Leading British luxury automaker Bentley Motors has announced the launch of the Bentley Environmental Foundation as part of its long-term commitment to supporting global sustainability initiatives.
The new Bentley Environmental Foundation aligns with the company’s Beyond100 strategy, aiming to foster next-generation solutions to environmental challenges and drive positive change beyond carbon neutrality. The foundation’s initial launch partners include Project Drawdown, The Biomimicry Institute, and Sustainable Surf, with more partners expected to join in the future.
The Bentley Environmental Foundation takes a distinctive and innovative approach to grant-making in the environmental space. It focuses on accelerating decarbonization, supporting environmental changemakers, and reimagining sustainable luxury. Through careful selection of charities and non-profit organizations, Bentley will collaborate with partners to deliver effective and lasting environmental change.
“Our Beyond100 strategy is amongst the boldest in the industry,” Adrian Hallmark, Bentley Motors Chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “We will reinvent Bentley, and create a fully electric car business by 2030, which will already be taking a huge step to reduce our environmental impact.”
But, says Hallmark, without parallel changes to global renewable energy production, carbon capture, and reduction in raw material usage, “this benefit will be relatively small – it is not all about the car itself.”
‘Pioneering, discovery-led initiatives’
Hallmark says the Bentley Environmental Foundation will fund “pioneering, discovery-led initiatives” that can make a positive impact beyond the automaker’s own business needs, engaging customers and innovators to seek out breakthrough technologies and solutions that lead the way on reversing the effects of climate change. “The opportunity to act and innovate has never been more exciting than now.”
The launch of the Bentley Environmental Foundation is supported by an initial donation of £3 million from Bentley Motors. This funding will enable the foundation to support carefully selected charities and non-profits working in partnership with Bentley to drive effective environmental change. The foundation leverages its three-pronged grant-making approach to create a substantial impact in rejuvenation, regeneration, and sustainable luxury.
Christoph Hohmann, Head of Global Brand Communications at Bentley, expresses enthusiasm for the foundation’s launch partners. He says the collaborative nature of the brand will drive the long-term impact of the projects to the benefit of the planet. Its inaugural partners bring a range of solutions to the climate crisis.
‘Co-creation is part of our brand DNA’
“We are very excited to launch the Foundation with these three partners,” Hohmann said. “Co-creation is part of our brand DNA and we’re now applying this approach to implementing projects with real, long-term impacts for the environment. With Project Drawdown we aim to significantly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of billions of pounds worth of environmental donations and investments globally. With The Biomimicry Institute we’re supporting changemakers who are creating and scaling nature-inspired solutions to address our most pressing environmental and social challenges. And with Sustainable Surf we’re helping to strengthen blue carbon ecosystems in Africa and Europe through the massive forestation of seagrass and mangrove trees.”
“Project Drawdown is thrilled to receive this support from the Bentley Foundation and partner on the launch of the Drawdown Labs Capital Accelerator,” said Dr. Jonathan Foley, Executive Director at Project Drawdown. “As a result of this collaboration, we will be able to help philanthropists and investors around the world — elevating the scientific rigor of their portfolios and significantly increase investments in the most effective climate solutions. Thanks to the founding investment by the Bentley Environmental Foundation, we are building a program that will influence tens of billions of dollars in climate investments, accelerating the world towards effective climate action.”
The unveiling of the Bentley Environmental Foundation coincides with the recent launch of the Bentley Sustainability Council, a team of global experts tasked with challenging and aiding the company’s pursuit of sustainability excellence outlined in the Beyond100 strategy.
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