Hey urban nomads! The F1 in Singapore that was supposed to happen this year had been cancelled and I’m sure many of you are just as disappointed as I am! However, here’s some good news – the carbon footprint in the world will be relatively declined and that might help alleviate the global warming situation that we are facing.

Given that Singapore’s government has always welcomed F1 into the country, I bet you can imagine how much tourist revenue it can generate. For instance, the inaugural race in Austin had an economic impact of $274.1 million and hotel occupancy was 97.8% in Austin the night before the race (Sylt, 2015).

Breakdown of carbon footprint

To start the ball rolling, the total carbon footprint generated for the entire race season is approximately 256,551 CO₂ equivalent tonnes and what’s surprising is that the emissions generated with association to the cars take up only 0.7%. The bulk of the emissions is generated by logistics, consisting of road, air and sea transport of moving of equipment. Taking into account 27.7% on business travel due to the travelling of team members and employees, the total amount of international travel and logistics amount to 72.7% (O’Shea, Perry, & Duffy, 2020).

In consideration of sustainability, F1 came up with a mission statement promising that by 2030, net emissions will be zero. Prior to covid-19, F1 is stipulated to host 22 races which involve at least 10 teams and hence achieving net zero emission will prove to be a significant reduction and challenge as well (O’Shea, Perry, & Duffy, 2020).

Here’s a list of what F1 will be doing for its sustainability strategy.

List of sustainability strategies

However, these offsets such as tree planting does not create significant change since emissions are still being released and restoration might only help to a certain extent if the trees are allowed to grow and carbon is stored in it. Yet, no one can guarantee that the seedling will be grown into a tree.

Also, there are plans for a new racing track in Rio de Janeiro and the building of this track means that trees will be cut down (Bowmer, 2020). Although the plan was marketed as a zero carbon one, the most sustainable way is to not cut down trees at all. Furthermore, the ecosystems in the reforested areas might not revert back to the previous conditions and might not be able to store carbon. Reforestation of only a single type of species might not result in an efficient ecosystems especially if the previous ecosystems is diverse.

In conclusion, before we blindly accept any sustainability strategies put in place by big corporations, perhaps we should stop to think and break down the strategies if it is really sustainable or is it just a matter of greenwashing?

References

Bowmer, A. (2020, October 09). Hamilton hits out at F1 plans for new Brazilian GP circuit in Rio. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://crossfitcaliforniacity.com/racing/hamilton-hits-out-at-f1-plans-for-new-brazilian-gp-circuit-in-rio/

O’Shea, M., Perry, N., & Duffy, S. (2020, September 09). Formula 1 says it’s going carbon neutral but fans must demand greater detail on how. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://theconversation.com/formula-1-says-its-going-carbon-neutral-but-fans-must-demand-greater-detail-on-how-127328

Sylt, C. (2015, August 25). Is Formula One The World’s Most Sustainable Sport? Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2015/08/25/is-formula-one-the-worlds-most-sustainable-sport/