Polar opposites: are luxury and sustainability opposites?

Bentley’s collaboration with an Italian couple involves a plant-based “wine” textile concept made from stalks and other by-products of the wine-making process. Other non-leather textiles for Bentley’s seats and door trims include 100 per cent organic cotton manufactured by a company that supplies textiles to the royal household and 100 per cent tweed made from British wool as a tribute to Bentley’s British identity. The high-wool tweed is now available in limited edition Bentleys.

New variety veneers include materials repurposed from something else, then handmade by craftsmen for Bentley’s interiors. Some of these materials are not only exotic but memorable for their backstories. A limited-edition Bentley concept car in 2019 incorporates wood from a tree that fell 5,000 years ago. Options for custom-order Bentley cars from Mulliner include stone veneers and a veneer containing metal from Venice’s antique poles. There are more interesting materials in the works, such as a concept veneer made from a blend of walnut and recycled paper.

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The process of developing materials can sometimes take up to seven years, a recognition by Bentley that sustainability is a “journey” that requires several steps and long-term investments of time and resources.

Besides being sustainable, Ross, who also leads Bentley’s Sustainable Material Research, emphasises that new-generation materials must be as “beautiful and durable” as the leathers and wood traditionally used in Bentley cars. At the fireside chat, model and sustainability guru Nadya Hutagalung shared her definition of luxury as “choosing products that last a long time, and that can be enjoyed for generations to come”.

Interestingly, longevity has been part of Bentley’s history even before it embarked on sustainability. Eighty per cent of the cars it ever produced are still on the road today. The ability of Bentley cars to endure and be passed on to future generations reflects a dimension of luxury consistent with sustainability. A lasting product is in stark contrast to the concept of “fast fashion” (clothes worn only a few times and then thrown away) or products that are cheap but require frequent replacement, generating more waste for the world.

Beyond longevity, Bentley is redefining luxury through its cars’ look, feel and smell. A specialist interviewed Ross and other Bentley personnel about what Bentley meant to them and created scents to infuse into the car’s materials. The choice of finishes and colours (like satin gold) also reflects Bentley’s perspective of sustainable luxury. There is an effort to give more subduedness to the interiors, to reflect luxury as less glittery, and to induce more mindfulness in anyone riding a Bentley.

Why should a car company like Bentley be concerned about mindfulness?

In the two days I spent at Bentley’s Harmony of Polarities, the mindful attention to every detail allowed us to experience a luxury that engages all senses. We didn’t just eat to fill our hunger but engaged in mindful eating with a nutritionally calibrated dinner from locally sourced ingredients prepared by chef Ruslan S of Four Seasons Hotel. We didn’t just listen to music; we were immersed in the purity of sound through the “Naim and Focal for Bentley” sound points (Bentley’s collaboration with high-end audio manufacturer Naim). We didn’t just exercise; we engaged in holistic wellness through yoga and meditation with instructor Khun Jirawan Sittiso.

Mindfulness is at the core of sustainability because being “sustainable” is not a switch that happens overnight. Instead, it’s a conscious effort to make mindful choices and stay the course. When we are mindful (and anyone who has tried yoga and meditation can attest to this), we heighten the experience of our senses—what we see, touch, smell, hear, or breathe—allowing us to experience luxury at its finest.

See also: Bentley Unveils The Mulliner Bacalar Two-Seater

“Sustainability for Bentley is a mindset,” says Calista Tambajong, Bentley’s head of marketing and communications for Asia Pacific. It goes beyond the product (where electrification of cars is part of the conversation) and includes ensuring that the business itself is sustainable and that its employees are also advocates.

At Bentley’s 100th birthday, a reflection on what’s important to the company resulted in the Beyond 100 Strategy: Bentley’s Path to Sustainability. Jo O-Brien, head of sustainability communications, saw a transformation where the focus shifted from just the product or car itself to the bigger picture. While the Beyond 100 Strategy involves Bentley’s vision to be the leading maker of luxury electric vehicles, O-Brien adds that “it’s also about being environmentally friendly: investing in its site, its people and the community. There’s a whole side to our business that we should be talking about, to bring out the big picture”.

Chairman and CEO Adrian Hallmark lays out Bentley’s vision: “Within a decade, Bentley will transform from a 100-year-old luxury car company to a new, sustainable, wholly ethical role model for luxury.” Bentley’s vision clarifies that luxury and sustainability are not mutually exclusive and that the two polarities can be perfectly harmonised. By creating a future driven by new technologies and materials, Bentley proves that the highest levels of luxury can be achieved with sustainable methods.

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