Run in collaboration with the FIA and ACP (Automóvel
Club de Portugal) and supported by partners Asahi Kasei, CleanFuelsForAll,
Marelli and P1 Fuels, the forum provided the platform for WRC Promoter to
highlight work being done with its partners to contribute to a sustainable
future on the rally stages and beyond.
At the heart of the event was the unveiling of
the new Sustainability Roadbook, presented by WRC Promoter Sustainability
Manager Santiago Peña Gómez. The document not only signifies a milestone for
WRC Promoter & RX Promoter but also charts a course towards sustainable
practices on topics such as climate, biodiversity, innovation, responsible
management and social impact.
Collaboration was a key word across the day’s
panels, reinforced by WRC Promoter’s Managing Director Jona Siebel. He
highlighted the goals already achieved by the Promoter in taking concrete steps
to reducing the impact of the championship on its environs, and the
collaborative process required to realise these goals.
“A lot of people are impressed at how broad our
roadbook is. We have already reached so many achievements and targets together.
We cannot do this alone. We want to be a driving force behind sustainability.”
This was mirrored by the FIA’s Sustainability
and Diversity and Inclusion Director Sara Mariani: “Collaboration is key. We
are facing issues so big we can never dream about tackling them alone.”
One example used by Siebel was the Promoter’s
continual commitment to reducing the footprint of its television production by
moving significant parts of the operation remote, in alignment with its
production partner NEP Finland. NEP Finland CEO Marko Viitanen spoke of the
reduction of onsite staff from 100 to 40 with live and remote production being
done from NEP’s Helsinki, Finland studios – providing a template for other live
sports productions to follow.
Asides from being one of the most exhilarating
sporting experiences in the world, WRC is providing a platform for other
industries to showcase and test their technologies in surprising ways.
Highlighting this was Guillaume Tuan Prigent of the European Space Agency
(ESA), who presented how the ESA is capable of using satellite imaging for
different sustainability purposes, such as measuring an event’s carbon
footprint.
Championing the cause for alternatives to
fossil fuels, the WRC has been working with P1 Fuels since 2022 in running all
registered cars on 100 per cent renewable fuels, providing a clear pathway for
P1 to develop their fuels as they become available for consumer usage. P1 Fuels
CEO Martin Popilka stressed the importance of this relationship for his brand.
“We are super proud to be supplying the WRC.
People can make the connection between the car they have and the car that runs
with our fuel. Leveraging the learnings we have gained from working with car
manufacturers in the WRC to flying a helicopter using this fuel without needing
any adaptation to the engine.”
Yuha Kodaira, Manager, Environmental Solutions
for Asahi Kasei Corp, showed where the next innovation for WRC might come from
by presenting a new range of materials that would allow carbon-fibre and
plastic components to be made from certified 100% fossil-free ingredients.
Guido Albuquerque, International Affairs
Director, Aperto, representing the Clean Fuels for All campaign, also welcomed
WRC’s choice to remain a ‘technology-neutral’ platform for innovation. He remarked that by showing that the
sustainable fuels work well in all types of rally cars, WRC became a clear
example of how this innovation can help road users reduce fossil carbon use
today.
Transitioning from the championship’s role in
research and development Barbara Silva, FIA’s Head of Sustainability,
highlighted the WRC’s work with event promoters to minimise the impact of the
environments the WRC journeys through. The example presented are the
eco-marshals who play an integral role in the execution of Vodafone Rally de
Portugal, engaging with the public and creating awareness around the wildlife
living in proximity to the stages, as well as using the rally as a vehicle to
raise awareness about wildfires, native species of trees and recycling.
Participants were also reminded by Tales
Carvalho Resende of UNESCO of the WRC Promoter’s pledge to UNESCO to safeguard
the World Heritage sites – the first motorsport series to do so – and the work it is doing to raise awareness
among spectators and other motorsport stakeholders on the importance and
relevance of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and encourage the wider sport sector
to work towards avoiding negative impacts on these sites and their buffer
zones.
Under the umbrella of Beyond Rally, the WRC
Promoter is also committed to creating clear future pathways for women to be
competing at the pinnacle of the championship. In recent years, WRC has seen
female co-drivers crowned world champions in WRC2 and WRC3.
On Thursday, WRC’s Sporting Director Peter Thul
shed more light on a women’s accelerator programme, a collaborative process
with national motorsport organisations to identify exceptional female drivers
and provide support for them to begin their journey on the FIA rallying pyramid
on the global stage at Rally3 level. A complete overview of the programme will
be presented to media in coming weeks. The project concept has already received
praise from high-profile female rallying figureheads, such as fellow panelists
former WRC winner Michèle Mouton, FIA Women in Motorsport Commission President
Burcu Çetinkaya and WRC Commission President Pernilla Solberg.
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