Williams commit to becoming climate positive by 2030 with ambitious sustainability strategy

Williams have set themselves the ambitious target of becoming climate positive by 2030, as they launch a comprehensive sustainability strategy.

Formula 1 and the FIA are pushing hard to reduce the environmental impact of motorsport and are already committed to being carbon net zero by 2030. Sustainability is also one of three key pillars in Formula 1's #WeRaceAsOne initiative, which was launched last year and refocused for 2021 on diversity and inclusion, sustainability, and community.

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The teams are playing their part, too, with Williams spending the last year developing a series of technological and data driven initiatives which are based around five key pillars:

• Climate Action – the strategy for how the team will reduce carbon emissions for travel and energy consumption at their Grove HQ, reduce waste and water usage, and over time create their own energy.

• Biodiversity Stewardship – covers the strategy and targets for how the team protect and preserve the biodiversity on the 60 acres of the Grove campus, including the Letcombe Brook, which is one of only 240 chalk streams in the world.

• Sustainable Innovation – aims to foster sustainable and innovative solutions that tackle global challenges in and out of F1, including but not limited to the team doing a full life cycle management of their racing cars, deploying circular economy strategies within the team and being actively involved in projects such as carbon capture technologies.

• Industry Access for All – focuses on making motorsport more accessible by creating an environment in which anyone can thrive, and a workforce that reflects our community through academy programmes, scholarships and esports.

• Purpose Driven Leadership – will see Williams act as pace-setters for sustainability within the motorsport industry.

Climate positive is a step on from carbon neutral, and is about not only becoming net-zero (measuring, reducing and in-setting) but also nurturing sustainable innovations, inspiring our ecosystem and helping the planet and its people.

The team’s strategy brings their emissions reduction target in line with the below 2C target of the Paris Climate Agreement and UN Climate Change Global Agenda. As a result, Williams are the first F1 team to be a signatory of the UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework.

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“Williams Racing is a pioneer in Formula 1 and the racing world and has a strong heritage developing Formula 1 technology and transferring it to the EV and sustainable transport and energy sectors,” said Team Principal Jost Capito.

“As a team, we wanted to push the envelope and be the pace setter for sustainability in global motorsport and in the wider automotive industry. So today we are making the commitment to be climate positive by 2030 and we will be using our knowledge to nurture and develop advanced technology to meet this goal.

“We know where we are strong and understand where improvement is required and we are open to learning from others and sharing best practices in pursuit of our ambitious objectives. To help raise the baseline of sustainable performance in our industry, we welcome interaction and partnerships with key motorsport stakeholders, automotive companies, brands and organisations who share our vision.”

Tap here to read more about Formula 1's sustainability plans as part of the #WeRaceAsOne initiative, based on the three key pillars below.