European Bee Award

	Are you part of an innovative project protecting bees or other pollinators? The European Bee Award is launching the call for applications for 2022! The European Landowners’ Organization (ELO) and the European Agricultural Machinery Industry Association (CEMA) invite you to submit your project by Friday 9th of September 2022. Since 2014, the Bee Award is committed to find common solutions for the benefit of biodiversity by rewarding projects protecting pollinators. 3 prizes will be awarded:
	Land Management practices  (€ 4,000 prize) Innovative technological solutions (€ 4,000 prize)
	Special Mention of the Jury  (diploma of recognition)
	Who can apply?  The European Bee Award is open to everyone*. We reward farmers, landowners, research institutes, academia, and private and public organisations who develop outstanding and innovative projects aiming to protect bees or other pollinators and helping to preserve biodiversity. Former applicants are very welcome to re-apply! *Check the terms and conditions in the application form
	How to apply? DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION FORM and send it back to us by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	We are looking forward to receive your application and discover all the amazing projects protecting the bees all aournd Europe. Feel free to reach us or send this fantastic opportunity with your network. The Bee Award Team

2021 EDITION  

'Coup d'Pousse' and 'Connected scales' take the big prizes at the VIII edition of the European Bee Award.

In a ceremony hosted by MEP Franc Bogovič in Brussels, the VIII edition of the European Bee Award acknowledges the great commitment of private and public organisations, as well as the involvement of the research community, to enhance pollinators’ wellbeing and support bee-friendly farming practices in Europe.

BRUSSELS, 8 DECEMBER 2021—

The European Bee Award has been committed to acknowledging, supporting and incentivising, innovative and scalable projects that ensure the protection and prosperity of pollinators in Europe. This award was established in 2014 by the European Landowners’ Organization (ELO) and the European Agricultural Machinery Industry Association (CEMA), who were delighted to provide the prizes to this year’s winners:

●       Category ‘Land management practices’: the winner is ‘Coup d’Pousse’, a project by Réseau Biodiversité pour les Abeilles. With the participatory action of melliferous fields sponsorship, farmers can register to benefit from seeds to sow flower strips in fallow land in spring, and intercrops in summer. Beekeepers can also register to get in touch with farmers who implanted floral resources in their department, to set up their hives there.

●       Category ‘Innovative and technological solutions’: the winner is ‘Connected scales’, an initiative by FDSEA Ile-de-France (Departmental Federation of Farmers Unions in the region Ile-de-France). This project aims to allow the best living conditions for bees by protecting them from phytosanitary treatments periods. Besides agricultural practices adaptation to bee protection, this project also implements flowering fallows to make them available to pollinators.

In addition, the 'Special Mention of the Jury' was bestowed to ‘Smartomizer H3O protecting bees by reducing the pesticides use’, by Pulverizadores Fede. The Smartomizer H3O is an integrated pest management system that reduces negative effects on pollinators and also protects biodiversity by reducing the environmental impact of the high value crops protection task by carrying out precise and eco-responsible treatments.

Read the full press release here

For more information send us an email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2020 EDITION

Join us on December 8th to discover the winners of this year

European Bee Award 2020: And the winners are... With an online award ceremony, hosted yesterday by MEP Franc Bogovič, the VII edition of the European Bee Award recognized the work and commitment put in place though innovative ideas and practices to protect bees and pollinators in European farmed landscapes. For years, the European Bee Award has been promoting bees and pollinators’ wellbeing, essential to preserve and restore biodiversity in farming environments in Europe. The prize was established by the European Landowners’ Organization (ELO) and the European Agricultural Machinery Industry Association (CEMA) in 2014 as a way to acknowledge innovative, efficient and scalable projects that protect bees and pollinators in Europe. This year the traditional awarding ceremony took place online. The winners of the 2020 European bee Award are: Winners of Land Management Practices Let it Bee by The National Federation of Group Water Schemes, Roscommon County Council and Roscommon Group Water Schemes Click on the video to discover the project 'Let it Bee' puts in place a comprehensive project to promote sustainable farming practices that lead to improved water quality at sources, increased biodiversity, and enhancement of climate awareness. The project includes a pilot programme providing farmers with honey bees, hives, suits, necessary equipment and training & mentoring, and encouraging them to act as ambassadors for biodiversity enhancement. Visit their website Winners of "Innovative and technological solutions" StopVespa by Università degli Studi di Torino Click on the video to discover the project The Life StopVespa project developed an innovative harmonic radar technology for tracking flying hornets of the Asian yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina), an invasive species that threatens honeybees and wild pollinators of Europe. Visit their website Winners of the Special Mention of the Jury Bybi by The Copenhagen City Bee Association Click on the video to discover the project The ‘Copenhagen City Bee Association (Bybi)’ was awarded the Jury Special mention prize for their impressive work of promotion of apiaries and honey making in a urban collaborative environment. Visit their website The ELO and CEMA would like to congratulate all winners and all contenders for this year’s European Bee Award, and thank them wholeheartedly for their work and their highly valued contribution to the biodiversity and pollinators. Please find below all the projects who wanted to be featured on our website

2019 EDITION

Pro Planet Apples from Lake Constance and AI technology Apisfero winning projects of the 2019 European Bee Award

In a ceremony hosted by MEP Franc Bogovič at the European Parliament in Brussels, the VI edition of the European Bee Award acknowledges the great commitment of private and public organisations, as well as the involvement of the research community, to enhance pollinators’ wellbeing and support bee-friendly farming practices in Europe.

The European Bee Award is a contest initially created by ELO and CEMA (European Agricultural Machinery Association). Since 2014, the award has highlighted innovative projects from all across Europe aiming at the protection of pollinators, among others in farmed environment. On the 10th of December 2019, MEP Frank BOGOVIC hosted the ceremony award in Brussels at the European Parliament. The ceremony gathered over 100 people to celebrate the winners of the 2019 edition which received 36 applications from 11 different countries.

Former European Commissioner for R&D and Environment Janez Potocnik opened the ceremony, stressing that “it is really hard to imagine a future without the bees, let’s respect and treat them in a responsible way, the way they deserve due to all the good things they are providing to us humans and the rest of nature.” On behalf of ELO, Alain Scriban awarded the first category prize to the Lake Constance Foundation in Germany for their project, Pro Planet Apples, from Lake Constance. They have developed a way to encourage apple growers in the region to implement sustainable pollinator protection. The project has seen a significant impact and positive results whilst demonstrating that it has tremendous capacity for scalability.

Gilles Dryancour, honorary president of CEMA, handed the second category prize to the Italian team of Apisfero for their project, Bee Varroa Scanner: a high-resolution scan using artificial intelligence to count Varroa mite in the hive helping beekeepers in fighting this scourge widely affecting honey bees in Europe. Dr. Michael GARRATT, President of the jury for the second year, gave the special mention of the jury to ‘Green-roofed bus shelters in Utrecht.’ They stood out for their innovative and original method of providing shelter for pollinators and feeding them in urban areas, where their natural habitats are usually scarce.

If you want to find out more about the winners of the 2019 European Bee Award, please refer to Countryside magazine n°184.

Download here the Press Release 

Check the available interviews

2018 EDITION

Protecting the bees: A holistic land management approach and an innovative sowing machine

are the winners of this year’s edition of the European Bee

MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz hosted the ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels and in the presence of EU Director General for Environment Daniel Calleja Crespo, this year’s prize was awarded to a Spanish project focusing on holistic land management practices and an innovative sowing machine for field margins.

Download here the Press Release

Photos

2017 EDITION

Solitary bees’ protection and bee-friendly spraying technology winner projects of the IV edition of the European Bee Award

In a ceremony hosted by MEP Franc Bogovič at the European Parliament in Brussels and in presence of EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel, this year’s award celebrates in particular the great commitment of private and public organisations, as well as individual initiatives, to pollinators’ wellbeing and bee-friendly farming practices in Europe.

Learn more about the 2017 winners here

Download here the Press Release

Photos