John Kluge Jr. pictured in Thistlerock’s net-zero production facility. Courtesy Thistlerock Mead Company
John Kluge, a Virginia-based philanthropist and entrepreneur, came to a realization while holed up on his farm amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the past few years, he had become increasingly disengaged from nature—and he wasn’t alone. The connection between people and nature has declined by more than 60 percent during the past two decades, according to a recent study. Out of this revelation came the Thistlerock Mead Company. Launched by Kluge last year, it aims to become the first net-zero meadery in the U.S. and relies on regenerative agriculture and beekeeping practices to produce its honey wine. Just about everything to do with Thistlerock is sustainable, from its ingredient sourcing to its solar electricity and 100 percent post-consumer recycled glass bottles.
Kluge didn’t just create Thistlerock to help consumers rekindle a bond with nature, but also to show the broader beverage industry that their industry is ripe with opportunities to tackle biodiversity challenges. “We are little—we can’t do this by ourselves,” he told Observer.
To that end, Thistlerock is partnering with Bee:Wild, a division of the Leonardo DiCaprio-founded organization Re:Wild, and advocacy platform Global Citizen with a mission to bring other beverage companies into the fold. A new effort unveiled by the groups today (Sep. 24) will focus on assembling a coalition of corporations united by common goals that include mobilizing some 5 million pollinator-friendly actions, protecting 1 million acres of rainforest and generating $10 million in conservation funding.
The announcement comes at a pressing time for pollinators. Honeybee colonies in the U.S. are expected to decrease by up to 70 percent this year compared to previous annual losses of 40 percent to 50 percent, according to researchers at Washington State University. They attributed the loss to factors like nutrition deficiencies, viral diseases and pesticide exposure. Despite the threats to their sustainability, pollinators remain integral to the world’s food supply and are responsible for three-quarters of food crops and 90 percent of all flowering plants.
Allison Wickham, Thistlerock’s director of apiary operations, inspects a hive. Courtesy Thistlerock Mead Company
A mixed bag of strategies
As part of the initiative, Kluge is working with other members of the Virginia Mead Guild to help them source honey. The meaderies’ efforts will include integrating Indigenous-produced honey from Amazonian communities to ferment different styles of honey wine. A percentage of the proceeds from such products will be earmarked for reinvestment into the Bee:Wild campaign.
It isn’t just beverage companies that have signed up for the collaborative coalition, but more than a dozen players across fields like fashion and beauty. The bulk of them incorporate pollen products across their business model. Other members who don’t directly work with pollinators are taking more creative approaches to the partnership. The Dubai Airport, for example, will focus on providing biodiversity-friendly messaging to the more than 90 million travelers who pass through annually, while A.I. startup G42 plans to work on a mapping tool that can indicate climate stressors to users. “They come to it from different sides,” Eva Kruse, executive director of Bee:Wild, told Observer.
Bee:Wild is expecting a mixed bag of strategies to accomplish the cohort’s goals of boosting pollinator protection, biodiversity and conservation. According to Kluge, signing a petition advocating for pollinator rights could be one tactic, as could working with local institutions to rewild garden space or encouraging lawmakers to designate cities as members of Bee City USA, a commitment to support native pollinators.
“The hope is that progress builds progress, and we will inspire each other to do more work together on behalf of our pollinators,” said Kluge, who wants the partnership to not only revive a connection to nature but also an appreciation for it. “Your morning coffee, the apple you pack for your kid’s lunch, the cocktail you have in the evening—these are things that depend on pollination and bees, and we take them for granted.”
