Langley, B.C., May 23, 2024 — On World Bee Day, May 20, 2024, OpenRoad Group furthered its Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments by officially establishing its rooftop beehive, located at BMW Langley (6025 Collection Drive). The hive will provide a home for thousands of honeybees to help foster healthier ecosystems, increase species variety, and restore pollination cycles. In the fall, harvested honey will be shared with OpenRoad Foundation community partners.
“We are proud to launch our first rooftop beehive at BMW Langley, and hope it will be the first of many at our dealerships,” says Christian Chia, CEO of OpenRoad Group. “Our team, stewarded by ESG manager Shea Studler, has been working hard on our ESG plan since last year – on ways we can create lasting change that will positively impact our neighbourhoods for years to come. Rooftops are often underutilized and can be the perfect place to build a beehive colony.”
OpenRoad Group has hired local beekeeper, Ian Lai, to help create and manage the beehive. Lai, who has been keeping for the past decade, is also a chef, educator, and environmental steward. He has been involved in food security and equitable food systems since 2006 and has previously managed hives on the rooftop of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and for other non-profit organizations such as the Richmond Schoolyard Society and Urban Bounty.
Each fall, honey from the beehive will be harvested and distributed amongst OpenRoad Foundation community partners, with plans for a potential jarred honey fundraiser in the near future.
“We first met Ian through his work as executive director of Urban Bounty, one of OpenRoad Foundation’s grant recipients, and were impressed with his experience and skills,” says Shea Studler, ESG manager at OpenRoad Group.“We couldn’t be more thrilled to launch our first rooftop beehive at BMW Langley. Conservation and education are vital to the success of our ESG commitments, especially with regards to reversing biodiversity loss by helping our ecosystem flourish through honeybees. This is just the beginning with what we can do as an organization.”
