Welcome to Athletic Interest.
This week we are going to explore how Formula 1 plans to become more sustainable in order to help save the planet from total destruction…
Wait a minute that’s not right! It’s actually ‘to increase support and drive up revenues.’
Also, stick around until the end to understand why Nick Kyrgios is mad at old people and meet Lionel Messi’s biggest (little) fans.
Each year, Formula 1 generates a carbon footprint of around 257 thousand tonnes of CO2. To put that into perspective:
🇺🇸 The average American burns 16 tonnes of CO2 per year.
🌍 The global average sits closer to 4 tonnes.
⚽ The top-four Premier League Clubs combined will burn an average of 350 tonnes of CO2 per year from global travel.
On the face of it, F1 is an oil executive's wet dream. A sport that is growing in popularity among younger audiences while promoting the use of fossil fuels for entertainment and competition.
But fast cars doing fast circles is not the core reason behind F1’s lack of sustainability.
In fact, the F1 cars themselves contributed only 0.7% of the sport’s emissions. Across a full World Championship season, the 20 cars burn around 150,000 litres of fuel, the same quantity that a single, four-engined Boeing 747 uses on one ten-hour flight.
✈️ = 20 x 🏎️!
So, how does F1 generate so much pollution?
Logistics accounts for an estimated 45% of F1’s carbon emissions. Each team will move around 50 tons of freight between each track, with some races happening more than 10,000km apart from each other.
In a one-month period, Formula 1 moved between Australia, Italy, and the United States. Assuming all teams went direct, that brings the total journey to over 24,000km each. These extreme logistical challenges require teams to charter planes and move equipment between locations using a fleet of lorries.
The rest of F1’s emissions come from a variety of unexpected places, including:
19.3% from team headquarters and factories. This includes R&D equipment, lighting, heating, and manufacturing.
7.3% from media activities. This refers to the massive TV Village and its 150000kg of equipment that accompanies the teams to each race.
With F1 coming under increased scrutiny from the media, bosses have decided to take action by pledging to make the series carbon neutral by 2030.
While this pledge will only cover the emissions produced by F1 itself (so not those created by teams moving equipment or using their factories) it is still a huge undertaking. F1 transports tonnes of media equipment and thousands of people across the planet each year, with plans to increase the number of races to around 25. Not to mention the fact that F1 is actually going to be hosting events itself in the future and has full control over the type of fuel and materials used by teams.
With expansion on its mind, F1 has turned to new technology for help:
F1 has re-designed freight containers to fit equipment on more energy-efficient planes and trucks.
The broadcasting of the events will now be handled as much as possible through a remote operations center, reducing the need to transport equipment across the world.
F1 offices are now using 100% renewable energy.
While these steps are admirable, the story grabbing the headlines is that F1 has developed a synthetic fuel that will become the only fuel used in the cars by 2026. This fossil fuel replacement will only burn the same amount of carbon as was extracted from the atmosphere to create it, making it far more environmentally friendly.
So, why is Formula 1 so interested in protecting the environment? Well, the real motivation seems to be more about protecting profits than polar bears.
F1 has gained millions of fans over the last few years, with estimates suggesting that at least 1 billion people will hold an interest in the series by the end of 2022.
If F1 wants to continue engaging this new audience - and profit from the attention through extra races and increased attendance - then it needs to address the issues that matter to them.
A recent survey by Motorsport.com shows that almost 70% of F1 fans now believe that the series should become a sustainability leader. This is a huge shift from the days when F1 was seen as an old-school sport for thrill-chasing playboys and petrol heads.
It is, therefore, no surprise that F1 first revealed its sustainability pledge in 2019, right after the sport started to become more popular with younger audiences.
This is not an accusation that can be solely leveled at Formula 1. In fact, we would argue that most companies with a sustainability pledge are simply trying to engage with their audience on a topic that matters to them.
After all, 85% of consumers consider the environmental impact of the products they buy. If the corporations in question clean up their act in the process of attempting to make their products more attractive then the environment will benefit - at least partially - in the long term.
What interests us most is the fact that Formula 1 developed a synthetic fuel.
It may seem silly to spend so much time and effort creating an expensive fuel to offset just 0.7% of your carbon emissions. Even more so when you consider that the wider car market plans to go electric, with internal combustion engines eventually becoming illegal in several countries.
But there is a simple logic behind this decision.
Even if F1 manages to offset all carbon used through logistics and production and just leaves the 0.7% produced through racing, the sport will still be considered unclean. The race cars are the most visible aspect and so long as they burn fossil fuels, the popularity of the entire series will suffer.
When a company attempts to drive sales through sustainability, image is far more important than actual results. One study found that a company that champions a specific sustainable goal (rather than a broader goal of ‘saving the environment’) can increase the return of investment from their advertising by up to 20%.
With the new audience demanding greater action on sustainability, F1 is aware that championing synthetic fuel is a far more effective way to communicate its ongoing efforts than simply posting on its website that its office printer now has a solar panel.
That is why we should expect synthetic fuel, and other initiatives from drivers and teams, to become a more prominent part of F1 media content in the near future.
Clever marketing aside, F1’s plans to increase sustainability are admirable. Formula 1 has always been at the cutting edge of technology and any new techniques developed to reduce emissions on freight could help make supply chains around the globe more sustainable. With billions of dollars and an audience demanding change, Formula 1 is perfectly placed to assume a position as a global leader in environmental technology…for that we can excuse them for the odd publicity stunt.
Sports Business Bites 🍎
🎾 It wouldn’t be Wimbledon without strawberries and cream, Royal faces, and some customary Nick Kyrgios antics.
For this year’s edition, Kyrgios has decided to do something rather odd. In his post-match press conference, after defeating Paul Jubb in the first round, Kyrgios decided to answer questions while eating sushi.
The press conference itself was dominated by a discussion about respect from the crowd, with Kyrgios explaining that some fans were hurling abuse at him throughout the match. Between bites of sushi, Kyrgios and the reporters even found time to debate whether older line judges had adequate eyesight to make the big calls during a tennis match.
Whatever happens at this year’s Wimbledon, we can guarantee headlines and controversy whenever Nick Kyrgios is on the court.
👟 Nike has just reported that its revenue for the past financial year has hit $46.7 billion, a 6% year-over-year increase. The majority of this growth has come from Nike’s recent push to sell their products directly to their customers instead of through third-party stores and online re-sellers. In fact, Nike’s direct revenues jumped 14% to $18.7 billion, with revenue for Nike Brand digital growing 18% and Nike-owned stores increasing 10%.
Nike-owned Converse generated $2.3 billion for the financial year, a 6% year-over-year increase.
⚽️ Did you know that every hour clubs spend more than € 500,000 on new players!
The transfer market is big business - but which club is the best at it and makes the most money by buying and selling players?
We crunched some numbers and discovered that crazy geopolitics and huge economic disparities have created a system where some clubs make huge profits while being stuck in a toxic cycle of buying and selling
🥳 You know you have made it in life when 5,000 children gather in your hometown to sing you happy birthday on a TV show dedicated to your very existence.
Well, that is exactly what happened to Lionel Messi this week.
While Messi was busy celebrating his birthday with his family and close friends (including Cesc Fabregas and Luis Suarez,) youngsters from a youth orchestra in the Argentinian city of Rosario led a birthday tribute on the steps of the National Flag Memorial.
The tribute was filmed by local TV, forming part of a new program called Mundo Leo which is dedicated to the life and times of Lionel Messi.