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Mercedes F1 targets net zero by 2030


Mercedes F1 targets net zero by 2030

Brackley-based team lays out green goals in second sustainability report.

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  • The team exceeded their goal to cut CO2 emissions by 50% this year
  • Female employees now make up 15% of the workforce

The Mercedes Formula One team have exceeded their ambition to cut CO2 emissions by 50 per cent over the last year and say they are on track to achieve verified net zero by 2030.

The target is to have a 100 percent reduction in scope one and two emissions, as well as a 50 percent in scope three by 2026. Then the target shifts to a 75 percent reduction in scope three emissions and a final 25 percent carbon removal by 2030.

The team recently invested in sustainable aviation fuel, which should halve the air travel footprint of the race team personnel.

Also revealed in the team’s second annual sustainability report is that through the Accelerate 25 program Mercedes are looking to have at least 25 percent of all new employees be from under-represented groups in each year, up to and including 2025. Last year, this figure was at 38 per cent, while this year it currently stands at 32 per cent.

The number of female employees with the team has risen from 12 per cent to 15 per cent of the workforce, while staff from minority ethnic backgrounds have increased from three per cent to seven per cent.

The team will also be continuing their work with Mulberry Schools Trust, the Stemettes, and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers UK, in addition to its two new partners the Sutton Trust and the British Disability Forum, to encourage students from under-represented groups to pursue careers through STEM education.

Mercedes have also raised almost UK£75,000 for their official charity, Alzheimer’s Research UK, coming close to their goal of UK£100,000 for the year.

“We operate in the fastest, most dynamic sport in the world and we have a responsibility to use that global platform to be more than leaders; we want to be pioneers,” said Toto Wolff, team principal and chief executive of the Mercedes Formula One team.

“Over the past few years, we have worked tirelessly to change and better understand the impact we have on the world. We’re fully committed to sustainable high-performance. This is the future for us all.

“Whether deploying our resources to drive technological advances that will help society address the environmental challenges that we face, or committing to increase the diversity of our workforce, and supporting those in need in our local communities, our passion isn’t just in the cars you see on track, it’s across everything we do.

“We are a team of problem solvers; and we’re setting ourselves ambitions on how to become more sustainable across all that we do.

“We are at the start of this journey but have committed to extremely challenging targets because we are all in on the race towards a sustainable tomorrow. I am very proud of our team for the achievements that we have made so far and the industry-leading strategies we have committed to in the years ahead.

“What happens on the track is inextricably linked to what happens in the world outside, and that drives the entire team to continually go faster and further.”