BENTLEY ACTIVATES COLLEAGUE SUPPORT FOR SUSTAINABILITY GOALS ON WORLD EARTH DAY

• Bentley marks World Earth Day by inviting colleagues to participate in team activities focusing on climate change and sustainability goals
• The “Project1Hour” activity is part of Volkswagen Group’s global climate awareness campaign for its 660,000 colleagues, which aims to drive change through collaboration. 
• Becoming a leader in sustainable luxury and becoming carbon neutral by 2030 are key elements of Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy 
• Bentley’s Project1Hour activities will therefore accelerate key elements of the Beyond100 programme including digitalisation, reducing paper use and powering down surplus devices 
• Progress towards digitalisation has already seen a reduction in printing of 50 per cent since 2019 
• “Power Down” focus aims to reduce peripheral electricity usage by up to 700 kWh per hour

(Crewe, 22 April 2021) Bentley’s 4,000 colleagues in Crewe and across the world are supporting Volkswagen Group’s #Project1Hour campaign by devoting one hour to a digital team activity focused on better understanding climate change and identifying actions and opportunities to make a difference on a personal and professional level. 

The #Project1Hour initiative, which is also being undertaken by many regional teams and retailers around the world, will focus upon accelerating key parts of Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy where colleague behaviour and awareness can help make an even greater difference. It will also help colleagues to identify their own carbon footprint and identify actions they can take on a personal level.

The Go Paperless activity reflects the significant strides Bentley has made towards the digitalisation of a 101 year old company, thanks to the recruitment of a new generation of digital experts and home-grown digital apprentices. With progress already accelerated by COVID, the team has created a range of digital solutions and alternatives to previously paper heavy processes – and the Project1Hour activity will be delivered through an in-house app. These changes have helped to decrease paper use by 50 per cent since 2019 and 25 per cent of Bentley’s printers are being removed at the end of this month. A further 30 per cent will be eliminated by the end of 2021. 

The “Power Down” exercise will highlight the big impact of everyone making a small difference. The Bentley site in Crewe has been certified carbon neutral to PAS 2060 by the Carbon Trust since October 2019 and the factory is already fitted with PIR lighting and settings to carefully manage essential manufacturing infrastructure. However, estimates suggest energy consumption can be further reduced by encouraging colleagues to make small changes and power down “surplus” devices such as screens, fans, lights and chargers at the end of every day -  saving up to 700 kWh per hour. 

Adrian Hallmark, Bentley’s Chairman and CEO, explains:

“As a company, we have already set out on the path towards Beyond100, which will see us introducing a hybrid option to every product in our range by 2023. We are on track to deliver our first BEV in 2025 and we are working towards a clear goal ambition of becoming end-to end carbon neutral by 2030.   We see this as a fundamental part of our strategy for the future.

“Project1Hour is very important to us, because it gives us all a chance to reflect on our environmental impact and make small changes that together will make a big difference.” 

ENDS