Soneva’s Coral Program Earns UN Backing in Major Win for Marine Restoration

In a landmark moment for marine conservation, the Soneva Foundation’s Coral Restoration Program has received official endorsement from the United Nations and been listed on the UNESCO Ocean Decade website — an international recognition of its pioneering work in large-scale reef restoration.

Based in the Maldives and operating from Soneva Fushi’s AquaTerra science centre, the program is now the region’s largest coral restoration facility. Combining advanced marine biology with local collaboration, it has redefined how the tourism sector can contribute meaningfully to ocean health.

What sets the program apart is its blend of innovation and scale. The facility includes a Coral Spawning and Rearing Lab—Maldives’ first of its kind—replicating natural reef conditions to stimulate coral reproduction. Thirty micro-fragmentation tanks further accelerate coral growth, enabling up to 150,000 coral fragments to be produced and replanted on damaged reefs each year.

Since launching in 2022, Soneva’s coral team has relocated more than 31,000 coral colonies and fragments from threatened areas, establishing a thriving coral hub in the Indian Ocean.

he initiative is managed by Soneva Conservation, a Maldivian NGO set up by the Soneva Foundation, and forms part of the group’s broader sustainability strategy.

“This milestone is a testament to the scientific rigour and community-driven ethos at the heart of our work,” Dr Johanna Leonhardt, Soneva’s Coral Project Manager, said. “It validates the potential of hospitality to lead ocean regeneration at scale.”

Beyond science, the program engages governments, NGOs, research institutions and the wider tourism industry—demonstrating how cross-sector partnerships can drive real environmental impact.

The UN recognition now positions the project as a beacon for similar initiatives globally, reinforcing the Maldives’ role as both a luxury destination and a marine conservation leader.

The Soneva Foundation’s wider environmental efforts include carbon mitigation projects, reforestation, and waste-to-wealth innovation. As part of the Pallion group, Soneva continues to redefine what it means to be a responsible luxury brand.

Rolls-Royce has unveiled the Phantom Centenary Private Collection, a landmark series of just 25 motor cars honouring the 100th anniversary of its most storied model.

Described as the marque’s most complex and technologically ambitious creation to date, the Centenary Collection is a statement of craftsmanship, symbolism and legacy, three years in the making.

Each Phantom Centenary tells the story of the nameplate’s century-long reign as the pinnacle of luxury motoring.

Every surface, from its embroidered headliner to its gold-detailed engine cover, reflects an element of Rolls-Royce’s history.

The Bespoke Collective of designers and artisans distilled the Phantom’s heritage into 77 motifs that appear throughout the car, created using groundbreaking techniques such as 3D marquetry, ink layering, laser-etched leather and 24-carat gold leafing.

Chief Executive Chris Brownridge called the Centenary Collection “a tribute to 100 years of the world’s most revered luxury item,” describing it as “a motor car which reaffirms Phantom’s status as a symbol of ambition, artistic possibility, and historical gravitas.”

Inside, the rear seats feature more than 160,000 stitches across 45 panels of high-resolution printed and embroidered fabric inspired by historic Phantoms, developed in partnership with a fashion atelier.

The front seats are laser-etched with hand-drawn sketches that reference key design codenames, while the Anthology Gallery installation – 50 brushed aluminium fins engraved with a century of quotes – forms a centrepiece that reads like a living archive.

The exterior pairs Super Champagne Crystal paint with Arctic White and Black tones, finished with iridescent glass particles. Each car is crowned with a solid 18-carat gold Spirit of Ecstasy, enamelled and hallmarked with a bespoke “Phantom Centenary” mark. Even the famed RR badges have been plated in 24-carat gold and white enamel for the first time.

Bespoke woodwork depicts the Phantom’s most defining journeys, from Sir Henry Royce’s homes in France and England to the 4,500-mile expedition of the first Goodwood-era Phantom across Australia. Roads and landscapes are etched in gold, and interior embroidery continues these lines in gleaming thread.

The Starlight Headliner, with 440,000 stitches, portrays the mulberry tree under which Royce once worked, complete with bees from the marque’s Goodwood apiary and constellations referencing legendary Phantoms such as Sir Malcolm Campbell’s ‘Bluebird’.

Limited to 25 cars worldwide, the Phantom Centenary Private Collection stands as both an homage to Rolls-Royce’s past and a promise of its future, a modern-day heirloom crafted to be read, driven and remembered over generations.

Soneva’s Coral Program Earns UN Backing in Major Win for Marine Restoration

Soneva’s groundbreaking Coral Restoration Program in the Maldives has been endorsed by the United Nations and listed on UNESCO’s Ocean Decade platform, recognising it as a global model for reef regeneration and sustainable marine science.

Only 25 of the most intricate Rolls-Royce Phantoms ever made will celebrate the nameplate’s 100-year legacy.