Bentley has launched the new Bentley Environmental Foundation, from which it states, it will help to create next generation solutions to environmental challenges, aiming for rejuvenation and regeneration and going beyond carbon neutrality.

Bentley is supporting the foundation directly with an initial donation of $5 million (£3 million) this year, and it states that it will continue to support carefully selected charities and non-profits who will work in partnership with Bentley to deliver lasting, effective environmental change.

The new foundation already has three initial launch partner projects. The first, Project Drawdown, said to be the world's leading resource for climate solutions, seeks to better connect climate funding with science-based solutions. This project is currently looking to develop a Capital Accelerator is expected to influence up to $100 billion in capital flows to climate solutions by 2025.

The second partner, The Biomimicry Institute, aims to support changemakers leading the way towards a nature-inspired future in the face of competition from established, extractive businesses. This partner already intends to lend programmatic support to 10 startups or around 30 changemakers per year.

Finally, the third partner, Sustainable Surf, is a California-based non-profit that is regenerating mangrove trees, seagrass meadows, and kelp forests to help reverse climate change. Funding for Sustainable Surf's SeaTrees programme will be used to expand their restoration projects. The non-profit plans to expand its operations from Kenya, where one million mangrove trees have already been planted, into Europe for the first time with seagrass and kelp projects in Portugal and Spain.

Donations to the new foundation are now open and can be made via Bentley's CAF America page here.