When competing in a series built around sustainable messaging, it’s probably a little more challenging for a team to stand out for its focus on environmental progress.
Envision Racing have competed in Formula E since the all-electric series’ inaugural race in 2014, although originally under the Virgin Racing moniker. Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision Energy first signed on as a title sponsor in 2018, before the wider Envision Group gained control of the team in 2021.
Self-described as the ‘greenest team on the greenest grid’, the Silverstone-based outfit prides itself on blazing a trail in sustainability. Indeed, Envision were the first Formula E team to be certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust back in 2020.
Envision Group is a leading supplier of renewable energy system solutions, so the team’s participation in the world’s leading all-electric motorsport series only serves to amplify the company’s wider mission.
“Envision is the pure definition of a green tech company, and we are an extension of that,” Sylvain Filippi, managing director and chief technical officer of Envision Racing, tells BlackBook Motorsport. “We are one of the divisions of the organisation, [essentially] the marketing and media platform.”
Taking action
The trickle-down effect from Envision Group’s attempts to pioneer sustainable solutions gives additional purpose and meaning to the team’s environmental strategy. This has helped Envision Racing become a leader not just within Formula E, but on a global stage.
The team holds three-star environmental accreditation from the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and was the first motorsport outfit to sign the Sports For Climate Action Framework from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Furthermore, at COP28 at the end of last year, Envision were the only sports team to be present with a stand in the ‘blue zone’, the formal conference and negotiation space managed by UN Climate Change. This area only allows entry from party delegations, heads of state, admitted observers, and the accredited press.
The Formula E team was also one of only two sports organisations to sign the Global Optimism Letter, which calls for a commitment to phasing out fossil fuels in line with the science and 1.5°C trajectory.
On top of these overarching commitments, though, Envision are investing in their own initiatives.
🌍 A major presence at #COP28
— Envision Racing (@Envision_Racing) November 23, 2023
🔵 Only sports team in @UNFCCC's Blue Zone
🏁 Showcasing electric racing's power
♻️ Promoting the Race Against Climate Change
We will be in Dubai from Nov 30-Dec 12 to spotlight to world leaders the power of sport to influence climate change! 💪
Race Against Climate Change
The Race Against Climate Change (RACC) initiative has featured heavily on the team’s cars and away from the track, with the intention of hosting events that educate the Formula E audience about the benefits of living more sustainably.
“We had an idea to use [Formula E] to go deeper and talk about deeper subjects around electric mobility,” explains Filippi. “We will organise on-site events and have amazing speakers – really fascinating people – come to our events with an audience on-site, but also streaming online so anyone can access it.”
The initiative sees prominent figures in the sustainability space speak on key topics, with the last event in London featuring contributions from Dr Jane Goodall, Professor Ed Hawkins (whose ‘climate stripes’ feature on the Envision Racing car), and actor and activist Aidan Gallagher.
With a plethora of information-dense reports, it can be difficult for the everyday reader to appropriately digest the key facts and figures. Filippi points out “not many people read the executive summary at the beginning of a report, let alone the whole thing”.
Ultimately, the target is to utilise the platform provided by Formula E to educate “in a fun, interactive way around sport”.
Sustainable Chain
A notable strand of the RACC initiative is the Sustainable Chain campaign. Established in 2021, it was born out of Envision’s desire to have an impact with people beyond a two-week climate summit.
The team encourages fans from all around the world to commit to a pledge that will reduce their carbon footprint. For every pledge a fan commits to, the team plants a mangrove tree in Madagascar. There are currently 12 different pledges that fans can take – from reducing meat consumption to travelling by more sustainable modes of transport or using less water.
Back in 2021, Envision set itself a goal of generating one million pledges, and the team has seen almost 250,000 pledges made to date.
“If someone had told me we would have 250,000 pledges, I wouldn’t have believed it, especially in such a short time,” Filippi admits.
“No one forces them, you can just decide to make a pledge because you believe it’s right for you, right for the planet. It’s a great idea and it shows that you can create a sport from nothing ten years ago, create a fanbase that’s really engaged, and then educate them as far as them making a pledge to change their behaviour.”
Recover E
Envision’s Recover E initiative aims to shine a light on key sustainability issues in an eye-catching way.
For example, the team partnered with Manchester-based artist Lazerian to build a full-size functioning replica of its Formula E car last year. The key point? It was constructed entirely out of discarded electronic waste.
From one-use vapes to game consoles and mobile phones, the car raised awareness of the growing global issue of e-waste and earned major media coverage from the likes of the BBC, the New Scientist, and Forbes.
As part of the campaign, the team also ran a competition for those aged between eight and 18 to design their own mini-version of the car out of items they had recovered from their own rubbish. Envision ended up with hundreds of entries from countries all around the world, with the team’s three age group winners coming from three different continents.
The Recover E project was constructed entirely out of discarded electronic waste
The wider question
Despite all of this inspiring work, there may be some that question the true sustainability credentials of a team that takes part in an all-electric series funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Ultimately, though, this platform would not exist without the investment required for the series to function. Formula E must be as big as possible in order to have the maximum impact, which creates a challenging dilemma for those involved.
“Where the funding comes from, it gets complex,” Filippi says. “We want to get rid of fossil fuels, no question about that. We need to phase down fossil fuels over time, but the reality is we can’t do without them tomorrow – it’s not an on/off switch.
“We have to work with them and use their gigantic resources to accelerate the transition…in the meantime, there are still many, many things that we just don’t have the alternative for today.”
Go deeper
- Saudi Arabia’s PIF becomes principal sponsor of Formula E, E1 and Extreme E
- Analysing Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in motorsport
- How Formula E is balancing its sustainable mission with global expansion as it begins its Gen3 era
This falls in line with the stance of Formula E itself. The series’ sustainability director Julia Pallé has previously told BlackBook Motorsport that Saudi Arabia “needs to be around the table” as they have “the financial power to support us” in the fight against climate change, which is a sentiment Filippi agrees with.
“If we can use some of their money and their scale and their investments to accelerate that transition, it’s a net positive impact, right?,” he continues. “It’s better to do that than not engage at all and it takes 20 years longer.
“For me, as long as they are serious about the transition and they invest heavily into accelerating that transition, then I’m all for it because I know we’ll get there quicker [with them] than without them.”
This feature forms part of SportsPro’s Sustainability Week, a five-day run of exclusive content featuring experts from across the world of sports sustainability. Click here to access more exclusive content and sign up to the SportsPro Daily newsletter here to receive daily insights direct to your inbox.
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