Sustainability: Environmental Excellence - ABB FIA Formula E World Championship

ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE

Implementing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals within our environmental strategy and align our carbon emissions onto climate science.

Environmental Excellence

CARS, BATTERIES AND TYRES

Gen2

From Season 5, Formula E, together with teams and suppliers, assessed the environmental impact of the Gen2 cars and integrated this into the Lifecycle Assessment to incorporate the entire lifecycle of our cars.

 

Sustainability- Environmental Excellence

 

Chassis

The end of Season 7 saw the introduction of a new recycling solution for broken car parts from races. This new milestone, achieved with support from our new partner Gen 2 Carbon, reaffirms Formula E’s position as a pioneer in sustainability of motorsports. The damaged chassis, which have been collected from cars as early as Season 1, are given a second life in the form of non woven products such as fabrics and thermoplastics.

We use the most efficient modes of freight available to the Championship in order to transport the broken parts back to our UK Headquarters in Derbyshire. Sea freight (using bio-fuels) is the most commonly used method, with specific space secured in a container that travels to each racing venue. At the end of the Championship Season, the parts are delivered to our warehouse in Donington Park where the recycling process begins.

Batteries

All Formula E car batteries are given a second life after use.

Cooperation with industry partner Umicore on GEN1 batteries recycling allowed for opening up and extending the end-of-life options and recovering cells with remaining residual power. Over 95% of metals are extracted via this process and over 60% can be recycled.

All Season 7 batteries are in use by teams for their promotional day activities until Season 8 starts. They are then collected and will be held by the supplier - McLaren - to support ongoing use of the GEN2 cars for show purposes and potential second life motorsport usage.

Tyres

Starting in Season 7, tyre allocation was reduced by 25% per single-race competition and by up to 50% at double-header competitions. Based on the Season 5 calendar and comparing to the previous allocation, this could potentially see savings of 720 tyres with 50 t CO2 -eq less emissions produced, which is a 29% reduction in the overall impact of the tyres.

We recycle 100% of our Michelin racing tyres after use, we use just one type of hybrid (engineered for any weather or surface) tyre per season and only two sets of tyres per race per car, which is 30-50% less tyres transported.

“After each event, all of our tyres go back to the warehouse and they’re recycled,” said Mirko Perracchio, Michelin Motorsport’s Formula E Manager. “They can be used in cement plants as a replacement for fossil fuels, or ias various forms of indoor and outdoor floors.”

GEN3 - 'The benchmark for sustainability in high performance racing cars'

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship creates an environment where high performance and sustainability powerfully co-exist. Leading experts in sustainability at the FIA and Formula E worked closely with engineers throughout the development process to ensure the Gen3 sets the benchmark for sustainability in high performance racing cars.

The Gen3 is the first formula car aligned to Life Cycle Thinking with a clear path towards second life and end of life for all tyres, broken parts and battery cells.

In addition:

  • The Gen3 will be net-zero carbon, maintaining the championship’s status as the first sport to be certified as net-zero carbon since inception.
  • All carbon fibre broken parts will be recycled by an innovative process from the aviation and aerospace industry into new fibres reusable for other applications.
  • A pioneering process will deliver 26% sustainable materials into the composition of tyres.
  • The Gen3 is powered by electric motors that are substantially more efficient than ICEs as they can convert over 90% of the electrical energy into mechanical energy (motion) compared to approx 40% in high efficiency ICEs.
  • All suppliers are held to strict sustainability KPIs, notably achieving FIA 3* Environmental Accreditation certification by Season 9.

 

EVENT SUSTAINABILITY

Carbon management

Since its inaugural season, Formula E has worked with carbon footprint experts Quantis to carry out a lifecycle assessment, which is used to monitor and calculate the championship’s carbon footprint.

A lifecycle assessment is a tool used to holistically assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the entire championship. Formula E monitors these impacts each race and reports them each season in order to identify opportunities to make further improvements in operations and planning.

Our Overall Season Seven Emissions: 19,600 t CO2 -eq. versus 20,000 t CO2 -eq. in Season Six. W

hile the Covid Pandemic has impacted the last two seasons, reducing our total emissions significantly, Formula E has still been able to make a considerable impact in reducing overall emissions in Season Seven versus Season Six despite a significant increase in the number of races and locations.

s7-carbon-chart

Waste management and recycling

On average across all Formula E events, 52% of waste is recycled, which increases to 90% for races in the European Union and USA. Formula E Recycling Rangers to encourage and educate teams, staff and spectators on how to maximise recycling.

Water and plastics

We provide free water and reusable pouches to Spectators to reduce single-use plastics on site. More than 32,000 litres of water were distributed via our Allianz Hydration Stations in the e-Village since Season Five, saving the equivalent of more than 300,000 330ml single-use plastic bottles from being transported to events and disposed of after use.

Energy management

Formula E’s goal is to achieve a 100% renewable energy target for all events in line with our energy roadmap, prioritising high-quality event power sources, in line with our RE100 commitment from The Climate Group.

Supply chain management

Formula E engages directly with our supply chain to maximise the positive impact the World Championship can have through procurement practices. Sustainability is embedded throughout the process from the initial invitation to tender, through the Sustainable Procurement Policy, to robust assessments on-site and an evaluation of performance post-race to ensure our suppliers have and maintain high environmental and social standards.