Harvesting honey with CA Immo in Warsaw

The urban apiary on the rooftop of the Saski Crescent office building in Warsaw has closed the second season of operation there. This year, about 55 kg of multi-floral honey has been harvested. Honey was produced by four bee families which during the whole season collected nectar mainly in the nearby Saxon Garden. With the improvement of the ecosystem in mind, CA Immo has been implementing a number of other environment-friendly solutions at its projects, with aims such as reducing energy consumption and the carbon footprint.

The well-known and recognizable Saski Crescent office building offers more than 15,000 sqm of office space. The junction of Królewska and Marszałkowska streets, in front of the Saxon Garden, is a perfect location for office employees, but also a great food spot for about 320,000 hard-working bees living on the rooftop of the building. The urban apiary there is composed of four beehives which have produced about 55 kg of honey this year.

“It was obvious to us that we should not close the urban apiary on the rooftop of Saski Crescent,” said Kamila Piekarska, Asset Manager at CA Immo in Poland. “Some bees are endangered species, and they still have a key impact on our environment and biodiversity. So we seek possibilities to adopt new beehives at our developments. At the same time, we are rolling out additional environmental, social, and corporate governance activities involving responsible investing and managing environmental issues. By using electricity and gas only from green sources at all our projects across Europe, as of 2023, we plan to reduce carbon emissions by about 60,400 tonnes per year. We already use green energy in all our office buildings in Poland.”

The experts from Bee City in charge of the proper functioning of the apiary on the rooftop of Saski Crescent have the full support of the building’s owner, CA Immo, and its manager, Cushman & Wakefield.

According to Bartłomiej Grabowski, a beekeeper at Bee City: “Despite the chilly spring, the bee families grew rapidly at the beginning of May and started collecting nectar from nearby flowers. The summer season was very successful. This year’s harvest, with over 220 jars of honey, is sufficient proof. The major challenge we face now is to properly prepare our bee families for the winter. The activities every day at the apiary have to be adjusted to the season. Mainly this involves regular inspections and other tasks aimed at supporting the insects in their biological growth.”