Bentley receives first ‘Net Zero Plastic to Nature’ certification

Bentley Motors announced that it has received the first “Net Zero to Plastic” certification from South Pole, an organization that “develops and implements comprehensive emission reduction projects and strategies that turn climate action into long-term business opportunities for companies, governments, and organizations around the world.”

The internationally recognized honor received by Bentley reflects the company’s ongoing environmental initiatives and is a key part of the brand’s Beyond100 strategy to achieve end-to-end carbon neutrality by 2030.

“Our drive towards a plastic-free future is an essential part of our Beyond100 strategy and this pioneering collaboration with South Pole has helped us evaluate the impact of the steps we’ve been taking to reduce and recycle plastic reduce around our site by examining every aspect of our logistics value chain. From the bubble wrap and foam used to package inbound parts, to the car body covers and shrink wrap processes employed on vehicle protection and aftersales materials, no stone has been left unturned and we’ve been able to make quick and effective changes,” explained Bentley Motors Member of the Board for Manufacturing Peter Bosch.

Experts from the Switzerland-based South Pole organization analyzed the plastic footprint of Bentley’s logistics packaging, aftersales packaging, and vehicle protection.

The in-depth assessment covered everything from operational macro-plastic parts packaging used in logistics and manufacturing, to the disposal of plastic protection downstream at global dealerships. It also assessed micro-plastic emissions from tire abrasion as part of the logistics and product lifecycle, identifying a total plastic footprint of 165.4 tons.

Based on South Pole’s audit, the majority of plastic waste was already recycled appropriately. They too, made recommendations for in-region improvements to tackle the small amount of non-processed waste which was identified through the assessment.

“We have reduced the amount of plastic parts protection on outbound products from 13 items to six. By removing unnecessary items like vinyl wheel protection and wiper blade covers, we’ve removed 12 tons of plastic from our outbound packaging operations in a year — and we’re ensuring that where plastic is still needed to ensure our cars arrive in perfect condition, it is minimal, lightweight and has low CO2 impact,” said Bosch.

To secure the status, Bentley has invested in certified units that support two of South Pole’s projects focused on developing specialist plastic waste collection and recycling infrastructure projects. These are with Neela Saga in India and Second Life in Thailand. This action ensures that the full volume of non-processed plastic waste found in the 2021 study has been effectively mitigated.

“As a global brand this process has helped us gain a broader perspective and insight into our footprint out in our regions and we will follow with great interest the progress of the two plastic waste and recycling projects our credits will support in Thailand and India. Our next step is to broaden the scope to cover other aspects of our business,” the Bentley Board Member said.

Photos from Bentley and South Pole

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