Power unit emissions less than 1 per cent of F1’s carbon footprint

Formula 1 and the FIA announced on Tuesday plans for the championship to have a net-zero carbon footprint by the end of the next decade.

It intends to achieve this through multiple means having spent the past 12 months working with sustainability experts to understand where it can make progress.

See also: Formula 1 announces net-zero 2030 plans

In a presentation released on Tuesday, Formula 1 revealed that its Scope 1, 2 and 3 footprint was 256,551 Tonnes of C02 per race season.

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Scope 1 constitutes all direct emissions, Scope 2 encompasses indirect emissions while all other indirect emissions fall under Scope 3.

This figure of 256,551 has been broken down into five components and the largest, an enormous 45 per cent, can be attributed to the logistics of a season.

That counts for all road, air and sea logistics included in the movement of team equipment, Formula 1 equipment, Paddock Club equipment and race tyres.

It is understood that over 300 trucks are involved in the transportation of paddock equipment at European events, with seven aeroplanes used for ‘flyaway’ rounds.

The second-highest percentage – 27.7 per cent – has been attributed to a similar theme: business travel.

Formula 1 classifies this as all air and ground transportation related to individuals, as well as the impact of hotel usage by all Formula 1 employees and those linked to major event partners.

Formula 1 facilities and factories are responsible for 19.3 per cent of the annual carbon emissions, while event operations – which includes broadcasting, Paddock Club operations, support races, circuit energy use, generator use, and the impact of teams at the venue (aside from power unit usage) – counts for 7.3 per cent.

Just 0.7 per cent of Formula 1’s annual carbon footprint comes from power unit emissions on-track.

This classifies as “all emissions associated with the fuel usage of the power units across all 10 teams, at all 21 Grands Prix, and at pre-, mid-, or post-season testing.”

Formula 1 has outlined that it wants sustainably-fuelled hybrid power units by 2030 and intends to “position [the sport] at the vanguard of the automotive sector, delivering the most powerful and efficient race cars on earth.”

In order to tackle the CO2 output caused by logistics it aims to “maximise logistics and travel efficiency through process and volume optimisation, and by using the least CO2 intensive transport available.”

It will also push through plans to “transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity at all F1 and team facilities, and adopt net zero carbon technologies for HVAC [Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning] and mobile power.”

The sport will also “fully offset unavoidable emissions through robust and verifiable biological and technical sequestration programmes.”