» This will please the environmentalists…

Formula 1 is typically the last sport one would associate with reducing its environmental impact, but the McLaren team has taken an important step to play its part in combating the effects of climate change by becoming the first fully-certified carbon neutral team.

The certification, awarded by the Carbon Trust Standard, was earned after a thorough year-year audit of the Woking team, which has progressively implemented a series of efficiency-driven measures to reduce its global carbon footprint.

To-date, it has achieved an annual saving of over 1,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, with one of its biggest initiatives being its customised telemetry fitted to its transporters, which monitor how economically the team’s truckies are driving to reduce fuel consumption and pollution.

In addition, the team has purchased carbon credits to offset its carbon footprint, as well as helping to fund two hydroelectric powerplants in Brazil and India, two of the world’s largest carbon polluters. Such funding has brought considerable investment to their local communities in the region, as well as to provide employment opportunities for local residents.

“I’m both delighted and proud that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has become the world’s first carbon-neutral Formula 1 team,” McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said of the announcement.

“It’s a considerable achievement: the result of a lot of hard work by a number of extremely dedicated individuals within our organisation, and a testament to our philosophy of continuous improvement within the workplace.”

[Original image via FlagWorld]