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McDonald’s Sweden Is Creating A Buzz With Their Billboards That Double As Bee Hotels
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McDonald’s Sweden Is Creating A Buzz With Their Billboards That Double As Bee Hotels

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Some time ago, Mcdonald’s Sweden created a buzz with their ‘tiny restaurant for bees,’ which helped to bring attention to the bee crisis – colonies are dying off at unprecedented rates and we should all be concerned by this.

Now, they are at it again by creating small ‘bee hotels’ on the back of their billboards. NORD DDB, the creative agency behind McDonald’s Sweden’s bee-focused architecture, explained to DesignTAXI that 30% of wild bees in the country are threatened, mainly because they do not have enough resting areas.

So the company teamed up with outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux to turn the backs of its billboards into tiny “hotels.”

McDonald’s spend over $1.8 billion every year worldwide on advertising and promotions, trying to cultivate an image of being a caring and green company. While these localized efforts to promote biodiversity of bees are great – there are currently 6 ‘hotels’ so far, set up on the back of a single billboard – they pale in comparison to the damage that the company does to the environment as a whole.

As well as contributing to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions over the years through its intensive need for meat, poultry and products like palm oil, only 50% of Mcdonald’s guest packaging comes from sustainable sources and only 10% of its restaurants are currently 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,” Francesca Debiase, McDonald’s chief supply chain and sustainability officer, said in a statement.

By 2025 the company wants to have 100% of its customer packaging come from renewable, recycled, or certified sources and have recycling available in all its restaurants.

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Noble aims and big promises, but will they live up to their desired image of environmentally-conscious trailblazers? Or are they simply token gestures of greenwashing designed to get people talking about them in a positive light?

Only time will tell. Meanwhile, McDonald’s Sweden and JCDecaux plan to expand its chain of ‘bee hotels’ in spring 2020 if all goes well with this one.

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You can see a video about the ‘bee hotels’ here

Mcdonald’s Sweden previously hit the news with this tiny restaurant for bees

Image credits: NORDDDB

Image credits: NORDDDB

Here’s what people had to say about the companies and their environmental initiatives

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Mantas Kačerauskas

Mantas Kačerauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

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As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, I indulge in the joy of curating delightful content, from adorable pet photos to hilarious memes, all while nurturing my wanderlust and continuously seeking new adventures and interests—sometimes thrilling, sometimes daunting, but always exciting!

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Mantas Kačerauskas

Mantas Kačerauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, I indulge in the joy of curating delightful content, from adorable pet photos to hilarious memes, all while nurturing my wanderlust and continuously seeking new adventures and interests—sometimes thrilling, sometimes daunting, but always exciting!

James Caunt

James Caunt

Writer, Community member

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James is a Bored Panda reporter who graduated with a BA in Peace And Conflict Studies and an MA in African Affairs. Before Bored Panda, he was an English teacher and also travelled a lot, doing odd jobs from beer-slinging to brickie's labourer and freelance journalism along the way. James loves covering stories about social and environmental issues and prefers to highlight the positive things that unite us, rather than petty internet squabbles about fictional characters. James is the grumpy, contradictory one who thinks that Bored Panda, due to its large audience, has a social responsibility to inspire and inform its readers with interesting issues and entertaining, well-researched stories. Let's do our bit to make our little corner of the internet a smarter, more truthful and less angry place!

Read less »

James Caunt

James Caunt

Writer, Community member

James is a Bored Panda reporter who graduated with a BA in Peace And Conflict Studies and an MA in African Affairs. Before Bored Panda, he was an English teacher and also travelled a lot, doing odd jobs from beer-slinging to brickie's labourer and freelance journalism along the way. James loves covering stories about social and environmental issues and prefers to highlight the positive things that unite us, rather than petty internet squabbles about fictional characters. James is the grumpy, contradictory one who thinks that Bored Panda, due to its large audience, has a social responsibility to inspire and inform its readers with interesting issues and entertaining, well-researched stories. Let's do our bit to make our little corner of the internet a smarter, more truthful and less angry place!

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varwenea
Community Member
5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even if it's small and/or gimmicky, it's still a start. Only the future will tell if they keep their promise. By switching to all compostable packaging and adding recycling, it's a significant impact on the planet, assuming their business doesn't decline in the meantime.

Amazon QT
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes I hate the “throw away” fast food packaging! I try to recycle my cups for other things. I try to use the same straw as much a possible, since I drink iced tea or water and not pop.

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N G
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This company is one of the biggedt polluters. They give away millions of plastic toys that are just thrown away

Jolijn Njamin-Geurts van Kessel
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You have a really good point. Though they are working on how to become more environment friendly (like replacing plastic straws with recyclable ones) they are taking it one step at a time and every step is positive. So I really hope they will rethink the plastic toys they give away for something that can be recycled.

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varwenea
Community Member
5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even if it's small and/or gimmicky, it's still a start. Only the future will tell if they keep their promise. By switching to all compostable packaging and adding recycling, it's a significant impact on the planet, assuming their business doesn't decline in the meantime.

Amazon QT
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes I hate the “throw away” fast food packaging! I try to recycle my cups for other things. I try to use the same straw as much a possible, since I drink iced tea or water and not pop.

Load More Replies...
N G
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This company is one of the biggedt polluters. They give away millions of plastic toys that are just thrown away

Jolijn Njamin-Geurts van Kessel
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You have a really good point. Though they are working on how to become more environment friendly (like replacing plastic straws with recyclable ones) they are taking it one step at a time and every step is positive. So I really hope they will rethink the plastic toys they give away for something that can be recycled.

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