Case Studies

Case Studies

While not practicing Restorative-Scale Beekeeping that Wind & Sky Apiaries brings to your company, below are some examples of case studies that have brought bees to their campuses with success.

• Verizon & Lightsource BP – Pollinator-Friendly Solar Farm: In 2021, telecom giant Verizon entered a power purchase agreement for a new solar farm in Indiana, developed by Lightsource BP. Uniquely, this 152.5 MW solar project (Bellflower Solar) was designed as a pollinator-friendly installation from the start. Native wildflowers were planted across the site in collaboration with ecologists, aiming to restore local pollinator habitat. The initiative supported Verizon’s sustainability commitments and was highlighted in their green bond impact report. The presence of the pollinator habitat added an extra layer to the project’s ESG value: beyond clean energy (which boosts environmental and climate scores), it also demonstrated biodiversity stewardship. For Verizon, a company without its own generation land, this partnership allowed them to indirectly support conservation. The case got positive media attention and likely favorably influenced Verizon’s ESG perception, as it showed innovation in how the company approaches its renewable energy procurement (aligning it with biodiversity goals). It stands as a model for cross-industry collaboration: an energy developer improved its ESG profile (making the solar farm more community-friendly and ecologically sound), and a corporate energy buyer gained ESG credit for enabling a pioneering sustainable project.
  
  

• Bee Downtown Corporate Hive Program – Multiple Companies: Bee Downtown (BDT) has established hive programs at corporate campuses for companies including Delta Air Lines, AT&T, Chick-fil-A, IBM and more (primarily across the U.S. Southeast). These companies have reported that the presence of honeybee hives at their offices has been a hit with employees and visitors. While the direct ESG score impact may be incremental, it tangibly boosts the S in ESG for these firms. Delta Air Lines, for example, integrated the Bee Downtown hives at its Atlanta headquarters as part of its broader sustainability and employee engagement strategy. The honey produced is given to employees or used in community events, and Delta’s employees are invited to be citizen scientists in observing the bees. This has improved employee satisfaction and generated local goodwill (especially important for an airline that needs good community relations in hub cities). It also provides storytelling material for Delta’s ESG reports, showing a commitment to biodiversity even in an urban corporate setting. Other firms have similarly noted that BDT’s program helped with team building and environmental awareness internally. The broader success story here is that dozens of corporations now maintain tens of thousands of bees on their properties, collectively contributing to pollinator health. The fact that many of the largest corporations are involved in such campus beekeeping initiatives signals that this trend is being seen as a hallmark of a forward-thinking, sustainability-oriented company. As more companies participate, those who don’t may start to stand out as laggards, especially in sectors where employee engagement in ESG is considered part of good governance.
  
  

• Syngenta – Operation Pollinator: Syngenta, a global agrochemical firm, launched Operation Pollinator over a decade ago to help farmers and golf course managers establish pollinator habitats on their lands. By 2020, this program had expanded across North America and Europe, resulting in thousands of acres of wildflower strips on field margins and out-of-play golf areas. For Syngenta, this was a strategic CSR move to counteract the negative perceptions around its pesticides’ impact on bees. In terms of ESG outcomes, Syngenta was able to report on the positive biodiversity impact (number of hectares of habitat created, number of beekeeping projects supported) as part of its sustainability metrics. This likely contributed to maintaining or improving its ESG scores under “Product & Safety” and “Community Relations,” as it showed the company taking responsibility to protect pollinators critical to agriculture. While Syngenta is not in one of the land-intensive user categories per se, this example shows how even a company whose products are seen as threats to biodiversity can find ways to invest in pollinator solutions and thereby improve its ESG narrative. Industry peers took note – other agricultural and chemical companies, like Bayer, BASF, and Corteva, initiated their own pollinator support programs (ranging from funding research to hosting beehives at facilities). This collective movement in the chemical sector has started to shift the conversation, earning companies spots in sustainability indices (for instance, some of these firms received awards from Pollinator Partnership or made it into the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, citing their biodiversity efforts as a factor).
  
  

• Exelon/ComEd – Prairie for Pollinators Initiative: ComEd, an electric utility in Illinois (part of Exelon Corporation), launched a “Prairie for Pollinators” initiative in the late 2010s. They converted sections of land around electrical substations and along transmission rights-of-way into native prairie gardens filled with wildflowers and milkweed for monarch butterflies. They also installed beehives at a few sites in partnership with local beekeeper groups. The immediate outcome was the creation of over 50 acres of new pollinator habitat on previously mowed grass, and sightings of endangered monarchs and thriving bee colonies in these areas. From an ESG perspective, Exelon was able to highlight this in their sustainability report as a biodiversity action addressing habitat loss. It improved their standing with local communities, as neighbors saw these colorful prairies replacing what used to be barren utility land. Additionally, ComEd employees took pride in volunteering for planting events, which aided internal culture (an aspect of social capital). The program was inexpensive relative to other capital projects but yielded outsized reputational benefits. ESG rating agencies that look at Biodiversity & Land Use and Community engagement likely viewed this as a positive indicator for Exelon’s risk management and stakeholder relations. Indeed, Exelon has consistently been ranked relatively well among U.S. utilities in ESG scores, and such initiatives help justify those rankings by providing concrete examples of environmental stewardship. This case study underscores that even highly regulated, infrastructure-heavy companies can find creative ways to support biodiversity and score ESG points in the process.
  
  

Each of these case studies reinforces the central point: pollinator initiatives can drive ESG improvement across diverse industries. Whether it’s a renewable energy project integrating biodiversity, a corporate office using bees for employee engagement, an agrochemical firm funding habitat restoration, or a utility “greening” its infrastructure, the outcomes tend to be positive for both pollinators and the companies’ ESG profiles. Companies see improved stakeholder goodwill, better alignment with ESG criteria (like biodiversity, community relations, innovation), and often public recognition or awards that further validate their efforts. In an era where ESG performance is scrutinized by investors, regulators, and consumers alike, these examples provide persuasive evidence that supporting pollinators is not just an altruistic act – it is smart business strategy for sustainability-oriented growth.