Environment
Honey is inherently sustainable, as bees enrich their environment without depleting it, creating the regenerative cycle of more trees, more bees, and more honey.
Honey
Honey is sourced from the untouched Miombo Woodlands of Zambia, where local farmers harvest from wild hives nestled deep within the forest, ensuring its purity and distinctive character. In these pristine landscapes, free from large-scale agriculture, bees flourish, collecting nectar and pollen from their natural surroundings.
By using honey from these carbon-rich indigenous forests, Alvearium Gin supports essential ecosystems. Each bottle helps preserve 25m² of forest for a year. This regenerative practice protects these forests from agricultural conversion and deforestation linked to charcoal production, while also promoting the reforestation of lands previously affected by these destructive activities.
Our Packaging
Our commitment to sustainability extends to every aspect of Alvearium Gin’s packaging. We use glass bottles that are both recyclable and reusable, minimizing environmental impact.
Our paper and card packaging, along with paper labels, are fully recyclable or compostable, ensuring that our packaging can be responsibly managed at the end of its life. This approach reflects our dedication to reducing waste and supporting a circular economy, aligning with our broader mission of environmental stewardship.
Zambian Meadery Distillery
At the heart of our distillery’s operations is a commitment to sustainability by design. We harness a blend of solar energy, green electricity from the Kariba hydroelectric plant, and gas for heating to ensure efficient and reliable energy use, even amidst challenges like load-shedding. Our water management practices are equally advanced, utilizing a closed-loop cooling system and a grey water recycling system that conserves and replenishes water resources.
Dedicated to minimizing waste we compost all botanical by-products and recycling materials such as glass. While our product’s sustainability details, including material sourcing and packaging, are addressed separately, our distillery’s eco-friendly approach ensures that our production processes are as responsible and harmonious with nature as possible. Through these measures, we contribute to a reduced carbon footprint and foster a sustainable future for both our industry and the environment.
Our Next Goal
In our pursuit of total sustainability, we’ve found an innovative way to repurpose the heads and tails—the unusable spirits from our distillation process. Rather than letting this by-product go to waste, we transform it into a valuable energy source for rural communities.
The alcohol from these heads is provided to these communities free of charge to fuel burners for cooking, offering a cleaner, more sustainable alternative to charcoal. This initiative not only helps reduce deforestation by minimizing the need for wood-based charcoal but also empowers local communities with a reliable and eco-friendly energy solution. It’s another step in our commitment to making a positive impact on both people and the planet.