Advocating for a cleaner, safer and more sustainable urban mobility is at the core of the Commission’s agenda. Through the FIA Smart Cities initiative, it contributes to provide high-level advice on future trends and developments and make the Federation a key player in that field. The Commission heard about Season 3 of this initiative that developed further momentum in 2018, with three Fora being held in Mexico City, Hong Kong, and Rome. Discussing the future of transport systems and mobility services in cities, these Fora gathered an unprecedented number of experts, private stakeholders and political authorities.

The Commission supported the provision of access to the Frost and Sullivan ‘Smart City Tracker’ to all Mobility Clubs. The Tracker, which gathers more than 150 exclusive transport-related data points from 100 cities around the world, will allow Clubs to gauge and conduct comparative analysis for smart mobility in cities. The Commission also received an update on the ‘FIA Mobility Advocate’, a platform for urban mobility modelling, prediction, and simulation. Supported by the FIA Innovation Fund, the project will rely on the development of an innovative software allowing to benchmark urban mobility systems, identify current trends and technologies, and ultimately drive smart mobility strategies across cities. These tools will equip FIA Member Clubs with evidence-based findings to advocate for specific mobility measures that meet their members’ needs. 

Another topic for discussion was the FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme for Mobility Clubs. The ongoing pilot projects, involving three selected Clubs operating a variety of activities, aims to test the scope of the programme and its suitability to the services of Mobility Clubs.

On the Sport side, the Commission’s aim to promote environmental sustainability and responsible management across all major FIA Championships has proven to be fruitful, as environmental accreditation continues to expand. Building on the successful deployment across FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) events, the Programme is now being rolled out to all teams of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship with an 18-month implementation timeline as approved by the Commission. This will ensure that the first fully electric FIA Championship can be environmentally assessed in its entirety, the Championship’s Promoter having been FIA-certified since 2016. 

The Commission’s meeting was the occasion to reflect on the recent FIA communication campaign around World Environment Day. The various activations delivered key messages on motor sport’s contribution to environmental preservation, displaying how motor sport technological innovations seen in Formula One and Formula E are driving the development of road-relevant sustainable technologies, and increasing consumer acceptance and awareness. The campaign, through the lens of WRC events, also highlighted the potential for motor sport events to use their popularity to act as change-leaders and promote the values of environmental sustainability and responsible behaviour among spectators.

The meeting also provided the opportunity to put forward the Commission’s commitment to strengthen cooperation with other motorised sport federations and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). For this fourth meeting, the Commission welcomed two external members, Mrs Kristin Kloster Aasen from the IOC and Dr Karl-Friedrich Zieghan from the International Motorcycle Federation (FIM), both of whom will bring further expertise in the areas of environment and sustainability to the work of the Commission.

Speaking about the many things the two organisations have in common, IOC’s Mrs Kloster Aasen acknowledged her willingness to join forces with the FIA “to increase momentum for sustainable operations and events within the sport community and beyond, and never lose sight of the legacy aspects of those events.”

FIM’s Dr Zieghan presented a number of his organisation’s sustainability initiatives, carried out under the 25-year-old ‘Ride Green’ campaign, and recognised that the potential synergies between the two Federations’ sustainability programmes represent a great opportunity for collaboration across motorised sports.

To conclude the meeting, President Calderón recalled the main objectives of the Commission and encouraged its members to continue the positive work while maintaining strong links with FIA Clubs. “As members of the FIA Environment and Sustainability Commission, we have a duty to advocate for environment and sustainability issues, as well as ensure the needs of our Clubs and their members are heard. This often requires conciliating competing issues. Communicating with our members and collaborating with one another is key to overcoming these matters,” he said.