It All Starts With A Single Idea

It all started with a single idea, February 25, 2007 an idea was proposed, racing to save the planet.

Honda's Formula One team released in 2007 a radical idea. Their car carried no true sponsors’ logos, but instead a single large image of the planet Earth, It was used to spearhead a campaign to raise awareness of environmental issues, and to raise money for green charities and pressure groups.
The only branding on the car - apart from a small Honda logo on the nose - as for a website at which pledges could be made to a number of leading green organisations that had signed up to back the campaign.

What started in 2007 as, what some people say, was just a marketing scheme, has taken the whole and Formula One by storm.  Saving the planet.  You may have read in an earlier post, '2013 F1 'Green' Engine' that has just introduced plans for a more environmentally friendly engine in 2013.  Most teams have taken to the challenge while some are not.

But this is not the only thing that the FIA has come up with in the race to save the planet. June 30th, 2010 the governing body set out a press release,

“The FIA welcomes today’s announcement of the Formula One teams’ carbon calculation and reduction programme."

The Formula One Drivers Association (FOTA) comprising of all the Formula One teams commissioned Trucost to conduct an analysis of the environmental performance of the Formula One teams. Trucost is the leading research organization in the sphere of environment and provides the world’s most comprehensive data on corporate environmental data.

They were entitled to do the following:-

• To research and analyze the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the full range of activities performed by and within Formula One teams in order to establish a baseline for 2009.
• Forecast emissions reductions that will be achieved by Formula One teams based on an analysis of the predicted operations of the teams to 2010.

According to Trucost’s research only 0.3% of the total emission is due to the Formula One cars. While 2.5% is due to other vehicles related to Formula One and 2.6% due to the fuel used in the Formula One cars. The major share is due to Electricity and Expenditure on parts and raw materials. Wind tunnel testing, high performance computing and manufacturing in the main account for the major chunk of electricity usage.

By 2012 it is predicted that other than the emissions due to freight and business travel the other sources will decrease significantly. Overall the Formula One teams are expected to reduce their emissions by 12.4% from a baseline of 2009 emissions.

Other teams are also taking it upon themselves.  Knowing full well that producing a near zero emission car is impossible within the sport, we see teams like McLaren who have become the first-ever F1 team to earn Carbon Trust certification. 

It's good to see that Formula One is taking steps in reducing the power emissions and fuel consumptions. Though they are going on slowly they will surely pick up the speed and will be an example for the others.