDB explained to Design Taxi that 30 percent of Sweden’s wild bee population is under threat as a result of not having access to enough safe resting areas. A third of the food that humans consume, the architectural firm continued, is made possible by bee pollination.

In short, we need the bees.

It’s not the first time that McDonald’s in Sweden has spared a thought for local bees. The “bee-hotel” initiative actually follows previous efforts by the franchise in Sweden to promote the biodiversity of bees by installing beehives in restaurant roofs.

Additionally, some Swedish McDonald’s restaurants have opened a slightly alternative version of the “bee hotel” on their premises, as per Insider, by installing wood signage on the forecourt with bee-sized holes drilled into the letters, which spell “always open.”

In spring of 2019, the fast food chain even built the “world’s smallest McDonald’s,” aptly named the “McHive,” which was built to sustain a fully functioning beehive.

Designed and built by the award-winning Swedish set designer Nicklas Nilsson, as per the Independent, the McHive was conceived as part of a charity fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities, a non-profit that works to support children and young people.

The novel structure was auctioned off on May 21, 2019, for upwards of $10,000 to benefit the charity.

Illustration - Unsplash | Dmitry Grigoriev

Besides encouraging local bees into the residences, McDonald’s latest roadside “bee-hotel” venture represents an enduring effort by the fast food giant to improve their global reputation. According to McDonald’s corporate website, as of 2019, only 10 percent of McDonald’s restaurants are recycling. However, they are taking steps to improve.

“Our customers have told us that packaging waste is the top environmental issue they would like us to address,” McDonald’s Sustainability Officer Francesca DeBiase said in a statement to Brink News.

By 2025, DeBiase explained, McDonald’s aims for 100 percent of its customer packaging to come from renewable, recycled, or certified sources. They also hope to have recycling stations inside every restaurant.

Only time will tell whether Sweden’s bees flock to occupy the fast food chain’s latest architectural venture, but many believe it makes sense and is a conscientious step in the right direction.