Innovation

Clif Bar has long been known as a pioneer when it comes to sustainability, from its championed use of organic ingredients to its ethical governance practices and community involvement. Working towards their five bottom lines of sustaining people, their communities, the planet, their brands, and their business, Clif Bar prides itself as an organization that goes above and beyond the average consumer goods company.

In 2019, Clif Bar continued on this aspirational path with the development of a 5-acre pollinator-friendly solar array at their innovative bakery in Twin Falls, Idaho. The solar farm supplies the USGBC LEED and TRUE Zero Waste certified bakery with approximately 30 percent of its annual electricity and is surrounded by and interplanted with native flowering plants for local pollinators. The decision to surround the solar arrays with native plants is what truly makes this innovation unique.

Elysa Hammond, Senior VP of Environmental Stewardship at Clif Bar, shared the importance of educating their employees and the public on the value of both renewable energy and the preservation of pollinator habitats. An educational walking path is artistically intertwined throughout the array and is open to employees and visitors.

By powering their bakery with solar energy, Clif Bar reduces its overall emissions footprint and supports affordable, clean energy (SDG 7). The addition of native flowering habitats rebuilds soils, welcomes local pollinator species, and even sequesters carbon from the atmosphere thereby stewarding life on land (SDG 15). From this pollinator-friendly solar array, various partnerships have formed between Clif Bar and other organizations, both locally and across the country, to encourage the adoption of this innovation (SDG 17).

Inspiration

In recognizing the concurrent existence of both a pollinator crisis and climate crisis, Clif Bar aimed to develop a multi-faceted solution to address both issues. Elysa explained, “As a food company, this is especially relevant. Because our food depends on pollinators, we have a responsibility as a food company to address this crisis of biodiversity along with our work to address climate change.”

The team at Clif Bar knew that solar panels would be a necessary addition to their Twin Falls bakery but they wanted to go beyond the typical turf grass or gravel surroundings. The Twin Falls Solar Team, of which Elysa was an advisor, explored ideas related to restoration ecology to integrate with their clean energy installation. “It’s like we are making tradeoffs if we are totally focused on renewable energy and we do that at the cost of nature,” Elysa explained.

After connecting with Rob Davis from the Center for Pollinators in Energy and NativeEnergy Solutions, the team discovered that pairing the panels with native plants was the perfect solution to counteract both crises.

Overall impact

What sets Clif Bar apart, and where other companies can follow suit, is in their willingness and enthusiasm to partner with the local community and national groups to elevate a greater cause. The launch and announcement of the pollinator-friendly solar array were followed by a large celebration with the City of Twin Falls. Shortly after, Clif Bar partnered with local community groups and joined the Pollinator Council to get the city on the map to become a Monarch City USA and a Bee City USA. Elysa shared that, “bringing attention to pollinators can have a ripple effect in the local community in other ways.” She even recalled how some members of the community reached out to the Clif bakery weeks after the big announcement to see how they could support and work together to save local pollinators, especially native bees.

As a member of RE100, Clif Bar has established a partnership with NativeEnergy to support the development of pollinator-friendly solar for small farms through the purchase of renewable energy credits. The benefits are plentiful. Farmers are able to lease some of their lands to host solar arrays and gain a steady source of income while generating clean energy that goes into the regional electric grids. Moreover, the use of native flowering plants increases the pollinator populations and diversity, thereby resulting in greater, more productive crop yields.

Business benefit

What’s good for the bees is also good for business! Employees at Clif Bar have noted the overall morale lift they feel and enjoy taking their lunch breaks on the educational walking path. The local community of Twin Falls has also responded with great support. The community connections fostered have not only provided free publicity, but it has also uplifted the Clif Bar’s name as a responsible, sustainable business in Twin Falls and across the country.

Another unforeseen benefit of this innovation is a new product line of Solar Grown™ Raw Honey, produced by the Clif Family Winery (a sister company of Clif Bar & Company). As the company was forging valuable relationships with beekeepers, carbon offset companies, and pollinator nonprofits, they quickly learned about Solar Grown™ honey, or honey produced on or near a solar array combined with pollinator habitats. Currently, Clif Family Winery sources this honey from beehives located on their partner renewable energy projects through NativeEnergy, creating a resilient supply chain of Solar Grown Honey.

From improving employee morale and fostering collaborative relationships with local communities to developing new product lines, this innovation has proved to be not only good for the environment but also good for business.

Social and environmental benefit

Elysa describes this innovation as a “win-win-win” because of the many benefits that come with it. It is a win for business, a win for the environment, and a win for the local community.

By selecting plants instead of the normal turf grass or gravel, the solar array is able to generate more electricity because of the cooling effect that grasses and flowers can have. The integration of these deep-rooted plants also has the ability to restore the soil and draw down carbon – both much-needed activities since 46% of soil in the Midwest has been eroded. Finally, the planting of native flowering plants greatly aids the pollinators whose population has faced a severe decline in the recent decades. According to Elysa, one out of every 3 bites of food is dependent on pollinators. Yet, we are losing pollinator species at an alarming rate. Elysa shared that there has been a biodiversity loss of 70% in flying insect populations. By integrating native habitats back into the landscape, pollinators are provided with a sanctuary in which they can thrive.

Clif Bar’s impact spans more than just their own bakery array. Their investments into local solar projects support small-holder farmers and encourage widespread climate action. This innovation has also spurred various local and national partnerships including connections to local beekeepers, work with the pollinator council, and other nonprofit organizations.

While many solar farms and pollinator habitats are popping up across the country, few are taking advantage of the symbiotic benefits of joining the two concepts. Perhaps the greatest benefit of Clif Bar’s innovation is the proof of concept it provides for other companies and communities to adopt this innovation.

Interview

Elysa Hammond, Senior Vice President of Environmental Stewardship