Organisation

Key Achievements

We are committed to addressing environmental and climate issues at every level. This starts with the FIA’s own impact, from its headquarters in Paris, Valleiry, and Geneva. 

The section below outlines the FIA’s carbon footprint for 2023, as well as the Federation’s ongoing efforts to reduce and offset its emissions in line with its net-zero ambitions.

Carbon management

The FIA has been calculating its carbon footprint since 2019, in line with the Green House Gas Protocol (GHG). Our calculations are independently verified by Global Climate Initiatives. 

Each calculation includes the three scopes set out in the GHG Protocol and covers all three FIA sites, events organised by the FIA and Championship and supplier activities financed by the FIA. Within the categories of emissions defined according to the ISO 14064-1, Scopes 1 and 2 being globally mandatory, Scope 3 items calculated for the FIA are the following: energy-related emissions scope 3, purchased goods and services, capital goods, waste, upstream transportation and distribution, business travels, and employee commuting. The FIA’s 2023 carbon footprint has been audited by a certified external auditor in accordance with ISO 14064-3:2019. 

FIA administration carbon footprint in 2023 and evolution since 2019

As expected, in 2023, the organisation experienced a rise in emissions compared to the previous three years. 

This rise in emissions aligned with a rising level of activity – including an increased number of Championships and employees. 

Overall, FIA GHG emissions increased by 11% last year and by 11.7% compared with 2019 level. However, the average impact per employee decreased by 8.3% compared with 2019. 

Breakdown by main emission source in 2023

Breakdown per scope in 2023

As in previous years, the majority of the FIA’s footprint comes from business travel (72.2% in 2023, 73.5% in 2022) and logistics (24.7% in 2023 and 23.7% in 2022). A small percentage (3.1%) stems from other activities such as electricity consumption, purchased goods, waste and employee commuting.

As part of its strategic commitments, the FIA set itself the objective of reducing emissions caused by its operations. The goal is to decrease emissions by 20% in 2025, and by 50% in 2030 (compared with the baseline year, 2019). The following measures were taken to reduce CO2 emissions in 2023: 

• Reducing number of employees travelling to FIA events by 34% (in 2023 compared with 2022)
• Increasing possible remote working policy for employees to a maximum of 40% of time worked
• Streamlining employee travel to FIA championships with the creation of core lists
• Setting environmental targets per department

However, the evaluation and analysis of our 2023 carbon footprint shows that these efforts most likely had a limited effect, given an increased number of activities, events, and Championships during the year. 

To get back on track for 2024, we are developing a new emissions reduction plan. It will predominantly focus on travel and logistics, with proposed levers including:

• Further upgrading buildings through installing solar panels (PV) , and encouraging further energy reducing behaviour
• Investing in sustainable aviation, maritime and road fuels supply
• Improved travel policy (e.g. further limiting the number of people travelling to championships and events and optimising the locations for FIA events)
• Increasing the capabilities of remote racing control
• Improved procurement policy

These and other actions are being evaluated in the carbon reduction plan framework, which will be approved in 2024. 

FIA Administration Carbon Trajectory

Offsetting

While the priority remains avoiding and reducing carbon emissions from our activities, the FIA is also offsetting its carbon emissions through carbon compensation projects.

The FIA has invested in these kinds of projects since 2021, as part of its efforts to become carbon neutral. FIA partner, South Pole, has helped the FIA to produce a diverse portfolio of supported projects including:

Project	Type	Technology	Other environmental and social impacts (SDGS)	Standard
Song Chung, Vietnam	Hydro power	Energy mix	Energy generation, local job creation, local infrastructure improvement
Small Hydro PoA, Vietnam	Hydro power	Energy mix	Energy generation, local job creation
Kariba Forest Protection, Zimbabwe*	Forest conservation  (REDD+)	Forests	Biodiversity protection, freshwater supply protection, sustainable food production, local education support, local healthcare providers support
Vichada, Colombia	Afforestation/ reforestation	Forests	Biodiversity protection, ecosystem restoration, job creation
Forest Restoration with Teak, Mexico	Afforestation/ reforestation	Forests	Biodiversity protection, ecosystem restoration, job creation

On the road to zero

Launched at COP27, the ISO Net Zero Guidelines represent the first guidelines created within an international standards system, setting out credible net-zero actions.

In 2023, the FIA adopted the Guidelines to strengthen our net-zero strategy according to an internationally recognised practice. It greatly helped us to identify areas of improvement in our strategy, and enables us to move forward with a high-integrity approach for our net-zero journey.

Currently, we are in the process of creating a credible net-zero plan that prioritises emission reduction over offsets.

In 2020, the FIA committed to reducing scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. We set an intermediate emission reduction target of 20% by 2025 and a 50% reduction target by 2030. Working within the value chain, the FIA is adopting measures to cut emissions, and counterbalancing residual emissions through carbon offsets. However, carbon offsetting is only one step on the FIA’s path to net-zero. There are other potential areas of investment, including viable nature-based and technology-based carbon removal solutions.

Beyond reducing our own emissions, we will continue to contribute to the decarbonisation of our extended value chain by: 

• Suggesting changes to, or the creation of, FIA Championship regulations in line with our sustainability strategy and approach (e.g. delivering sustainable events, optimising calendars and ensuring the use of sustainable alternative fuels) 
• Advocating for policy change by supporting the decarbonisation of international transport and mobility 

Environmental Management System

The FIA was certified against the ISO 14001:2015 standard in December 2021. This framework was used to help set objectives and create credible action plans for the management of our environmental impact. The FIA reviews its objectives annually to continuously improve environmental performance and reduce the impact resulting from activities. Activities concerned by the scope are the operational management of the facilities, the hosting of meetings and events (such as conferences, seminars, etc.), and the regular management of administrative, sporting and mobility areas, logistics, and business travel.