The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) has achieved FIA Environmental Accreditation today, 5 June, which is also World Environment Day.

As part of the FIA’s Action for Environment programme, the National Sporting Authority (ASN) has been certified with the second level – Progress towards Excellence.

The certification comes as recognition for CAMS’ continuing work to ensure greater awareness of environmental issues throughout the organisation, as well as its efforts in communicating and improving the perception of motor sport as a responsible steward of the environment.

The ASN was recently audited by the FIA as part of Action for Environment’s on-going evaluation procedures, and officials were impressed by the strong environmental message and systematic processes put in place, including the monitoring of its carbon footprint, energy use and office operations.

In order to achieve FIA certification, a stakeholder must implement an Environmental Management System, with the aim to continuously improve its Environmental Performance. Auditors were impressed by CAMS’s innovative focus on employee behaviours and its desire to set standards that can be used as an example both within its own organisation and across the Asia-Pacific region.

Matt Coughlan, CAMS Risk and Compliance Manager, said: “This is a significant step for CAMS and demonstrates its commitment to achieving sustainability as an organisation. We believe as the governing body of motor sport in Australia we can be a leading example for the sector. In future we will be considering how we can extend some of the sustainable best practice principles to the wider CAMS community, such as Clubs, motor sport teams, event facilities and industry.

“CAMS has made a commitment to achieving environmental sustainable principles so that it may foster sustainable motor sport. It has sought to achieve this by demonstrating how it can improve our environmental performance through sustainable resource use and employee behaviours. By committing to this process we can apply innovative techniques and technologies to improve our performance, and share our learnings and experience with our key stakeholders.”

Garry Connelly, FIA World Motor Sport Council member and Environmental Delegate, said: “We are pleased to be giving certification to the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport on World Environment Day. Environmental issues are hugely significant to the FIA and as more of the ASNs take this proactive approach to tackle them, it creates a global framework of awareness and action that will exact real progress across all motor sports disciplines from grassroots to world championship level.”

CAMS joins a number of FIA Member Clubs to be officially certified, also with several of other stakeholders currently under audit. Together with various motor sport events around the world, this growing number of active stakeholders working to achieve the goals of the FIA Action for Environment shows important progress towards sustainability.