Sauber adds new green streak
The Sauber F1 team continues to forge ahead with its commitment to the environment, taking a second step towards making its entire operation a little 'greener'.
After ISO 14001 certification was awarded to the company's environmental management system in early April, the next phase of the programme has been accomplished, with the Swiss team now operating entirely 'greenhouse gas neutral' as the result of a new promotional partnership with Carbon Neutral Investments (CNI), one of the world's leading companies for carbon offset schemes.
In addition to offsetting carbon, Sauber has long attempted to keep emissions as low as possible and to reduce them further by applying appropriate measures. For a number of years, 50 per cent of electricity has been drawn from renewable energy sources, while the main building in Hinwil has been supplied by district heating for 20 years now, and the wind tunnel since 2004.
The greenhouse gas emissions of the Sauber F1 Team were assessed by a specialist company and verified by a third party. The analysis not only covered all activities at the plant, but also took into account the transportation of freight to race venues as well as travel by staff.
Offsetting carbon involves companies financing or part-financing projects that save the equivalent amount of carbon generated by the company. Sauber has opted for 30 per cent excess, with a key factor in its offset scheme being the judicious choice and monitoring of high-quality projects.
"We attach great importance to carbon offsetting, which is a consequence of the environmental policy we have adopted," CEO Monisha Kaltenborn explained, "It allows us to make an important contribution to protecting the environment.
"In Carbon Neutral Investments, we have found the ideal partner for implementing these efforts. The certification of our environmental management system less than a month ago signified an important step towards our ecological goals and is now followed by a further step with our carbon offset commitment. The next milestone will be when our solar park goes on stream at the company headquarters in Hinwil this summer."
CNI is a leading provider in the voluntary carbon offset market, operating across multiple sectors, and specialising in the procurement, sale and retirement of Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) credits and supporting carefully selected projects around the world, such as wind farms in India, waste heat recovery in China and hydro-electric in Brazil.
"We are delighted to enter into a partnership with the Sauber F1 team," head of UK operations Edward Carlton stated, "Through the provision of our carbon credits, Sauber will be a carbon neutral F1 team for the next three years. This builds on both Sauber's strong focus on sustainability, notably their recent ISO 14001 certification, and CNI's existing activity and momentum in F1 and global motorsport. The Sauber F1 team has shown great performance on track this year, often leading the mid-field battle, and with two exciting young drivers, we're delighted to partner with such a progressive organisation."
Sauber's announcement comes just after the revelation that on-track rival McLaren had received a silver medal at the Edison Awards, which champion groundbreaking innovation and recognised the Woking team's efforts to improve its emissions and overall carbon efficiency.
