Formula 1 says it is on track to hit its Net Zero targets by 2030 after the publication of its latest impact report that includes its carbon emissions.
The report currently includes figures from 2022 as F1 needs to await data from teams and other stakeholders from last year, but the first season that was not impacted by COVID-19 showed a 13 percent reduction in F1’s carbon footprint compared to the 2018 baseline. That’s despite the 2022 calendar featuring an extra race compared to prior to the pandemic.
The sport’s Net Zero target is a minimum of 50 percent emissions reduction versus 2018, leaving 37 percent still to be achieved by 2030.
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Key to accelerating that reduction are sustainable fuels – notably Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and biofuels for road and sea freight – and the paddock’s energy usage, with F1’s head of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) Ellen Jones explaining how those avenues will lead to increasingly impactful steps.
“We’re on-track if you look at linear reduction to 2030,” Jones said. “Now we all know life doesn’t work in a linear way, but we definitely are on-track to hit that target goal. The key parts of that that we’re going to see in future are really the outcomes of the trials and work [being done now]. So it is the continued uptake of alternative fuels across all part of our operations, from the car to the air to also the generators on-site.
“It is also that shared impact of bringing others on the journey with us. So it’s one thing to have all 10 teams having a different solution when they are in the paddock, it’s a much bigger saving when you have a centralized solution that people can work towards together.
“And then the third piece of that – which probably has the longest lead time – is what do next-generation operations look like? When I think about those three in an order, one and two are things that you will start to see this year, and you’ll see them accelerate, and section three in terms of next-generation operations will have a longer tail, because there’s so much that goes into it and the technology and our engineers working behind the scenes.”
Of those projects, a low-carbon energy generation trial at last year’s Austrian Grand Prix led to a 90 percent emissions reduction in the pit, paddock and broadcast compound compared to 2022, while biofuel-powered trucks used in for nine races of the European season last year reduced logistics carbon emissions by 83 percent.
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While further rollouts will have a major impact from 2024 onwards, Jones says the acceleration towards the 2030 goal is not reliant on external developments or future technologies, but currently attainable options.
“When we look at our smart targets and saying how we’re going to hit Net Zero by 2030 – or exceed that minimum 50 percent – we’re basing it on technologies that exist today. So there isn’t a grey area of hope, it’s actual targets and programs and investments that are a mixture. Some are areas in our direct control, some are areas in our direct investment, and some are areas in F1’s ability to influence in terms of knowhow and application that we will support the market on.
“So it’s a mixture of those pieces, but for our targets themselves they’re all based on the technologies that are available today.”
The ESG report also highlights how F1 is working to improve diversity and inclusion, with the most eye-catching figure surrounding female participation in motorsport. Alongside the new F1 Academy category, the sport launched the ‘F1 Academy Discover Your Drive’ initiative that aims to identify and nurture UK karting talent from the age of 8 upwards.
Off the back of that initiative, there has been a 265 percent increase in female participants aged 11-16 qualifying for the British Indoor Karting Championships.