Blue Carbon Research Update: National Oceanography Centre and Beyondly
In December 2022, Beyondly partnered with the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), one of the world’s top oceanographic institutions, to further UK ocean carbon research and support the mitigation of climate change.
Our donation of £25,000 to NOC’s Blue Carbon project supports the carbon coring and analysis of a key coastal site in Porthdinllean Bay, on the northern Welsh coast. The site is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) which is known for the presence of both seagrass and macroalgae.
Throughout March and April, Dr Evans’ team at NOC completed the first step of this remarkable project, collecting sediment cores from Porthdinllean Bay. Coastal cores like these are collected by hand in cores of 1 meter. They are then sealed and transported to NOC’s BOSCORF facility (The British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility) where they are stored at a low temperature for preservation and made available for analysis.
Over the next few months of this project, NOC’s carbon team will use the facilities at BOSCORF to split (halve), scan and analyse these cores to assess their carbon content and other useful data that will help us understand how natural habitats in this area absorb and store carbon. With state-of-the-art equipment, the scientists are now able to conduct non-destructive analysis on the cores, meaning they will be analysed and returned to storage to be useful to ocean and climate science for decades to come.
This philanthropic partnership was formed as part of our company ‘Fund for Change’ programme, where a portion of our profits is donated to making difference. As one of the first businesses to support this Blue Carbon project, we are excited to continue working alongside NOC on this project, driven by the opportunity to support the exploration of ocean habitats.
Since forming this partnership, we have seen both brands evolve, both demonstrating a clear ethos of driving positive environmental change. Holly Evans, Philanthropy Manager at NOC comments on their recent brand changes:
“The ocean itself is where we find our inspiration. Our new colour palette is taken from nature, in all its glory. Our logo has been designed to represent the Earth's surface, with blue signifying 70% of the planet's surface covered by the ocean”
Emily Baker, Partnership & Marketing Leader at Beyondly comments:
“Our name and brand change to Beyondly was a natural necessity, to reflect our business for good ethos and desire for preserving and protecting our home. Working with NOC allows us to play a role in understanding our changing ocean, so as a collective we can play a part in helping to restore it, adhering to our mission, to lead, inspire and educate to positively impact society and the environment.
We are excited to continue to share updates on this project over the course of the year and this exciting partnership.