Luxury car maker Bentley has launched an environmental fund to help combat climate change.
The Crewe-headquartered company said it will invest an initial £3m into the Bentley Environmental Foundation this year. It added that the public and its employees can also make donations.
The foundation's initial partner projects include Project Drawdown, The Biomimicry Institute and Sustainable Surf, with more initiatives expected to be announced.
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Bentley said it will "help to create next generation solutions to environmental challenges, aiming for rejuvenation and regeneration and going beyond carbon neutrality".
The foundation comes after Bentley announced in January 2022 that it will launch a pure-electric vehicle every year from 2025 to 2030.
The 'Five-in-Five' plan was outlined as part of its Beyond100 strategy which will also include a £2.5bn investment in "sustainability" over 10 years.
At the time, it also confirmed that the full Bentley range will be battery-powered electric vehicle-only by 2030.
In March, BusinessLive reported that Bentley had enjoyed its best-ever financial year with its profits surging past £600m. Bentley's turnover also increased by £475m to £2.98bn over the same period.
Chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark said: "Our Beyond100 strategy is amongst the boldest in the industry. 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.
"However, 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.
"Therefore, the Bentley Environmental Foundation will fund pioneering, discovery-led initiatives that can make a positive impact beyond our 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."
Christoph Hohmann, head of global brand communications and responsible for the foundation, added: "We are very excited to launch the foundation with these three partners.
"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."
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