What has motorsport got to do with safety and the environment?
Apart from the ecological impact of actually racing, the global transportation of motorsport equipment requires significant carbon offsetting. Six 747 Jumbo jets are needed to transport the F1 cargo around the world, not to mention ecological impact of the cars on a race weekend. So is motorsport travelling in the wrong direction on the journey towards zero emissions?
Motorsport is actually the catalyst for many of today’s cleantech products including aerodynamics, kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS or regenerative-braking), carbon-fibre wind-turbine blades and low rolling-resistance tyres.
In 2007, Honda made headlines with its unique livery design. Advertising logos were replaced by an image of the planet Earth and thousands of names. The names were of individuals who had made a pledge to take environmental responsibility.
On World Environment Day 2008, Bridgestone and motorsport's governing body launched a leaflet outlining their 10 points for greener motoring which gives motorists 10 easy steps to reduce their impact on the environment.
Their 'Make Cars Green' campaign seeks to reduce the impact of motoring on the environment in a number of ways. These include: the promotion of more environmentally friendly and fuel efficient driver behaviour; the introduction of new technologies to help motorists monitor their environmental impact; the improvement of tyre design to help save energy; and by encouraging the global use of unleaded and sulphur free fuels.
As part of the campaign, the FIA has launched a public policy Declaration which calls on the United Nations to adopt the first ever worldwide target for CO2 emissions in passenger cars.
Many motoring clubs around the world still believe that transport emissions are not linked to global warming. The Make Cars Green campaign sends a strong signal that peak oil, energy-efficiency and man-made climate change are issues we all need to tackle.
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