The FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme is aimed at helping motorsport and mobility stakeholders worldwide to measure and enhance their environmental performance.
29 Sep 2020 | 10028 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Mahindra Racing has announced that it becomes the Formula E team in history to receive the highest sustainability accolade by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), motorsport’s governing body.
The FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme is aimed at helping motorsport and mobility stakeholders worldwide to measure and enhance their environmental ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
Mahindra Racing has announced that it becomes the Formula E team in history to receive the highest sustainability accolade by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), motorsport’s governing body.
The FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme is aimed at helping motorsport and mobility stakeholders worldwide to measure and enhance their environmental performance. By introducing a clear and consistent environmental management system, it provides stakeholders with a three-level framework against which to accredit their activities. After initially achieving Two-Star Accreditation in November 2016, which was reconfirmed after an audit in December 2018, Mahindra says its team worked tirelessly to work towards excellence in the accreditation process.
Mahindra Racing says with the accolade, the FIA recognises that the team, which was the first OEM to commit to the world’s first all-electric racing championship, demonstrates best practice and commitment to seek continual improvement through the implementation of an environmental management system. Mahindra Racing is only the second motorsport team in the world to receive Three-Star, in addition to McLaren Racing Formula 1 Team.
Mahindra Racing says its efforts are, and will continue to be, in tandem with Mahindra Group’s commitment and quest to achieve group-wide carbon neutrality. Under the aegis of the Mahindra Hariyali initiative, the Group aims to increase the green cover by planting more and more trees and providing livelihood and nutritional security with a commitment to plant 1 million trees every year. With the annual commitment of one million trees met this year, the plantation stands at 18 million trees over the last 13 years.
The team’s news comes just days after Formula E, which becomes a World Championship for the first time in the upcoming season, announced it has become the first sport to achieve a net zero carbon footprint dating back to inception. This announcement from the sport was also key to Mahindra Racing, as it means that the team has a net zero carbon footprint on all race and test events, including freight, travel, event operations and race car production. The team is committed to the FIA environmental certification programme by minimising its environmental impact and working towards achieving carbon neutrality. It takes learnings from advanced technologies on the race-track to apply it to its road cars within its Race to Road initiative, developing and promoting more sustainable transportation solutions.
Mahindra Racing’s efforts are underpinned by the wider Mahindra Group sustainability efforts. Mahindra Group’s chairman Anand Mahindra is among leading innovative business leaders and has been an outspoken advocate of seizing the business opportunities associated with climate change; building sustainable and enduring businesses by rejuvenating the environment. The Group’s climate commitments include being a carbon neutral group by 2040, it is a ‘water positive’ group and owns 14 facilities that are Zero-Waste-to-Landfill certified (by Intertek), where it was able to recycle, reuse and compost over 140,000 tonnes of waste in 2018 alone.
Dilbagh Gill, CEO and Team Principal, Mahindra Racing said: “Sustainability is not a buzz word for us. It is ingrained into our ethos and a big part of the reason we are racing in Formula E; working to develop and promote cutting edge EV technology and to promote the ‘Race to Road’ programme to improve the next generation of consumer electric vehicles. Our parent company Mahindra Group is a pioneer in the development of electric vehicles. Formula E is an integral part of Mahindra’s vision to develop advanced yet affordable EV products. Over the six years of the Formula E project to date, we have been working tirelessly not only on our racing programme and race to road, but on walking the walk, in terms of our sustainability talk. I could not be prouder of the team for the hard work and dedication, which has now resulted in this historic moment of receiving Three-Star accreditation from the FIA. 2020 has been incredibly tough and, for me, it is a special moment to be able to take a huge positive from the most challenging of situations.”
Jean Todt, president, FIA: “As sustainable and responsible motor sport is a priority for the FIA, I am pleased that Mahindra Racing has achieved this milestone. Energy efficiency is in the DNA of the FIA and Formula E and this new step forward is another proof of our commitment to environmental best practice. I now urge the other teams to walk in the footsteps of Mahindra Racing.”
Jamie Reigle, CEO, Formula E: “Many congratulations to Mahindra Racing for achieving FIA Three-Star Environmental Accreditation. Mahindra is recognised for its commitment to developing innovative, high-quality mass-market electric cars and shares Formula E’s vision that accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles is critical to counteracting climate change. Back in Season 1, Formula E was proud to become the first FIA championship to achieve Three-Star Accreditation. Today, Mahindra Racing, who have been on the grid since our inaugural race, become our first team confirmed to have achieved this landmark.”