Bentley becomes first company to get ‘Net Zero Plastic to Nature’ certification

Bentley Motors has become the first company in the South Pole to be given the certification of Net Zero Plastic to Nature for its successful waste stewardship appraisal. The internationally-recognised status is a reflection of the company's ongoing environmental initiatives as well as a significant part of the brand's Beyond100 strategy to achieve end-to-end carbon neutrality by 2030.

Bentley's initiatives viz-a-viz reduction and mitigation of the global plastic footprint of its logistics packaging, vehicle protection and aftersales packaging was analysed by independent, Switzerland-based experts at the South Pole organisation. The automaker has also invested in plastic recycling projects.

The in-depth assessment by the South Pole organisation covered everything from operational macro-plastic parts packaging used in logistics and manufacturing, to the disposal of plastic protection downstream at global dealerships. Micro-plastic emissions from tyre abrasion as part of the logistics and product lifecycle was also assessed, along with identifying a total plastic footprint of 165.4 tonnes.

The audit also found that the majority of plastic waste was already recycled appropriately by Bentley and made recommendations for in-region improvements to tackle the small amount of non-processed waste. “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," said Peter Bosch, Member of the Board for Manufacturing at Bentley Motors.

To achieve this certification, Bentley invested in certified units that support two of South Pole’s projects focused on developing specialist plastic waste collection and recycling infrastructure projects. These projects were done in partnership with Neela Saga in India and Second Life in Thailand. “We have reduced the amount of plastic parts protection on outbound products from 13 items to six," Bosch added.

The company has removed 12 tonnes of plastic from its outbound packaging operations in a year by removing unnecessary items like vinyl wheel protection and wiper blade covers.