Last year, Carbon Neutral Business, HBC Logistics, announced that we were expanding our sustainability journey by investing in carbon-offsetting projects in the local area with any spare funds collected each year. After months of keeping quiet, we are extremely delighted to finally be able to announce our first community project with Henlow Academy.

HBC first became an official Carbon Neutral business in September 2022 after launching our sustainability scheme in partnership with the UK’s leading carbon offsetting initiative, Carbon Neutral Britain. Any funds collected from the scheme contribute towards Carbon Neutral Britain’s extraordinary carbon-offsetting projects around the world (view the projects here) as well as HBC’s recently launched plan of action to invest in local sustainability projects around the area. And today, we are ecstatic to announce our first in-house project with Henlow Academy.

Located just 10 minutes down the road from HBC’s site in Stratton Business Park, very recently we met with Headmaster, Karen Evans, to discuss the potential for any environmental project opportunities on the horizon that the academy requires financial support for. When Karen explained they were looking into having a beehive sanctuary on the premises, HBC Logistics were immediately hooked on the idea.

Therefore, we agreed to donate £2,000 to Henlow Academy through our Carbon Neutral scheme. These funds supply three beehives to the school and will, long term, become an educational opportunity for students to enjoy a hands-on experience with bees and their significant purpose, as well as be an endless supply of honey for the cafeteria and food-tech classes. Finally, and most importantly, we will be contributing to raising the number of bees in our area.

Bees pollinate our wild trees and flowers, which in hindsight supports insects, which supports the birds, mammals and everything higher up the food chain with food and shelter. Pollinating the trees and flowers provides sources of renewable energy which ultimately clears the air of greenhouse gases and also plays a vital role in minimising soil erosion and controlling floods. Essentially, without bees, the ecosystem would eventually collapse. Whilst this project certainly won’t solve Biggleswade’s flooding, it will make a huge difference in the school and a vital one for the local area’s wildlife.

“We are very excited for this project to be officially underway,” claimed Ben Weldon, Director at HBC Logistics; “there aren’t many schools in Bedfordshire that can say they have their own beehive colony on site, and we are overjoyed to be able to provide that to Henlow Academy through our carbon neutral scheme. HBC will be collecting the colonies from Oxfordshire in a few weeks and will deliver them to the premises personally – a journey we are very excited to do and document.”

Please keep an eye out on our socials and other online communication for updates on this and upcoming projects.