Down Under with Oscar Piastri

In 2023, we launched our Climate Contribution Programme, which is dedicated to supporting high-quality projects with the removal of existing carbon from the atmosphere and the restoration of damaged ecosystems.

The Climate Contribution Programme has been created within our net zero pillar to help accelerate our efforts in this space, to leverage our global platform, help raise awareness on the issues and support organisations taking immediate credible action.

As part of this, through McLaren Accelerator - our team of in-house experts that uses our know-how, expertise, and high-performance culture to help our partners overcome challenges in their respective sectors - we are using McLaren’s innovation and insights to help the Great Barrier Reef Foundation accelerate coral reef restoration at scale and work alongside the team of marine scientists to optimise their setup.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world, spanning 344,400 square kilometres and comprising 3,000 individual reefs, 980 individual islands and 1,650 species of fish.

The Reef provides a safe space for those fish to reproduce and, therefore, supports healthy fishing industries. The Reef ecosystem’s benefits are vast: it acts as a source of income for the Australian economy through tourism, protects the coastlines from the elements, and absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The effects of climate change, such as rising water temperatures, pollution and more severe cyclones, have seriously threatened the Great Barrier Reef. The Foundation was established following a mass coral bleaching event in 1998, in which one in 12 of the world’s corals were destroyed.

Bleaching occurs when the water is too warm, causing them to lose symbiotic algae and photosynthetic pigments. If left untreated, the bleached corals can be lost entirely. The Australian non-profit is working to reverse this process, focusing on scaling solutions that restore and enhance the resilience of coral reefs and ocean habitats.

Together with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and McLaren Accelerator, we will apply McLaren's expertise to protect and restore coral reefs at scale.