Sustainability, Diversity and Inclusion

This year, the FIA carried out a wide array of activities in support of sustainability and D&I. These were managed both through the FIA’s central functions, and through its Commissions, including Women in Motorsport, and Environment and Sustainability. The federation also hired its first Sustainability and Diversity & Inclusion Director to help drive these efforts.

FIA Women in Motorsport Commission

FIA Girls on Track

FIA Girls on Track initiatives aims to provides opportunities for young women and girls to learn more about the world of motor sport and opportunities on and off track.

The ‘Rising Stars Programme’ is a key part of this initiative. The programme aims to find the female race drivers of tomorrow, and give them opportunities to race professionally (with one seat in Formula 4 and one in karting). The programme was run in collaboration with Ferrari Driver Academy and Iron Dames until the end of 2023. In 2023, 16 drivers participated in the programme.

The first training camp was held in Franciacorta (Italy) last September (3-7 September 2023). The 16 drivers received on-track guidance as well as mental and physical support and assessments (delivered by 321 Performance). Four senior and four junior drivers were then chosen to attend the second training camp in Maranello, organised by FDA in November 2023. The final stage culminated in the selection of a junior and senior winner.

In addition to the Rising Stars programme, the FIA also works with Formula E and its partners to offer Girls on Track sessions at key races. In 2023, these workshops took place in Mexico, Diriyah, Sao Paulo, Jakarta, and London. During these events, young female drivers participated in workshops led by Formula E partners, met with women already involved in the industry (including staff from FIA, Formula E, teams, and local ASN staff), and enjoyed pit and Race Control tours.

In 2024, Formula E and the FIA are planning to deliver one FIA Girls On Track event at each round of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship.

FIA WIM Networking Event

The FIA hosted a WIM Networking event in collaboration with the ACO during the centennial 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The event served to promote collaboration and facilitate networking opportunities amongst women working in the paddock.

More than 120 people attended the event, including the five female WEC drivers (Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, Doriane Pin and Lilou Wadoux), Pierre Fillon (President of Automobile Club de l’Ouest), Richard Mille (President of the FIA Endurance Commission) and other female engineers, communication and marketing experts, event planners and ASN staff.

Students from a local school were also invited to participate in the event.

The event garnered significant visibility thanks to media attendance and participation. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and the Women in Motorsport Commission intends to continue the project heading into 2024.

FIA Environment and Sustainability Commission

In 2023, the FIA continued to implement its Environmental Strategy (first adopted in December 2020) and to provide support to its members and championships in the fields of the environment and sustainability. 

FIA Environmental Strategy 2020-2030  

The FIA released its 2023 Environmental Report this year. The report provides an overview of activity and results from 2022. 

In line with the FIA’s wider sustainability commitments, the report was fully digital and was presented in a user-friendly micro-site format. 

FIA Headquarters Environmental Measures  

The FIA’s Carbon Reduction Working Group have continued to implement a Carbon Reduction Plan. This plan aims to help reduce the overall carbon impact of the FIA’s activity, by 20% in 2025 and 50% in 2030. In order to achieve this, the FIA has: 

• Reduced employee travel to FIA events by 34% 
• Increased the remote working policy for employees to 40% 
• Streamlined employee travel to FIA championships with the creation of core lists 
• Set environmental targets for each department  

The results of these reduction measures will be calculated and communicated in February 2024. Initial estimates show that these efforts are likely to have limited effect, given an increased number of activities, events and championships during 2023.   

Environmental Management System: After being ISO 14001certified in December 2021, the FIA has aimed to review and improve its environmental performance objectives each year. The review covers activities like operational management, meeting and event hosting, logistics, and employee travel.   

Adoption of ISO Net Zero Guidelines: the ISO Net Zero Guidelines represent the first set of guidance within the formal international standards system for credible net zero action. In 2023, the FIA chose to adopt the guidelines in order to create and strengthen our net zero strategy. The guidelines have enabled the FIA to identify gaps within its strategy, in order to create a credible plan in pursuit of our net zero goals.  

Members  

Environmental Training Programme: following an initial Environmental Training seminar hosted in November 2021, the FIA organised a second training session in February 2023. The seminar, which was hosted in conjunction with the Oman Automobile Association (OAA), aimed to help Member Clubs accelerate their applications to join the FIA Environmental Strategy. This seminar resulted in concrete progress, with all attendees (from 15 Clubs) now in the process of reaching the first level of the FIA Environmental Accreditation. 

FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme: this programme aims to help FIA stakeholders to measure and enhance their environmental performance against a ‘star-rating’ system. 135 stakeholders have now received Environmental Accreditation ratings.  

Sustainability Grants Programme: in 2023, the FIA grants programme continued to support members to implement their sustainability initiatives. This year, 425,000 EUR of grants were given to sustainability and environmental programmes across sports and mobility. 

Championships  

In 2023, the Commission continued to monitor championships’ progress against the FIA’s Environmental Strategy. The Commission also collaborated with other stakeholders to ensure that promoters’ sustainability roadmaps aligned with FIA regulations. In instances where championships lacked an existing roadmap, working groups were established in order to create a tailored sustainability roadmap for the championship.

FIA at COP28

In November 2023, the FIA attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in an official capacity for the first time. As a global voice of motor sport and mobility users, the FIA shared its unique perspective on decarbonisation and the just transition to a sustainable, safe, inclusive, and accessible mobility. In total, four activations took place during the two-week conference:

The FIA also published a White Paper titled “Accelerating a Just Transition: The Motor Sport and Mobility Perspective” during the conference week. The paper highlights the role motor sport can play in driving innovation for everyday mobility.

More information on FIA participation on dedicated page.

FIA Disability and Accessibility Commission

Vehicle Adaptation Guidelines

The Commission’s Adaptations Working Group updated the Vehicle Adaptation Guidelines, in collaboration with the FIA Safety and Technical Departments. The newly updated guidance now includes information about adaptations to karts and entry level controls. These were published on the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities. 

FIA Karting Guidelines for Disabled Drivers

The Commission made progress on improved access to karting for disabled drivers. New guidance on disabled-only karting events was included in the FIA Karting Guidelines for Drivers with Disabilities, available on the FIA Karting website. Work has been conducted in collaboration with the CIK and FIA Safety and Technical Departments. 

Certificates of Adaptation

The Commission has continued to issue Certificates of Adaptation, in line with a new procedure explained in a recent motion design video.  

Empowering Disabled Motor Sport Seminar

The Commission participated in the FIA Safety Week 2023 and delivered a dedicated session aimed at promoting driving for people with disabilities.

Promoting Disability Awareness & Participation

The Commission released the third video in its series about disability inclusion and participation. It features Fabio Visentin, a Commission member who competed in the Handikart Championship, an all-disabled karting event hosted by FFSA. 

The Commission has an active social media account, dedicated to promoting participation for disabled drivers and officials worldwide.

Collaboration with FIA commissions   

The Commission is working with the FIA Esports Commission to promote opportunities for people with disabilities in esports. The Commissions are aiming to deliver a pilot race in 2024.   

The Commission also engaged with the FIA Drivers’ Commission to ensure the representation of disabled drivers.  

F1 accessible podiums

The Commission is working with F1 Sustainability to improve accessibility at race venues.  

United Against Online Abuse

The United Against Online Abuse campaign went from strength to strength in 2023.

The project continued to onboard stakeholders from across the business, policy, government, and sporting landscape. These included Peace and Sport, the International Esports Federation and the governments of France, Albania and Greece. The campaign is also in advanced conversations with IOC, FIFA, World Netball, World Squash, UCI, ITF and UNESCO.

The campaign has also continued to promote knowledge-sharing and research, as a way to better understand the online abuse landscape. In late 2023, the campaign launched its first online barometer, reviewing experiences of online abuse from different federations and NGOs. In total, 22 federations and NGOs responded to the survey.

From September 2023 – January 2024, the UAOA Campaign was presented at seven external conferences – establishing its reach and presence as the industry lead in this space.

The UAOA Campaign launched the first United Against Online Abuse Scholarship this year. Recipients would gain the opportunity to undergo a remote, part time Master’s by Research with Dublin City University, focused on topics related to online abuse.

Between September and December 2023, the UAOA Working Group hosted four grassroots workshops dedicated to closing the digital literacy gap in younger demographics. In particular, the team facilitated discussions around online abuse, the impact it can have on mental and physical health alongside how to manage changing environments as up and coming athletes. These sessions supported over 70 young athletes across Italy, Kazakhstan and Qatar.

The UAOA Campaign also produced Safeguarding Guidelines for its Member Clubs which can be referred to when witnessing or experience online abuse cases. This documentation forms part of the Member Club Engagement kit launched at the AGA Week in Baku.