John Kluge Jr., co-founder of Thistlerock Mead Company, presents his net-zero mead, powered by … (+)
With climate change’s impact on the 2024 U.S. presidential election uncertain, recent polls show it is less important than other issues for many Americans, regardless of party. Despite this, one Virginia entrepreneur remains committed to sustainability and is determined to make a lasting impact on the planet regardless of the election outcome.
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“This is the first net-zero mead in the country—powered entirely by solar energy and bees,” John Kluge Jr., co-founder of Thistlerock Mead Company (“Thistlerock”), proudly proclaims as he offers a sample from his barn-car converted into a market stall at the weekly Saturday morning farmers market in Charlottesville, Virginia.* A group of curious onlookers walk over inquisitively, and one exclaims, “Is that mead? That’s so cool.”
Located just outside of Charlottesville, Thistlerock opened its doors a few months ago. In a cozy 190-year-old tavern that was once a guesthouse, Kluge, his wife Christine Mahoney – a professor of public policy at UVA – and his co-founder Doug Suchan are on a mission: to show that small businesses can succeed when they embrace regenerative sustainability principles. With their mead and their unique social impact business model, they are proving what is possible.
Thistlerock shares its land with Mahoney’s Wayflowering operation, which practices regenerative agriculture – a sustainable farming approach that focuses on improving soil health, increasing biodiversity and improving the ecosystem. Wayflowering grows a wide variety of flowers, creating a thriving habitat for around 2.5 million bees. These bees pollinate the flowers and produce the honey for Thistlerock’s mead. Kluge also likes to experiment, sourcing honey from far-flung places like Tanzania to create unique varieties of mead.
The property is also powered by on-site solar energy. However, Kluge is aware that a significant portion of his company’s carbon footprint comes from “Scope 3 emissions” generated by his clients. Thistlerock’s website outlines various strategies to reduce these emissions, but Kluge believes the most impactful change comes from directly influencing client behavior through public education and the tours it offers.
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At the Thistlerock Tavern, a customer asks, “What is mead?” Kluge’s staff eagerly explains that it is one of the most natural alcoholic beverages in the world. The conversation quickly turns to the importance of protecting bees, whose populations were declining but are now recovering as the fastest-growing livestock species in the U.S. “One in three foods we eat is pollinated,” Kluge says. “We used to have poor soil here, but after restoring it and planting a variety of flowers and plants, the bee ecosystem is thriving.”
Kluge’s calm, measured explanations offer a comforting contrast to the world’s anxieties. He honestly acknowledges the challenges, noting, for example, that the sunflowers on his property are half their normal size due to below-average rainfall. “They’ll get through it,” he says optimistically. “It’ll just take longer.”
Kluge is also looking at practical hurdles, such as scaling distribution sustainably. He currently delivers mead in his electric Rivian, but to grow the business while adhering to Thistlerock’s sustainability principles, more efficient solutions must be found.
Ultimately, says Kluge, Thistlerock’s mission is to send customers off with a cheerful glass of mead, while emphasizing that every action, no matter how small, can make a difference. Katharine Hayhoe, author of Save usagrees that discussing actionable solutions can motivate others. In fact, talking to entrepreneurs like Kluge inspires a sense of possibility and encourages others to take action. Such inspiration is crucial, especially for small business owners, 40% of whom are unsure how to begin implementing a sustainability strategy. As an example, Kluge cites Nc’nean, the world’s first net-zero whiskey distillery, as a source of his inspiration.
It is crucial to inspire small business owners to be socially responsible. Nigar Arpadarai, UN High Level Climate Envoy for COP29, points out that small and medium-sized enterprises account for 90% of all businesses worldwide and are responsible for 50% of commercial and industrial energy consumption.
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But Kluge isn’t just focused on environmental impact. He’s also committed to broader social change, offering employees the opportunity to own shares in the company and sourcing products from women-, veteran- and BIPOC-owned businesses.
“We’re all about ESG,” Kluge says with a cheery smile as more and more curious passersby stop and take a look. While ESG (environmental, social and governance) principles are controversial in many circles, Kluge is not the only business owner pursuing B Corp certification. In 2023, the number of companies in the U.S. and Canada receiving B Corp certification rose to 2,385, an increase of about 16% from the 2,057 the previous year.
Kumar Vijayendra, a speaker on small business transformation, notes that more and more small businesses are incorporating sustainability principles to increase efficiency, reduce costs and strengthen their brand. In the UK, a survey of 1,000 small businesses also found that 76% believe an environmental strategy is good for business. Of those with environmentally sound goals, almost all (98%) reported benefits such as improved brand image, attracting environmentally conscious customers, increased productivity and stronger employee loyalty. Over a third also saw revenue growth, including through savings.
Kluge sees the same potential at Thistlerock. The solar panels installed on his mead brewery will generate more electricity than those on his house, but thanks to generous government subsidies, they will cost only a third of the price. “This is a no-brainer for any small business owner,” he says, emphasizing the financial and environmental benefits.
Skeptics might argue that small companies like Thistlerock are just a fad with minimal impact on the fight against climate change, which needs to halve global emissions by 2030 to avoid catastrophe. Although revenue from the mead business is expected to double in the next decade and become a billion-dollar-plus industry, it’s still a tiny fraction of the global economy. With only about 500 mead breweries in the U.S., compared to nearly 12,000 wineries and 15,000 breweries, the overall effect of all mead breweries adopting sustainable practices would still be relatively small.
But what if the entire alcohol drinks industry went green? According to a 2020 study by the University of Manchester, the industry emits around 1.5 gigatons of greenhouse gases annually – comparable to the emissions of around 276 million cars and around three times that of Australia (based on 2024 projections). Adopting sustainable practices like Thistlerock’s could drastically reduce these emissions, proving that small actions, when implemented industry-wide, can lead to significant change.
The question remains: how can small, social enterprises like Thistlerock drive broader, systemic change across the industry? One way is to lead by example. For example, EU and US regulations now require larger companies to have science-based climate targets. This momentum was partly sparked by the many thousands of voluntary corporate targets set in previous years, even if some of these included greenwashing or low-quality goals. This process created what is known as the “ambition loop,” where voluntary business actions inspire ambitious policies that then encourage further business innovation and investment. The Race to Zero campaign describes this as a cycle of continuous improvement between companies and regulators.
Another strategy is to create industry associations that advocate for regulations and policies that encourage companies to reduce their environmental footprint. Kluge is studying this for sustainable mead breweries, and similar efforts are underway in other sectors like sustainable fashion that aim to provide a level playing field for socially committed entrepreneurs against less sustainable competitors. María Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition, stresses that government support and incentives from partners like financial institutions and large corporations can empower small businesses to implement more extensive environmental measures.
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Known to history buffs as the “Hollow Ground,” Virginia was once the birthplace of America’s Founding Fathers and a key Civil War site. Today, however, the outskirts of Charlottesville are the site of a quiet but emerging revolution in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. If these social impact entrepreneurs gain a large-scale foothold, they could lead America—and perhaps the world—to a more sustainable future, regardless of this year’s election outcome.
As Kluge closes the tavern for the evening, he reflects on the future of social impact businesses like his in the current political climate. “We’re small,” he admits to himself as he serves a glass of mead, “but I hope that every visitor who comes through here leaves with a deeper understanding of nature and our individual ability to make a difference. With honey from Tanzania and other far-flung places, we connect our guests to parts of the world they might never visit. In doing so, we’ve made the world a little smaller and brought a piece of another country here for people to experience. There’s power in that.”
*DISCLAIMER: The author visited the Thistlerock Mead Company in early August 2024, where he attended a lecture and spent several days conducting interviews and observing their sustainability practices.
