JCDecaux is committed to the protection of bees and harvests its first crop of honey on its Plaisir site

Paris, September 27, 2011 – JCDecaux recently harvested its first crop of honey from its Plaisir Sainte-Apolline site. The apiary is comprised of 15 beehives, housing almost one million bees. This initiative forms part of JCDecaux’s Sustainable Development policy and underlines the Group’s commitment to environmental protection.

In light of the urgent need to protect bees and other pollinating insects that have been decimated by pesticides used in farming, JCDecaux has decided to devote several acres of land on its Plaisir site to the creation of gardens containing melliferous plants and bushes. The company’s gardeners will look after the vast expanse of flowering plants, which will help large numbers of bees find the nutrients they need, free from pesticides and weed killers. The project was initiated by Jean-Claude Decaux, the founder of the company.

• The site contains an Orangery that has been specially converted to showcase the ecosystem around the beehives. Educational displays will explain the life of bees, the beekeepers’ varied activities and JCDecaux’s involvement in the project.
• The honey produced in the Sainte-Apolline beehives will be packaged in jars and offered by JCDecaux to the 2,000 people from all over the world who visit the company, its showroom and now, its apiary.

This eco-friendly project has two main objectives:

- To help protect bees, a species that has suffered a dramatic decline in numbers over the past 15 years. Their disappearance would trigger an unprecedented ecological and economic catastrophe. Bees are involved in the pollination of more than 80% of the flowering plants, producing a large proportion of our food and sustaining more than one third of food resources worldwide.

- To show our visitors that it is possible for everyone to participate in the protection of biodiversity, by planting melliferous plants and avoiding the use of pesticides.

Jean-Claude Decaux, Founder of JCDecaux and Chairman of the company’s Supervisory Board, said: “A chance meeting with a person promoting the creation of special “larders” for bees gave me the idea for this initiative. This project is all the more legitimate for the group as it dovetails perfectly with JCDecaux’s Sustainable Development policy and its long-term commitment to environmental protection. With the creation of this apiary, JCDecaux is helping not only to ensure the preservation of bees and the protection of biodiversity but also to develop a collective awareness of current and future environmental challenges.”