The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motorsport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, has announced a new partnership with logistics company DHL, with sustainability at the heart of the collaboration’s ambitions.
This agreement between the two organisations marked the launch of the FIA’s Global Partnership Programme, which sets out to ‘collaborate with leading organisations across the world who share the FIA’s vision for driving innovation, sustainability and safety across both motorsport and mobility’.
DHL has been the Official Logistics Partner of Formula 1 since 2004, and a multi-year extension to this partnership was announced in 2024. But this latest announcement extends DHL’s work in motorsport logistics beyond Formula 1.
In its new role as a partner of the FIA, DHL will manage the transport, installation and maintenance of key FIA infrastructure across the FIA’s Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships.
This includes FIA trackside infrastructure such as mobile office units and garages as well as race-critical equipment.
FIA chief commercial officer Craig Edmondson said: “This partnership with DHL is a great opportunity to collaborate not only on the vital behind-the-scenes work that goes on at any track event, but also to drive sustainable practices across our industry.
“Pushing for greater sustainability across both motorsport and mobility is a priority for the FIA, and we are constantly seeking to embed this ethos into our ways of working, including our relationships with commercial partners.”
READ MORE: Sustainable Supply Chain Conference 2025: highlights from the day
Both the FIA and DHL have committed to enhance operational efficiency across FIA events, while also reducing emissions over the racing season. DHL will support the FIA in its calendar rationalisation efforts, which would see the delivery of a season that follows a geographical flow of races.
In doing this, the distances travelled between races would be reduced across the season it is hoped this would also unlock opportunities for the use of lower-carbon freight solutions.
For example, by moving the Canadian Grand Prix to later in the year, this new rationalised calendar would see the first consolidated European season.
DHL is set to deploy seven trucks for European logistics, each powered by hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). Using this biofuel can cut emissions by up to 83% compared to conventional fuels.
Paul Fowler, head of global motorsports logistics at DHL, said: “The FIA is a longstanding pillar of the motorsport community, so taking on the role as its Global Logistics Partner is a great honour to us.
“Our connection extends beyond the track. We share essential values such as safety, quality, speed and precision, and we are both deeply committed to sustainability.
“Together, we champion alternative power sources and groundbreaking drive technologies that help reduce emissions along with regionalisation of racing calendars.”
The partnership was announced at a press conference during the British Grand Prix at the world-renowned Silverstone Circuit, which Logistics Manager attended.
As well as the announcement itself, the event served as a platform for discussion on the role of sport in reducing humanity’s impact on the environment. Chaired by Sky Sports presenter and sustainability lead at Sky Sports News David Garrido, it brought together leaders in sustainability and motorsport to explore this in more detail.
A keynote presentation from Dr Walker J Ross, lecturer in Sport Management at the University of Edinburgh and director of the Sport Ecology Group, examined exactly this, as well as how different sports are adapting to climate change – whether that be extreme heat or tornadoes.
“Our climate is changing and sport absolutely must adapt to these changes,” Dr Ross said.
“Sport by itself is not going to solve the climate crisis,” he admitted, but noted: “Sport has an incredible platform for advocacy.”
This was followed by the first of three panel discussions, this one focusing on the groundbreaking technologies reshaping motorsport in terms of sustainability.
The panel comprised of: Alice Ashpitel, head of sustainability at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team; Mario Isola, director at Pirelli Motorsport; Laurent Mekies, team principal at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls; Nikolas Tombazis, director of the Single Seater Department at the FIA.
It was refreshing to hear enthusiasm for sustainability initiatives, not just from heads of sustainability, but also from senior figures at the FIA, its partners and the teams themselves. It is clear that, in sport and supply chains alike, collaboration will be key if sustainability goals are to be met. A concerted effort between suppliers, teams and regulators will be required.
Mekies shared one novel initiative that Visa Cash App Racing Bulls has adopted, taking waste from a local winery to produce biofuel, saving money while adopting circular economy principles.
He added: “There isn’t a single investment […] or partnership we sign that doesn’t have sustainability as a part of it.”
After the second panel delved into the FIA-DHL partnership in more detail, the third and final session of the day took a broader look at sport in general, with Filippo Veglio, head of social and environmental sustainability at UEFA, and Gemma Wiggs, head of tournament, team and rugby services at World Rugby amongst the panellists.
Key takeaways from the event included the necessity for action to prevent irreversible climate change, the need for collaboration to achieve this, and the two-way relationship between sports and the environment that must be protected to ensure the prosperity of both.
The FIA has set a target of reducing the carbon emissions caused by its operations by 50% by 2030, compared with a 2019 baseline. Meanwhile, DHL is aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
For a closer look at motorsport logistics, why not have a read of this feature from the January issue of Logistics Manager, which includes a case study offering a behind-the-scenes look at the logistical operations behind the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
