F1 on course to meet 2030 net-zero goal

Formula 1 is on course to meet its target of being carbon net-zero by 2030, according to its first environmental, social and governance (ESG) report.

In 2019, it was announced that the series was aiming to reduce its carbon footprint and cut emissions, with 2030 the target to become net zero.

In the intervening years, F1 has reduced the number of on-site personnel taken to grands prix, with these now based at its Biggin Hill hub, introduced synthetic fuels and also committed to the usage of renewable energy where possible.

As a baseline from 2018, F1 emitted 256,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, with the ESG report showing that this figure had dropped to an estimated 223,031 tonnes for the 2022 season - a drop of 13%.

Due to the time needed to calculate and verify the numbers, data is not yet available for the 2023 season.

Nearly half - 49% - of F1's 223,031 carbon emissions came from logistics, with a marginal increase that was down to the return of Japan and Australia to the 2022 calendar.

In order to further reduce the calendar, the 'regionalisation' of races has been introduced to cut down on emissions, with examples of this being the Japanese GP moving to April and the Azerbaijan GP to September.

"Sustainability is one of the most important factors to us, not only as a sport, but as a business," explained F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

"It is no longer enough for us to simply deliver great action and wheel-to-wheel racing on the track, we need to ensure that we are doing so in a sustainable way so our sport can thrive long into the future.

"F1 has been innovating and influencing wider society for over 70 years, and we’ve seen how the great minds and technology of the sport have had a positive impact in many different spaces, and now we have turned that expertise and insight to sustainability.

"We are a global sport with over 700 million fans around the world, which gives us a great platform to create change and influence those watching and engaging with F1 to act and leave their own positive legacy.

"Over the past four years, we have made significant progress, and we remain very focused on our goals and I’m excited to see the impact we can have."

Positive effect of F1 Academy

After the collapse of W Series, F1 introduced its own in-house all-female championship in 2023, F1 Academy.

For 2024, the series now supports F1 at more grands prix, with F1 also launching the 'Discover your Drive initiative aimed at finding future talent for the F1 Academy.

F1 reports that there has been a 265% increase in female participants between the ages of 11 and 16 among the four key pillars of youth engagement, talent identification, participation and progression and community.

2023 champion Marta Garcia earned a fully funded seat in FRECA with the Prema Racing team, with there also being a marked increased of girls qualifying for the British Indoor Karting Championship local finals, up to 9% from just 2.5% in 2022.

This was in part due to the Discover your Drive initiative, with support from the United Kingdom ASN Motorsport UK and TeamSport.