Shifting gear to sustainability in motor sport

A certificate is a small gesture that represents a much larger achievement. When BSI presented the Aston Martin F1 team with its certificate to ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, it marked the organization’s first step to net zero. To celebrate the achievement, BSI also joined a panel discussion on the future of sustainability within motorsport featuring industry leaders.

Here Matt Page, Managing Director of UK&I Assurance at BSI, shares the insights of the day and why it heralds the start of a new era of sustainability in motorsport.

It was a pleasure to see industry leaders speak with such enthusiasm about such an important topic. Debbie Wall, Environmental and Society Consultant at Aston Martin F1 facilitated the discussion between Ellen Jones, Head of Sustainability at Formula One; Jessica Runicles, Head of Sustainability at Motorsport UK; Stephane Bazire, Head of Business Sustainability & Partnerships at Silverstone Circuit; Parveer Ramana, Sustainability and Environment Lead at Aston Martin F1; Martin Townsend, Global Head of Sustainability at BSI; and Jenny Powell, Founder and Managing Director of Calathea.

Sitting in the presidential suite of Silverstone Racetrack, it was a welcome change to witness how aligned all the speakers were in their drive towards sustainability. It was noted the majority of the panellists had been in their post for less than two years, and this investment in leadership is a signal of how serious sustainability is now on the motorsport agenda.

Indeed, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) is taking a leadership role among other sports federations in pushing for global climate action. It has implemented ambitious carbon reduction plans to make all events sustainable by 2025, and for every part of the sport to become net-zero by 2030.

There are over 5,000 motorsport events across 13 disciplines hosted in the UK alone, and that sport is a powerful platform for which to drive meaningful change across all sectors of society.

It was also agreed that while leadership is a critical component in driving sustainability efforts from the top of an organization, education and collaboration are vital components and everyone within the company and supply chain must be involved and take responsibility for sustainable actions.

Not only is it a competitive advantage to be fast movers in sustainability, but it is also becoming a necessity in every industry to prove your business is moving towards net zero.

Whilst these goals may appear optimistic for an industry typically associated with contributing to emissions, they are achievable with the proper frameworks, as demonstrated by Aston Martin F1, who stated that creating a best practice and sharing it with the other teams was a crucial component of success for the industry as a whole.

Aston Martin F1 achieved its first sustainability accolade after only three years of racing, which is also the first of six international standards the team will implement with BSI, in addition to receiving three-star accreditation to the FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme. The other standards are around energy management, putting on sustainable events, occupational health and safety, as well as the carbon footprint verification and the carbon neutrality standard – all clear signs of Aston Martin F1’s commitment to change that will put the team in a league of their own in motorsport circles.