Delivering Formula 1’s spectacle of speed to millions of fans globally requires round-the-clock logistics. Each team transports 50 tonnes of freight to two dozen locations, along with thousands of personnel.
The scale of this has increased over the years as the calendar has expanded, street tracks have doubled and attendance has surged to record levels. This poses challenges for circuits and promoters, who must produce an event that minimises carbon impact.
These demands are not limited to F1, which is why the FIA is helping lead motorsport into a low-carbon future by setting sustainability standards and encouraging innovation across all of its racing series.
A key component of the industry-wide effort is the FIA Environmental Accreditation programme, which provides science-based action points and helps motorsport stakeholders integrate, measure and improve environmental practices.
“The programme is quite unique. It’s existed for some years now, and it’s really integrated into the overall FIA sustainability strategy,” FIA F1 and Sport Sustainability Lead, Pierre Villez, told Sector.
Launched in 2013, the programme is based on the existing ISO 14001 and ISO 2121 standards but is tailored specifically to the motorsport and mobility sector.
Each entity is assessed across 17 categories of environmental management, including energy use and supply chain management, transport planning, noise management and carbon emissions.
“At the time, there was a need to introduce a programme for motorsport stakeholders that could capture all their activities,” explains Villez.
“This is why we developed the FIA Environmental Accreditation programme, with three levels of accreditation.”
Driving the sustainability agenda
One-star is the basic practice level and shows a commitment to improvement, offering an entry point for stakeholders to get involved. Two-star demonstrates good environmental practice, while three-star is considered best practice and is closer to ISO 14001.
“It’s not necessarily gradual, you don’t need to go through one-star and two-star to get to three-star,” says Villez.
“You can go directly to a three-star or a two-star accreditation, but we usually encourage organisations to start with the one-star accreditation to understand the programme and then progress.”
It might sound like something out of a well-known road guide for restaurants, but each level serves an important purpose by enabling motorsport and mobility stakeholders to align their activities with the highest environmental standards.
The number of accredited FIA stakeholders has grown year-on-year since its launch, with 260 accreditations in total – a 37% increase on 190 accreditations in 2024.
Of those, 52% have achieved three-star accreditation across motorsport and mobility, including all F1 teams and tyre supplier Pirelli.
F1’s latest sustainability update in 2025 reports a 59% reduction in emissions from team factories and facilities, highlighting the progress made through ongoing operational improvements and efficiency measures.
The auditing process is rigorous. Although a remote audit is conducted for one- and two-stars, those seeking three-star accreditation must undergo an on-site inspection by independent ISO auditors to ensure compliance.
Once achieved, renewal must take place every two years with re-certification every four years. The FIA covers 100% of the total cost of its member clubs applying for one-star, and 50% for member clubs applying for two- and three-star accreditation.
Aside from providing a clear framework and expectations of what needs to be delivered, Villez believes it can help engage different parts of an organisation to embed sustainability into its overall decision-making.
“It can also help with cost savings, because as you reduce impact and consumption, for example, energy, water, etc, it can help to reduce costs in those areas,” explains Villez.
“It’s very good for the local governments and for sponsors, as you are following a standard that is approved by the FIA. That confirms that you are working and operating in line with the best standards-based practice when it comes to sustainability.”
Making an impact across motorsport
Out of the 24 races on the F1 calendar, only the permanent facilities are obliged to achieve three-star accreditation. This is due to the challenges associated with the non-permanent facilities, which make up 35% of the current calendar.
“The key challenge between the two is operational; permanent circuits have more time to invest in larger environmental initiatives, since they are in place year-round,” Villez points out.
“For non-permanent circuits, there are different logistics in terms of setting up the place, running the event, and then removing it, so that changes how environmental processes are implemented.”
The Madring is the latest addition, with its hybrid offering aiming to set a sustainability benchmark by achieving net-zero carbon emissions in time for the TAG Heuer Spanish Grand Prix in September.
Although it has yet to achieve three-star accreditation, the circuit has taken a proactive approach and has been awarded compliance with ISO standards, including environmental, sustainability, and energy standards, which will enable it to fast-track its way into the FIA’s Environmental Accreditation programme.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya recently renewed its 3-Star accreditation, after F1 extended its contract to host races on a rotational basis beyond 2026. Silverstone also recently achieved renewal status, in addition to being granted ISO certification in event sustainability.
The programme is designed to be adopted by any type of stakeholder, circuit, teams, events, and overall, the success rate is quite high.
Pierre Villez
Other circuits that have yet to achieve accreditation have still shown enthusiasm for contributing to F1’s sustainability agenda, notably the Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix achieving a 90% reduction in carbon emissions from fuel consumption through the use of battery generators.
“The programme is designed to be adopted by any type of stakeholder, circuit, teams, events, and overall, the success rate is quite high,” says Villez.
A case in point is the FIA ecoRally Cup, an all-electric series launched in 2022 that serves as a blueprint for events much smaller than world championship-level to gain accreditation.
“The main focus and objective of the ecoRallyCup is to have a sustainable event, so naturally, the Environmental Accreditation program fits quite well into the core purpose of the series,” explains Villez.
“It’s also a very good testing ground for best practices, and a good test for local organisers and members to enter the accreditation programme, and use it as a reference to then implement it at other events within their country.”
It shows how the FIA is committed to ensuring that stakeholders at every level contribute to the green agenda and put motorsport at the forefront of driving change in world sport and mobility.
“The programme is not only supporting but also engaging mobility stakeholders, and we want to make sure that we have a programme that can help bridge the different stakeholders and reach a high standard of sustainability,” says Villez.
As innovative solutions to reducing motorsport’s carbon footprint are being implemented across FIA Championships and World Cups, some will translate from the track to the road, benefiting not only the sporting world but also road users globally.
