The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team today released our latest Sustainability Report detailing our progress made during the period January to December 2023, and how the team tackled an expanding calendar and business growth to stay on track with our sustainability commitments.
The newly published report also sets out our plans to build on these achievements, as we work towards our ambition of becoming one of the most sustainable global professional sports teams.
10% overall reduction in market-based Race Team Control emissions with SAFc vs 2022.
6,695 tCO2e reduction in business travel emissions in 2023 through use of SAFc.
67% reduction in emissions and 339 tCO2e saved through use of HVO100 biofuel across European season in race and hospitality trucks and generators.
Over 5,650 lift sharing journeys to and from our Brackley campus.
100% renewable electricity maintained through purchase of REGOs.
Exceeded target of 25% of new hires from under-represented groups every year since 2021.
Successful year of activations with our Accelerate 25 partners.
Gender Pay Gap reduced to 13.4% median and 23.2% mean.
LGBTQ+ Forum and Working Family Network set up by our team members.
Mental health charity Mind elected our Official Team Charity Partner.
Over 100 international, national, and local charitable causes supported.
STEM grants provided to five of our local Brackley schools.
89% team member engagement with annual Health Assessments.
Governance, Ethics and Compliance Framework implemented.
Integrity Code published.
Governance Working Group established.
Whistleblowing policy and platform implemented.
Enhanced due diligence platform and processes.
Contract management platform launched.
“As a Formula One team our efforts are judged by millions every time we go racing. Every race, every practice, and every test, sharpen the mind and help us chase every millisecond. Although we report annually on our sustainability progress, the commitment to optimise our operations and pursue sustainable high performance is always front of mind. Just like on track, we aim to improve our performance in every area, and our annual Sustainability Report serves as a reminder of everything that’s happening behind the scenes.
Yes, we report on our results - our footprint; our demographics; our codes and policies but it’s much more than that - it’s about our people; their collective power and our impact on the world within and beyond motorsport.
This reaches well beyond what we must do; it’s about our innovation and what we can achieve by inspiring others to follow. We are privileged to work in a sport that demands high-performance teamwork, technology, and innovation. We have a responsibility to harness those elements, as well as our people and our global platform, to go further faster. It matters to me, our team members, our partners and, importantly, fans of our sport.
Ultimately, our ambition is to become one of the most sustainable global professional sports teams. It’s a long-term goal but an important one; we set ourselves big challenges and recognise that it will take all of us to get there.”
Our sustainability approach follows a holistic structure, introduced in 2022, to guide our activities across the interconnected Environment, Social and Governance domains.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are the framework we use to define our priorities, integrating our sustainability activities in a unified approach and setting targets under each pillar of our Environment, Social and Governance structure.
Our challenging and ambitious targets have been set using an ‘outside-in’ approach which ensures we are not only tackling our own impacts but are also able to create value and opportunities for our partners, suppliers, fans and wider industry.
“Environmental sustainability is embedded in our business from the factory to the track and from the boardroom to the pit wall - it's at the heart of our operations at base and in the way we go racing.
Being sustainable doesn’t have to mean compromise; sustainability and performance are inextricably linked and Formula One is the perfect test lab for innovations needed to address some of the biggest environmental challenges facing the world today.
We are progressing towards our target of Race Team Control Net Zero in 2030, through a combination of emissions reduction and a transition from gold standard carbon offsetting to carbon removal. We have already taken bold action to address and reduce our emissions and we continue to invest in initiatives such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel, biofuel, low carbon building design, energy conservation and waste reduction to achieve our goals.
It takes all of us - our people, partners and supply chain - to help reduce our footprint. As part of our commitment to transparency, we focus on three pillars of environmental sustainability: Net Zero, Responsible Resource Consumption, and Ecological Protection.
Our total market-based Race Team Control emissions in 2023 fell by 10% compared to 2022, representing a reduction of over 1,700 tCO2e and progressing towards our target of 50% reduction in Race Team Control emissions by 2026.
This reduction has been achieved through investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel certificates (SAFc) and our biofuel project, as well as gas removal, lift sharing and improving our commuting practices.”
“As a sports team with a huge fan base, we have a platform. This means we have a responsibility to set standards, hold ourselves accountable to those standards and be authentic role models.
Since we introduced our Accelerate 25 programme, we have seen a steady and sustained increase in diversity and representation across our organisation.
The wide range of activities and programmes that fall under the banner of Social, whether that is improving the health and wellbeing of our people, furthering inclusivity, providing work experience opportunities for the next generation or raising money for charity, all help our people see the impact they can make in the team and beyond. This builds an energy that can then be brought back into the workplace to drive performance.
Inclusivity is integrated into everything our team does through Accelerate 25, our five-year programme to make our team even more diverse and inclusive. Over three years into Accelerate 25, we are proud to report a steady increase, year on year, in the proportion of our team who are female or from minority ethnic groups.
Without compromising our standards for entry or quality, we have consistently exceeded our target of 25% of new hires from under-represented groups since 2021.”
Although our report is split into separate sections for Environmental, Social and Governance for reasons of clarity, these areas are intertwined to drive impact and ultimately performance.
An environmentally driven practice such as lift sharing has social benefits by helping team members connect with each other and build stronger relationships. A social initiative such as investment in our new Wellbeing Centre is helping us reach our Net Zero targets through sustainable design. Underpinning all our activities and connected outputs is our focus on integrity and dedication to good governance.
Our business and brand are unique, and we recognise that the governance challenges in Formula One and the sports industry are distinct from those faced by other businesses.
We are committed to establishing and maintaining governance practices that are best in class in our industry and meet the high standards our stakeholders expect.
In the fast-paced world of Formula One, maintaining robust governance standards is crucial for our performance on the track, our reputation, and our long-term success.
We recognise that our performance depends on our people and our partners, and we are proud to showcase their contributions throughout the report.