Bentley announces support for new environmental project

Bentley has announced that it is funding a major environmental initiative off the Californian coast run by SeaTrees - a founding partner of the newly-formed Bentley Environmental Foundation. This project will help restore and monitor kelp forests across three key sites and will reintroduce Sunflower Stars to save California's declining Kelp forests.

The firm states that more than 90% of kelp has been lost in the state due to climate change, a trend exacerbated by the disappearance of sunflower stars and the proliferation of purple sea urchins. The project thus seeks to grow Sunflower Stars under laboratory conditions. A natural predator of the sea urchins, these will help regulate their population and maintain the balance of the trophic food web.

Kelp is critical to climate change as it absorbs carbon dioxide from both the atmosphere and the ocean and is a natural habitat for hundreds of marine creatures. The large brown algae also helps protect coastal communities and is said to offer cultural and recreational value.

The California project is just the latest step in Bentley's sustainability journey towards a carbon neutral future. The Bentley Environmental Foundation already partners with the Californian-based non-profit Sustainable Surf, which is the organisation behind SeaTrees, to help regenerate the health of our ocean planet. A project in Kenya has involved the planting of one million mangrove trees, with seagrass and kelp regeneration projects in Portugal and Spain too.