Growing Our Sustainability Initiatives One Beehive at a Time

Last year, First Capital launched our five-year Environmental, Social, and Governance Roadmap in efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and reduce our environmental footprint.

Included in the roadmap, we outlined several sustainability initiatives as part of our ongoing ESG journey – one of them being the implementation of at least 8 additional beehives on the rooftops of a select few of our properties by June 2022. That is in addition to the 8 existing bee colonies that are currently housed in a handful of our properties, including Cedarbrae Mall and our head offices at 85 Hanna in Ontario, as well as Mckenzie Towne in Alberta. In fact, we’re proud to share that we’re on track to meet this target as three new hives in both Ontario and Quebec will be ready by the end of this spring (Chartwell, Morningside, and Place Portobello). For more information, on-site photos, and news updates on our current hives, head to My Hive below:

A few of our busy bees at Parkway Mall in Scarborough, ON – the hive houses 7,500+ and counting!

Environmental Importance of Beehives in our Thriving Neighbourhoods

Bees play an instrumental role in the survival of the Earth’s ecosystems and crop health. Their importance lies in the ability to transfer pollen between flowering plants that ultimately leads to their growth and reproduction. From various types of berries and gourdes, to canola and potatoes, many plants would not be able to survive without the pollen provided by these incredible insects. Without their ability to pollinate, our food supply would decline rapidly – an issue already becoming a reality in many parts of the world.

Did you know, bees contribute to over $5 billion of Canadian agriculture a year?

With global warming on the rise and the increased loss of our ecosystems, bees and their hives are struggling to thrive. From 2013 to 2014, the Canadian agricultural landscape saw a 29% decline in bee population, with Ontario being the hardest hit province at 58%. However, in the last five years, the industry has seen a steady increase not only in the number of beekeepers per province, but also the number of bees per hive. With the help of First Capital’s ESG initiatives to introduce more beehives within our properties, we are excited to see those numbers rise even more!