Time For A New Approach To The ‘Greening’ Of the Sport?

Sustainability and environmental responsibility challenges are a reality for businesses and individuals everywhere.

Not surprisingly, motorsport is under pressure to respond positively to what will become the defining political direction of our time.

The debate, now in full swing, over the rationale and implications of the ban on tire warmers in the FIA ​​WEC is just the latest in an almost inevitable series of conflicts between the desire and need for a ‘greener’ future. It is also one of the more immediate concerns of companies emerging from one global crisis and enduring another.

So perhaps sport and the industries surrounding it need to consider how they can better work together to address environmental concerns and realities.

And I have a suggestion – and if implemented clearly and intelligently, it can help to reposition sport in the debate

There are few parts of the automotive and technology industries in general that have a better track record of finding innovative solutions to problems and challenges than motorsport.

The technical, developmental and rapid production and evaluation aspects of the increasing effort in high-tech racing have made great strides in the fields of mechanics, electronics and data for over 100 years.

Some of the best and brightest are connected to this environment that consistently overcomes real challenges with super-tight deadlines and produces amazing results.

Perhaps it’s time to use that ability to find ways through problems and put a different face on a sport that some may find anachronistic these days and others will claim.

Rather than identifying an example of potential energy use and eliminating it through regulation, as with the WEC’s tire warmer ban, you might want to first set up a technology challenge to see if the status quo can be improved.

A challenge to address one or more environmental goals or problems quickly, economically and with transportable and robust technology that would certainly find applications far beyond a racer’s camp.

This would allow stakeholders to provide some or all of the benefits of an existing process using ‘greener’ solutions, in a competitive environment with positive PR criteria attached.

This approach could also be extended to OEMs and academia, all equally interested in being seen as part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Whether it’s finding standalone solutions to a set of relatively small problems, or a larger solution that can make a bigger contribution to the bigger picture, it doesn’t matter. The important part is being a positive force and being seen as such to advance an extremely important agenda.

Opening the door to innovation, and doing so even more with a sense of urgency, is a great fit with the capabilities of our sport.

The potential for sport to be a showcase for technology and to be mindful of future needs appears to have significant benefits, both for the sport’s reputation and for the solid principle of simply doing the right thing.

Problem solving and collaboration stand the best chance of finding solutions to problems far bigger than heating tires.

But if our sport can start to find and encourage solutions to the smaller problems, we might just be seen as a center of excellence, pointing out potential solutions to the larger challenges of the future.