THE LAUNCH OF THE BENTLEY ENVIRONMENTAL FOUNDATION
Based on extensive research and analysis of existing initiatives, Bentley has developed a distinctive, innovative approach to modern grant-making in the environmental space. Built around its new Environmental Foundation, the company will help to create next generation solutions to environmental challenges, aiming for rejuvenation and regeneration and going beyond carbon neutrality. The launch of the Foundation has been aided by strategic advice from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).
The company is supporting the Foundation directly by initially donating £3 million this year. This is a first step to support carefully selected charities and non-profits who will work in partnership with Bentley to deliver lasting, effective environmental change. The Foundation takes a three-pronged approach to grant-making – accelerating decarbonisation ('drawdown'), supporting environmental changemakers and reimagining sustainable luxury.
“Our Beyond100 strategy is amongst the boldest in the industry,” says Adrian Hallmark, Bentley Motors Chairman and CEO. “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.”
The Bentley Environmental Foundation will follow a Funding Plus model, leveraging the company’s reach and standing to help push environmental innovation that might otherwise be overlooked, harnessing new technologies to combat climate change rapidly and effectively. The Bentley Environmental Foundation is committed to radical transparency, inviting the public to get involved and focusing on delivering measurable impacts. The public as well as Bentley employees have the opportunity to make donations from 13 June onwards by visiting BentleyMotors.com.
The three confirmed launch partners are:
1) Project Drawdown
Project Drawdown, the world’s leading resource for climate solutions, has identified staggering disconnects between today’s climate funding and the science-based solutions needed to effectively address climate change. In response, it is building the new Drawdown Labs Capital Accelerator. The first of its kind, this initiative enables philanthropists and investors to aggregate their impact and learn from the world’s leading scientists and engineers, with an open-source plan for increasing impact. The Capital Accelerator is expected to influence up to $100 billion in capital flows to climate solutions by 2025.
2) The Biomimicry Institute
The Bentley supported “Ray of Hope Fellowship” aims to support and amplify changemakers leading the way towards a nature-inspired future, helping innovators to scale their solutions in the face of competition from established, extractive businesses. The Fellowship seeks to shorten and flatten this process through programmatic support and content creation, enabling more nature-inspired solutions to make a meaningful impact. The project intends to support 10 startups or around 30 changemakers per year. In the past over 30 per cent have been women-led.
3) Sustainable Surf: Restoring Blue Carbon Ecosystems (Ocean Regeneration)
Sustainable Surf is a California-based non-profit that uses the power of surfing to regenerate the health of our ocean planet and reverse climate change. Mangrove trees, seagrass meadows, and kelp forests have declined drastically due to climate change and human activities. Funding for Sustainable Surf’s SeaTrees programme will be used to expand their restoration projects currently operating in Kenya, where 1 million mangrove trees have already been planted, into Europe for the first time with seagrass and kelp projects in Portugal and Spain. The project will support the planting and protection of mangrove trees, seagrass meadows, and kelp forests through three local restoration partners.
The unveiling of the Foundation comes in the wake of the launch of the Bentley Sustainability Council, a team of global experts, created to both challenge and aid the company’s pursuit of sustainability excellence outlined in its Beyond100 strategy, as well as the launch of Bentley’s first-ever Sustainability Report.
The company is supporting the Foundation directly by initially donating £3 million this year. This is a first step to support carefully selected charities and non-profits who will work in partnership with Bentley to deliver lasting, effective environmental change. The Foundation takes a three-pronged approach to grant-making – accelerating decarbonisation ('drawdown'), supporting environmental changemakers and reimagining sustainable luxury.
“Our Beyond100 strategy is amongst the boldest in the industry,” says Adrian Hallmark, Bentley Motors Chairman and CEO. “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.”
The Bentley Environmental Foundation will follow a Funding Plus model, leveraging the company’s reach and standing to help push environmental innovation that might otherwise be overlooked, harnessing new technologies to combat climate change rapidly and effectively. The Bentley Environmental Foundation is committed to radical transparency, inviting the public to get involved and focusing on delivering measurable impacts. The public as well as Bentley employees have the opportunity to make donations from 13 June onwards by visiting BentleyMotors.com.
The three confirmed launch partners are:
1) Project Drawdown
Project Drawdown, the world’s leading resource for climate solutions, has identified staggering disconnects between today’s climate funding and the science-based solutions needed to effectively address climate change. In response, it is building the new Drawdown Labs Capital Accelerator. The first of its kind, this initiative enables philanthropists and investors to aggregate their impact and learn from the world’s leading scientists and engineers, with an open-source plan for increasing impact. The Capital Accelerator is expected to influence up to $100 billion in capital flows to climate solutions by 2025.
2) The Biomimicry Institute
The Bentley supported “Ray of Hope Fellowship” aims to support and amplify changemakers leading the way towards a nature-inspired future, helping innovators to scale their solutions in the face of competition from established, extractive businesses. The Fellowship seeks to shorten and flatten this process through programmatic support and content creation, enabling more nature-inspired solutions to make a meaningful impact. The project intends to support 10 startups or around 30 changemakers per year. In the past over 30 per cent have been women-led.
3) Sustainable Surf: Restoring Blue Carbon Ecosystems (Ocean Regeneration)
Sustainable Surf is a California-based non-profit that uses the power of surfing to regenerate the health of our ocean planet and reverse climate change. Mangrove trees, seagrass meadows, and kelp forests have declined drastically due to climate change and human activities. Funding for Sustainable Surf’s SeaTrees programme will be used to expand their restoration projects currently operating in Kenya, where 1 million mangrove trees have already been planted, into Europe for the first time with seagrass and kelp projects in Portugal and Spain. The project will support the planting and protection of mangrove trees, seagrass meadows, and kelp forests through three local restoration partners.
The unveiling of the Foundation comes in the wake of the launch of the Bentley Sustainability Council, a team of global experts, created to both challenge and aid the company’s pursuit of sustainability excellence outlined in its Beyond100 strategy, as well as the launch of Bentley’s first-ever Sustainability Report.