F1 and Sustainability

Watching your favorite Formula 1 drivers speed around the Grand Prix F1 tracks at 200 miles per hour is your favorite pastime, allowing you to experience the thrill of the track from a comfortable stadium seat or your living room recliner. A part of you wonders whether the sport you love is harming the environment, though, leaving you asking, “What is the carbon footprint of Formula 1?

You’re not the only one with these concerns. Formula 1 in 2019 launched a plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030. This means the organization is striving to make it to where the carbon dioxide emitted into the air equals the amount removed from the atmosphere, leading to zero net carbon emitted, or a neutral carbon footprint. The net-zero idea is gaining traction as an effective strategy to fight climate change through greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Let’s explore Formula 1’s sustainability strategy and what the F1 2030 net zero goal means for drivers — and you.

Formula 1 Sustainability Strategy

A detailed report on Formula 1’s environmental impact showed that the racing championship sport generated 256,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2019. Since then, Formula 1 has been striving to decrease its environmental footprint, and they need all stakeholders to back them in this effort. These stakeholders include partners, promoters, manufacturers, and teams.

So far, F1 has received excellent cooperation from all parties as they undergo a major cultural change. Now, Formula 1 sustainability is an essential part of all decisions that Formula 1 makes and all initiatives they introduce as they strive to achieve their F1 net zero goals by 2030. This previously wasn’t a priority for the sport.

Formula 1 Sustainability Focus During Events

Formula 1 offered guidance in 2022 for all promoters to follow. The guidance focused on six major areas related to event delivery, including:

• Waste and plastic
• Local community
• Fan travel locally
• Carbon
• Nature and well-being
• Energy

As part of Formula 1’s sustainability efforts, they’ve installed solar panels at some venues (e.g., Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada), and others have been 100% powered by renewable energy (e.g., Bahrain International Circuit). Teams are also striving to comply with F1’s 2030 net zero aims by creating more sustainable facilities and offices. Formula 1 offices now use renewable energy 100%, and the organization has earned the highest accreditation for sustainability management from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Making their broadcast operations “green is also a key Formula 1 goal: They’re sourcing alternative biofuels for running their generators.

Fans are contributing to Formula 1’s green efforts, too. Twenty-five thousand fans used push bikes instead of cars to reach the Circuit Zandvoort track in the Netherlands in 2021, and 40,000 walked or relied on public transportation to get to the site.

Formula 1 Sustainability Focus on Plastics

An easy change that Formula has made to reach their F1 2030 net zero goal is to decrease the use of single-use plastic products throughout the circuits and in paddock areas. The focus is on using reusable bottles and offering ample water stations instead to promote Formula 1 sustainability.

Formula 1 Sustainability on Cars

Formula racing cars aren’t exempt from efforts to achieve F1’s 2030 net zero objectives. F1’s hybrid vehicles are already among the world’s most efficient, as they deliver more power with less fuel compared with other cars on the road. Current F1 vehicle engines have achieved an energy recovery rate of more than 50%, an unheard-of feat. That’s because Formula 1 has constantly pushed the envelope when it comes to the technology it introduces on the race track. However, racers’ vehicles will become even greener in 2026.

The year 2026 is when racing cars are slated to run completely on sustainable fuels as part of Formula 1’s sustainability efforts. These advanced fuels are also called synthetic fuels or e-fuels and feature components obtained through a carbon capture technique used with non-food organic material (biomass) and municipal waste. The fuels may provide between an 85% and a 96% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

E10 Fuel

Formula 1 isn’t waiting until 2026 to make their vehicles greener, though. In 2022, they introduced cars that ran on E10 fuel, which features renewable ethanol (10%) and fuel (90%). The fuel is expected to be introduced worldwide, as it can easily be placed in the majority of the planet’s nearly two billion vehicles. This means more cars can become more sustainable more quickly — a triple win.

Logistics

Another way officials have worked to decrease the carbon footprint of Formula 1 is by making their logistics greener. During the pandemic in 2020, they moved to an innovative remote production strategy, which decreased the amount of technical cargo that had to be shipped across the globe. Fewer staff members also had to be sent to all Grand Prix events, further decreasing the organization’s carbon footprint.

The organization’s engineering and logistics teams additionally designed shipping containers that enabled more efficient transport, like sea and rail freight. Yet another green step they’ve taken is to use more efficient, newer 777 aircraft in place of Boeing 747 planes.

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We share Formula 1’s passion for environmental responsibility and sustainability, too. We use environmentally friendly materials, like bamboo, organic cotton, and recycled polyester, for some products. We also strive to offset our carbon footprint via supporting projects centered on renewable energy and planting trees.

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