Today, the urgency of the need to tackle our own climate impact has never been more tangible. In this context, we reaffirm our absolute support for the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels and to fight to avoid every degree over that figure. We acknowledge that to go to 2 degrees or worse would have significant impact on society’s ability to operate and our communities’ ability to thrive. This is a real and present fight, and one we must collaborate with others to tackle.

As an automotive brand, we have a responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of our products, manage how we reuse and restore resources, and increasingly manage our impact on society, ensuring that the net effect of our actions benefits all.

The reason to take this new approach is not simply because it is the right thing to do, but because we are in the middle of a rapid transition to electrification. We see the transition as not only necessary, but positive and we want it to be equally positive for our people and communities. Enabling an inclusive transition is key to our Beyond100+ purpose. 

To support this once in a century transformation, we are ensuring our colleagues have the right facilities to work in and the skills and capabilities to thrive. We are also increasing the resilience of our communities.

At our home in Crewe, we are transitioning our campus to the new Dream Factory. It is a modern, efficient, internationally competitive headquarters and, I hope, a great and pleasant place to work. We already have new engineering, launch quality and test facilities and there is more to come.

Our BeFit programme proactively focuses on colleagues’ physical and mental wellbeing and this year we have extended our colleague benefits programme to introduce a new online GP service to help all colleagues and families when other services are struggling.

We continue to focus on our training for current colleagues and leadership and are adapting our school and university outreach programme to make sure it is focussed on 
the future.

We are committed to living a diverse culture at Bentley too. By 2025, 30 per cent of candidates in management will be diverse, bringing new ideas to our current and future complex challenges. Under the banner of our Advancing Life Chances Strategy, we are focussed on social inclusion and creating capacity for social justice in Crewe and across the UK. Our Environmental Foundation is also looking to create capacity for environmental charities and raise awareness and understanding of climate and biodiversity challenges.

This brings me to the regenerative aspects of our journey. Step one is beginning the significant challenge of creating a circular economy approach to our future battery electric vehicles (BEVs). We cannot do this alone and will be working across the Volkswagen Group (Group) and with partners to develop this new approach.

The need for green steel and green aluminium is urgent. For BEVs, the circular approach to critical minerals is essential and this needs to be in tandem with further technological developments such as solid-state battery technology.

Beyond our new BEVs, we are also committed to mitigating the impact of the existing fleet. Underpinning this transition is the need for greater availability of low-cost renewable energy all over the world, a visible and reliable charging infrastructure and a consistent sense of urgency from regulators.

These are all important topics where collaboration is key. As a luxury manufacturer, we are additionally looking at where we have greater control and we are seeking to sustainably improve visible customer touchpoints.


We will have a new modern paint shop ready to efficiently paint our new future fleet, offering that vital personal touch from our own craftspeople. For leather, we are looking at the whole life of the animal, including the initial wellbeing and traceability from the farm, as well as luxury leather alternative materials. We are looking at all customer touchpoints including the retailer experience. 

The just and regenerative transition which we are starting is not going to be straightforward and it will not be linear. The challenging economic reality of today does nothing to help ease this path. However, we are committed to do our part and this report will show our progress and our challenges in the last year. This report is a snapshot of our business today, en route to a very different business by the end of the decade.

In 2023, there were challenging market conditions seen around the world for the luxury car market. Despite the macroeconomic challenges facing us, we were able to deliver our third highest retail position in history and enter 2024 with a strong order bank.

I would like to thank our new Sustainability Council for their insights and constructive challenge over the last year. Together with our many talented and committed colleagues and Board, our customers who share our passion for extraordinary journeys and our suppliers who share our passion for a better world, I am confident we will make the critical shifts necessary to tackle our shared ambitions and continue our journey to be leaders in sustainable luxury mobility.