McLaren Racing Has A New Plan To Tackle Climate Change

Innovation and speed are key factors in winning a Formula 1 (F1) race. McLaren Racing has been home to both since its creation in 1963. The racing organization has won twenty F1 championships, 183 grand prix and three Indy 500s. It also conquered the 24-hour race at Le Mans on its first attempt. Now McLaren is partnering its speed and innovation with those of carbon removal company UNDO – as well as The Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Mombak – as part of its new Climate Contribution Programme (CCP), which aims to “accelerate the removal of excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and scale climate solutions.”

The CCP was announced on the last day of November, coinciding with the first day of the United Nations 28th Conference of the Parties (COP 28) in Dubai. COP 28 has been the focus of intense criticism due to its location and chair; the United Arab Emirates and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. McLaren’s announcement of a new climate program brings a sliver of hope to a frustrated public, and once again shows that (motor)sports can help lead the way in the fight to reduce emissions and preserve a livable planet.

The Climate Contribution Programme

A study done by consulting firm Accenture
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shows that 37% of global companies have plans in place to reach net zero by 2050, but only 18% are on track to comply with their own plans by that time. In an effort to be part of, or even outpace the 18%, McLaren is attacking the issue from both ends. The company is decarbonizing its operations as fast as possible, but knows it must “do something about the existing carbon in the earth’s atmosphere, damaged ecosystems and biodiversity loss.” Enter the Climate Contribution Programme.

The new climate program forms part of McLaren’s wider sustainability strategy which CEO Zak Brown says is “an absolute business priority for McLaren.” The racing company has been at the forefront of sports and sustainability since 2021 when it published its four-pillar sustainability manifesto. Following that, McLaren became a signatory of the UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework, the UN Race to Zero Targets and aligned itself with the Science Based Targets Initiative all with the aim of reaching Net Zero by 2040 and introducing a circular approach to supply chains and operations.

According to Brown, in 2022 alone McLaren reduced emissions by 22% and cut waste by 19%. But the racing company knows it is not enough. In an effort to rejuvenate degraded ecosystems and capture carbon naturally, McLaren is partnering with The Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Mombak. The former restores and enhances coral reefs and other ocean habitats. The latter helps rebuild the Amazon rainforest by reforesting degraded pasture land. Both projects are vital, as they aim to restore two of the Earth’s most biodiverse, carbon sink ecosystems, which have been destroyed by humans and adversely affected by a changing climate. Research shows that since 2016 nearly half of the Great Barrier Reef has died from climate-triggered coral bleaching. Moreover, over the past 50 years nearly 300,00 miles of Brazilian Amazon rainforest have been lost.

The third organization that McLaren is partnering with is UNDO, a carbon removal company that uses enhanced rock weathering (ERW) to remove existing CO2 from the atmosphere. The nature-based solution is a sped up version of the naturally occurring geological process in which rain combines with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere forming an acid which showers down onto the earth. As the rock breaks down over time, it releases magnesium, calcium and other minerals into the ground and traps carbon in the soil, streams and eventually oceans. The process is quite efficient at trapping CO2, but can take hundreds or thousands of years.

UNDO CEO Jim Mann says that his company has “dramatically accelerated the reaction,” making it a viable and scalable carbon removal solution. As part of its partnership with McLaren, UNDO will spread 24,000 tonnes of crushed up basalt rock – one of the most abundant volcanic rocks on the planet – across 1200 hectares (2,965 acres) of British farmland and should remove 6,165 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Not only will the process remove carbon, it will also add extra minerals to soil, naturally fertilizing it and improving crop yields. Jim notes that the technology is scalable because it ties into existing industries, infrastructure and waste products. Most notably, it is much cheaper than direct air capture – Jim says as credits can be as cheap as $200/ tonne currently – and is a nature-based solution that does not require massive infrastructure investments or construction.

UNDO will become McLaren’s first ERW partner, although it already collaborates with other major corporations like Microsoft
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. When asked why UNDO is partnering with McLaren and how the company can leverage sports to fight climate change, Jim says that UNDO “ [we] look for companies that are trying to change the status quo,” and that “McLaren are trying to move things in the right direction.” Moreover, he notes that sports “are clearly very highly followed, have a strong voice and have a disproportionate impact on change.”

By 2025 UNDO hopes to spread enough rock to permanently remove one million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. It sees a major opportunity in a sports sector that is shifting towards sustainability, and it hopes that this deal with McLaren will inspire other major sports entities to consider ERW as part of their net zero strategies.

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Spurring More Action

According to Formula 1’s own sustainability strategy, the sport is responsible for over 250,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every season, most of which comes from logistics and travel. McLaren’s Climate Contribution Programme is by no means a perfect solution and will only help reduce a small percentage of the sport’s total emissions. Moreover, any form of carbon removal must be partnered with consistent emissions reductions and a cease of fossil fuel production to truly help reverse climate change. Nevertheless, McLaren’s willingness to push for new, scalable climate solutions shows that with investment, leadership and committed action sports can have an outsized influence on how we fight climate. McLaren’s CCP should serve as inspiration to motorsports competitors and other sports that seek to use their influence to ensure a habitable world.