Talking about motorsport and the green world has seemed like a contradiction in terms for many years. They are two planets that are light years apart. On one side there are those who are in the circus and wonder how anyone can even think about respecting the environment when the only goal of racing – and always has been – is to go as fast as possible. With drivers who, it must be remembered, risk their lives. On the other side there are the most ardent environmentalists who consider it crazy to race cars that don’t go anywhere and that pollute for fun.
Today something is moving, the two worlds – incredibly – are getting closer. On the one hand, F1 embraces the objectives of the UN Agenda 2030 and aims for zero impact on all fronts, from engines to event logistics. Already today, Ellen Jones, head of Esg (environment, social and governance) of F1, presenting the first “Impact Report” of the category, explained that the fuel emissions of the cars on the track are less than 1% of the overall carbon footprint of the Circus.
Here, pollution is mainly caused by logistics and this is where future efforts will be concentrated to achieve the minimum objective of an absolute reduction of 50% of emissions by 2030. And the actions undertaken so far in F1 have already led in 2022 (latest data available) to a decrease in the carbon footprint of 13% compared to the 2018 baseline (223,031 tC02e against 256,551 tC02e in 2018). And this despite the increase in the number of races (from 21 to 24).
The same can be said for rallies, as the conference on sustainability has just taken place in Porto, before the WRC Rallye de Portugal, where the WRC announced the launch of the Roadbook on the sustainability of the Championship.
In short, the top world championships are moving, but while waiting for something to happen, even small races do a lot. A good example comes from the initiative called #noplasticplease by the Rally Terra Sarda. Because the event organized by Porto Cervo Racing and scheduled for October 4, 5 and 6 was seen as an opportunity to raise awareness among enthusiasts about the use and disposal of plastic in collaboration with #comenessunomai.
A green message for an event valid as the last round of the TER Series and as the penultimate event of the TER – Tour European Rally and the Coppa Rally di Zona 10 and, with the 4th Rally Terra Sarda Storico, as the final round of the TER Historic: Porto Cervo Racing has committed to promoting a video – performed by the guys followed by the cooperative “La rosa di Gerico” – which underlines the importance of contributing to environmental sustainability by avoiding spreading waste.
So the Rally Terra Sarda goes to the front line to concretely promote a conduct by all its employees, called to collect waste material in each of the areas assigned in the race field. Small gestures if you like, but which demonstrate how motorsport is changing profoundly.
#Environment #motorsport #coexistence #FormulaPassion.it
