The Beauty of Bogs: ELEMIS x RSPB
2025-06-05
Bogs might not be the most conventionally inspiring setting, but it’s what lies beneath that matters. These waterlogged landscapes conceal one of nature’s greatest superpowers – storing twice as much carbon as the world’s forests combined. That’s why ELEMIS was the first beauty company to partner with the RSPB on restoring its precious peatland at Forsinard Flows in the Scottish Highlands – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Together, we’re helping protect 14 hectares of this extraordinary landscape. Read on to discover more about protecting peatlands – and why for World Environment Day, we opted to make bogs our new best friend...
For Bog’s Sake: What Is a Bog – and What’s it Got to Do With ELEMIS?
Good question. First, we’ll tackle the bog, also known as a peatland – a wetland area that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials like moss. What do bogs have to do with us? Excellent follow-up. As the first beauty company to join forces with the RSPB, we’re helping restore 14 hectares of peatland in Forsinard Flows nature reserve – one of Scotland’s national treasures – and playing a crucial role in carbon avoidance and biodiversity preservation.
Why are Peatlands Important?
The bigger picture is that the UK has lost more than half of its biodiversity since the 1970s** and only 25% of peatlands are in a good ecological state.*** Peatlands store a significant amount of carbon and are extraordinary natural ecosystems that play an important role for the natural world. Why? Because:
- They can store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined*
- 70% of the UK’s drinking water comes from upland peatlands^
- They provide critical habitat for plants and wildlife
How ELEMIS is Supporting the RSPB
Despite the extensive damage done to the UK’s peatlands, it is possible to help restore this vital ecosystem. Our support allows the RSPB to:
- Monitor the restored area in-person and with aerial photogrammetry
- Repair and rebuild dams and gullies
- Check peat depth to ensure the bog stays healthy
- Measure biodiversity improvements by surveying rare bird species
- Enable vegetation to flourish and attract at-risk wading birds, like dunlins and greenshanks
- Enabling declining species, like red grouse, to be recorded in some of the pools formed by dams (as well as frogspawn)
Why Are We Doing This?
Nature has always been a source of inspiration for ELEMIS. As a certified B Corporation®, we’ve made commitments to protect and restore land and ocean ecosystems, while continuing to look at the impact we have as a business. Supporting the RSPB’s work at Forsinard Flows is one way we can take action and make a meaningful difference. It’s just one of the ways we’re working to leave more of the natural world thriving for the future.
*Peatlands store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests
^World Peatlands Day: how to restore nature’s greatest superpower
**About Peatlands | IUCN UK Peatland Programme
***The disappearance of biodiversity in the UK | Protect Earth