Swedish squad releases 2022 sustainability report findings
Pioneering rallycross team Hansen Motorsport has released a revealing sustainability report for the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship season, the year in which rallycross’ top flight switched to all-electric cars and the Swedish outfit took further steps in its target of net-zero emissions by 2040.
In recent years, Hansen Motorsport has – and continues to – undertake a self-critical review of its actions to make substantial changes in a bid to lessen carbon emissions.
Changes made within the over 30-year-old Swedish squad – widely regarded as the most successful team in rallycross history – have resulted in some impressive reductions, as outlined in its newly-published sustainability report.
For 2022, the team’s carbon footprint has been measured at 278.7 TCO2e, indicating a 57.9% reduction from 2019, and an over 40% reduction from 2021, as part of the team’s R-R-R slogan: Reduce-Reuse-Recycle.
While still on the road to net-zero, Hansen Motorsport is currently offsetting the remainder of its footprint by supporting a Mexican wind farm project with partner ALLCOT to achieve its carbon neutral status. In a bid to further help the overall cause, the firm is also releasing its work and findings to others, including promotors and partners, to be united for climate action.
Becoming signatories to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and Race to Zero further highlights the team’s efforts, along with being FIA 3-Star (Sustainability Accreditation) and ISO 14001:2015 (International Organisation for Standardisation) certified.
As part of the UN Global Goals mission for ‘Sustainable Development’, Hansen Motorsport is making significant strides under 17 different headers, including key topics such as health and wellbeing, equality, sustainability, and consumption.
Amongst those endeavours, the Hansen squad has made many ‘small’ changes that all add to the overall target. Within the ISO 14001 vision of always striving to be better with constant improvements, initiatives like using tap water from HQ in reusable bottles and removing all single-use bottles and cups from both race weekends, and at HQ, contribute to the goal. The HQ premises itself runs on 100% renewable electricity, and operates a ‘No Person – No Lights’ policy.
Not just focusing on its own output, Hansen Motorsport has also created incentives for fans to travel to events in more sustainable ways, while supporting WWF programmes, and highlighting issues in the vicinity of race weekends, such as local wildfires during the Portuguese World RX round.
Susann Hansen, Head of Sustainability at Hansen Motorsport, said: “Hansen Motorsport has never been afraid of leading. Leading is what we strive for each day, whether it’s on or off the race track.
“When we had the opportunity to go fully electric in the FIA World Rallycross Championship it was jumping into something new. It was scary, but it was the right thing to do. We felt this is the moment when we also had the opportunity to take our environmental commitments to a new level.
“We were the first rallycross team to join UNFCCC Sports For Climate Action and the first to get the FIA 3-Star Accreditation. Now we are also the first in publishing a sustainability report, and to be offsetting by supporting wind power technology.
“Leading can be difficult, but we have never hesitated on our decision to make every day count and work to constantly try to improve the environmental situation. We love motorsport and we want to keep on racing for trophies, while also racing for a healthier planet too.”