Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and 1 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn (Getty, Hillwest, iStock)
That buzzing noise? If you’re a tenant of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, it might not be in your head.
The investment giant is partnering with Alvéole — a Montreal-based company which brands itself as a “turnkey urban beekeeping service” — to bring beehives to several of its real estate assets under the guise of promoting sustainability.
The program launched over the weekend and is expected to be in place at more than 30 properties by the end of the year, including an office building in Los Angeles and an apartment tower in Downtown Brooklyn, according to the Commercial Observer.
“Bees provide a natural opportunity to enhance local ecosystems as well as a differentiated tenant amenity,” Goldman Sachs Asset Management managing director Joseph Sumberg said.
The educational program is branded as part of Goldman Sachs’ $750 billion commitment to sustainable finance, announced in March. The bees are expected to produce around 1,000 pounds of honey locally. Tenants will be able to track the health of the bees online and watch the honey extraction process take place. Tenants will also be offered educational workshops on the importance of bees to the world’s ecosystems.
Alvéole will maintain and manage the hives at each location, with beekeepers visiting every three weeks during the honey season.
Goldman Sachs is considering adding the bees to all eligible real estate investments moving forward, pending the success of the program.
[CO] — Holden Walter-Warner
