The notoriously gas-guzzling sport of Formula One is on track to curb its carbon footprint.
The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) is unveiling an analysis that projects emissions cut of 15 per cent in three years. Fota says the sport is the first to have a comprehensive and externally audited carbon reduction programme. Further ambitions may include a doubling of energy efficiency in engines, which manufacturers hope would feed through into road cars. Sources say one of the drivers behind the programme is pressure from sponsors, who are increasingly keen to be associated with a “greener” product.
The audit has been carried out by the consultancy Trucost, whose chief operating officer Richard Mattison told BBC News: “We've been able to analyse all drivers of carbon emissions, from logistics right down to the engines themselves. There's a lot of data in teams — more so than in most businesses — and we were able to analyse it and see how and where they were going to make reductions.”
Running cars' engines in races and testing accounts for less than 1 per cent of the sport's emissions, even though the cars run at less than five miles per gallon. About half of the emissions are associated with items the teams buy in; other major sources are the transport that takes teams and equipment from race to race, and electricity, large slices of which are consumed by wind tunnels. — © BBC News/Distributed by the New York Times Syndicate
