Luxury Car-Manufacturer Rolls-Royce Produces Honey During Production Stop
While Rolls-Royce have put the brakes on car production in Goodwood amidst the pandemic, they've shifted the focus to another production line — their apiary.
Rolls-Royce’s 250,000 bees have been working hard on the rooftop of their headquarters, Goodwood, while car production has been put on halt. The Goodwood Apiary is on target to beat their honey production volume of the last three seasons, as reported by BMWBLOG.
The bees are reaping the benefits of the 42-acre site surrounding the manufacturing plant which includes 500,000 trees, shrubs and wildflowers in addition to the eight-acre living roof of stonecrop plants to produce what is hailed as the “Rolls-Royce of Honey”. The apiary consists of six beehives, five of which are named after Rolls-Royce cars — Phantom, Wraith, Ghost, Dawn and Cullinan – and the sixth honouring their mascot — Spirit of Ecstasy.
The initiative highlights the necessity to protect local bees, however. While it may seem ironic from a car manufacturer, Rolls-Royce’s headquarters show commitment to the local environment and bee populations. As reported in BMWBLOG, Richard Carter, Director of Global Communications at Rolls-Royce, emphasised the “sustainable buildings, thermal ponds and rainwater management, and wildfowl refuge” at Goodwood making it “one of the UK’s most eco-friendly manufacturing facilities.” It will be exciting to see how Rolls-Royce will continue their efforts and how the lockdown of car production might inspire further conservation activities.
