Ethical Supply Chain
HIVE-13 buys nothing that harms a pollinator. Every supplier in our register signs an ethical-sourcing covenant, every inbound shipment passes biosecurity, and restricted items ride a documented chain-of-custody from loading dock to vault. This page is the operations authority for procurement across all four streams — apiary, lab, fleet, and conservancy.
Supply Streams
Procurement is organized into five streams, each with its own consuming directorate, vetting profile, and storage discipline.
Apiary & Husbandry inputs
Foundation comb, queen-rearing cups, brood feed, sugar syrup, frames, and PPE for the living collection. All feed is screened against pesticide residue before it reaches a single colony.
Lab & Venom consumables
Reagents, cryo media, milking plates, sterile labware, and antivenom precursors for the venom & apitoxin wing. Cold-chain integrity is logged end to end.
Drone & Engineering parts
Airframes, rotors, optics, and avionics spares for the Forager and Hornet-class craft. Consumed by the Swarm & Drone Fleet.
Seed & Restoration stock
Native wildflower seed, plug stock, and soil amendments for floral-corridor rebuilds. Sourced for the Habitat Restoration programs.
Packaging & Conservancy goods
Honey jars, labels, shipping crates, and fulfillment materials for the licensed-science and honey lines in Products & Licensing.
Facilities & general stores
Maintenance consumables, cleaning agents, and site supplies — held to the same no-bee-toxic standard as everything else that enters the campus.
Supplier Register
Every category below is sourced only from suppliers who have signed the HIVE-13 ethical-sourcing covenant — an enforceable bar on neonicotinoids and any input toxic to pollinators, plus traceability and labor clauses. Vetting status is reviewed each procurement cycle.
| Category | What they supply | Vetting status | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apiary feed & comb | Foundation wax, queen cups, residue-screened brood feed and syrup. | Approved | 2–3 weeks |
| Lab reagents & cryo | Cold-chain reagents, cryo media, sterile labware for the venom wing. | Approved | 3–5 weeks |
| Antivenom precursors | Restricted biologic precursors for HCL-3/4 antivenom staging. | Monitored | 6–10 weeks |
| Drone airframes & avionics | Forager and Hornet-class spares, optics, rotors, and battery packs. | Approved | 4–8 weeks |
| Native seed & plug stock | Regionally appropriate wildflower seed and restoration plug trays. | Monitored | Seasonal |
| Packaging & fulfillment | Honey jars, recyclable crates, labels, and shipping materials. | Approved | 1–2 weeks |
| General agrochemicals | Soil amendments and treatments — vetted line by line for bee toxicity. | Under review | On hold |
Procurement Controls
Four controls govern everything that enters the supply chain. They apply to every stream, every supplier, and every shipment.
- Supplier vetting. No purchase order issues until the supplier is on the register with a current vetting status and a signed covenant on file.
- Ethical-sourcing covenants. Contractual bar on neonicotinoids and all bee-toxic inputs, plus traceability and fair-labor clauses — breach voids the contract.
- Biosecurity on inbound goods. Every shipment is inspected and, where required, quarantined at intake per the Standard Operating Procedures before it touches the living collection.
- Chain-of-custody for restricted items. Antivenom precursors, reagents, and HCL-relevant materials ride a logged, two-person custody trail from dock to vault.