The Softest Tread

SMSP Sustainability

ARDC

VIDEO Under The Hood: Racing Green

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At the ARDC, we’re incredibly proud to be leading the charge for change at Sydney Motorsport Park. SMSP has been Australia’s #1 ranked sustainable circuit for four years running, and the only FIA Environmentally Accredited circuit in Australia.
We’re excited to share a behind the scenes look during our Supercars opening round of ’25, working closely with our incredible partners to ensure when we go racing, we’re ‘Racing Green’.

A big thank you to Closed Loop Environmental Services, Hyundai Australia, GEMA Group and our innovation partners for helping our sustainability journey.

SMSP Circuit achieves Australia’s first FIA sustainability accreditation

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The Australian Racing Drivers’ Club (ARDC is pleased to announce that Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP), which it manages in partnership with the NSW Government, has received Australia’s first and only sustainability accreditation[TN1]  from motorsport’s governing body, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), as part of its Environmental Accreditation Programme.

This remarkable achievement places Sydney Motorsport Park among an elite group of just 19 world-class venues, including Silverstone, Monza, Imola, and Mugello, to have earned this prestigious industry accreditation. Additionally, SMSP has advanced directly to a two-star rating out of a possible three stars, thanks to its impressive progress in the field of sustainability.

In July of this year, SMSP again retained its status of Australia’s #1 most sustainable circuit in the global Sustainable Circuits Index, which it has held since 2021. SMSP remains the only permanent racetrack in Australia to receive a ranking in the internationally recognised index.  [TN2] 

ARDC Sustainability Manager, Tan Nguyen, was pleased for SMSP to continue to lead the way in Australian Motorsport.

“Sustainability in motorsport is so much more than repurposing consumables like tyres, it’s about adapting a mindset towards more environmentally friendly methods and processes,” said Tan.

“Most importantly, however, it’s about instilling a culture of constant improvement.”

ARDC CEO, Glenn Matthews, echoed Tan’s sentiments, and acknowledged that tackling sustainability is a shared responsibility.

“The ARDC partners with a range of leading organisations that share our vision, including Closed Loop and global beverage group, Asahi,” Glenn said.

“SMSP’s international recognition for sustainability is testament to the relentless dedication and hard work of our partners.”

As a major drawcard in the Supercars season race calendar, the night round held at SMSP in July once again saw the multi-faceted entertainment precinct beat its own sustainability performance, diverting 76% of waste generated from landfill – a 10% improvement over the 2023 event.

Supercars COO, Tim Watsford, commended the ARDC for its fierce support of the premiere motorsport category’s own drive for more environmentally friendly practises.

“Like every facet of our sport, sustainability is a team effort and something we aspire to do together,” said Tim.

“The ARDC and its running of Sydney Motorsport Park is the gold standard for sustainable best practise in Australia, and we relish the opportunity to continue to push each other to improve and reach for even better outcomes in the future.”

By the Numbers: Sustainability at SMSP

With several months still to go, 2024 is continuing to shape up as another strong year of sustainable performance for the ARDC and SMSP, with the circuit already achieving the following in the first nine months of the year:

  • Processed 894.7m³ of waste, with 650.5 m³ saved from landfill through recycling, repurposing, and composting.
  • 6700 litres of cooking and motor oil recycled and used for other purposed, such as biodiesel. 
  • Over 60,000 coffee cups recycled and sent for upcycling projects, including building and construction materials.
  • All waste was hand sorted on-site into 9 distinct waste streams: General Waste, Comingled Recycling, Paper & Cardboard, Simply Cups, Container Deposit Scheme, Organics, EPS (Polystyrene Foam), Scrap Metal, and Oil.

Sustainability.SMSP.com.au

 [TN1]Sydney Motorsport Park is the FIRST and ONLY circuit in Australia to receive FIA’s Environmental Accreditation 

 [TN2]Many other Australian circuits are included in the index but none of them received a ranking (e.g., Phillip Island, QR, The Bend)

2024 CLOSED LOOP Q2 WASTE AUDIT

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Sydney Motorsport Park Sustainability, Cleaning & Waste Report 2024

Q2 Interim Report

Initiatives

  • One-off processing of MDF Crates & Sheets, Carbon Fiber Helmets and Foam Padding from the AMIP. 11.19m3 waste saved from landfill by Danielle.
  • Introduction of Mixed Hard Plastics Recycling – for large plastics such as Water Filled Barriers, Car Bumpers and Oil Drums. 17.7m3 waste has been saved from landfill so far this year.
  • Continued investment in increased dedicated sorting hours by Closed Loop staff, both to sort bagged waste and process the above, for example removing Hard Plastics from the Maintenance Shed skip. Continued increase in diversion rate.
  • Addition of a CDS bin in some areas and during events. Improving sustainability messaging and researching the effect this has on contamination.
  • Re-negotiation with Sell & Parker regarding CDS pickups. Now receiving 10c instead of 7c per item.

Results to date

 2023   Total waste 1804.0m3 Diverted from landfill 63.2%   Sorting: During spare moments in between cleaning, and during some events  Q1 2024   Total Waste 288.1m3 Diverted from landfill 66.4%   Sorting: 5 – 10 hours per week, and during all major events   Additional waste streams added:   Hard plastics waste, E-waste  Q2 2024   Total Waste 310.9m3 Diverted from landfill 77.8%   Sorting: 24 hours per week, and during all major events   Additional waste streams added:   Go-Pro specific waste  

Q3 objectives

  • Commit to continue Q2 levels of dedicated sorting a trial basis for the remainder of 2024.
  • Expanded Polystyrene Foam recycling to be added.
  • Work on additional stakeholder specific waste issues such as Go Pro (helmets)
  • Deliver the two largest events of the year (Supercars and World Time Attack) while working more closely with the organisers to develop event sustainability plans to track and improve event waste processes and procedures and collect event specific statistics.
  • Continue research into contamination and potential benefits of a three-bin system.

Q4 2024 and beyond

  • Explore dedicated scrap metal receptable in the waste compound for scrap metal found during sorting.
  • Continue to work with ARDC Ops to ensure the processes and procedures of each area deliver the desired outcome without compromising the ability to deliver on a day-to-day basis.
  • Continue searching for additional waste stream opportunities.

The Sustainable Circuits Index™

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#1 in Australia, four years running.

The annual Sustainable Circuits Index™ (SCI) was created in 2021 to allow those involved in motorsport to benchmark each other, to identify best practices and ultimately to monitor the sustainable development of this segment of the industry.

Enovation Consulting Ltd. and Right Hub Srl composed the report introducing the new Sustainable Circuits Index™ (SCI), as part of the Sustainable Motorsport Index™ (SMI) family, which reviews the disclosures made by motorsport circuits in relation to their sustainability commitments and practices.

The SCI offers an important contribution that aims to accelerate the sustainability movement across the motorsport industry; to encourage circuits to disclose more about their sustainability strategies and practices, and encourage all stakeholders to engage in the process of defining best practices and setting relevant standards when it comes to sustainability in Motorsport.

The SCI ranked 96 Circuits worldwide​ in its first year, offering an outline rating between zero and four based on each permanent circuit’s performance. A score of four indicates a high score, while a zero is the lowest.

Sydney Motorsport Park ranked in the top 36; the only Australian Circuit to do so.

In 2023, SMSP received an ‘Honourable Mention for going ‘above and beyond to radically improve their year-on-year sustainability performance.” See below for the full excerpt.

SMSP also ranked 23rd in the world, first in Australia (again), and more than doubled our absolute SCI score.

READ THE PAPERS:

Racing towards a sustainable future: a review of the global sustainability performance of motorsport championships

Reference: sustainablemotorsportindex.com

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Green and Gold!

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Sydney Motorsport Park has claimed the top spot in Australia in the global Sustainable Circuits Index… for the fourth year in a row!

It’s been an Olympic effort from all of our partners to stay on the top spot on the podium, with tougher standards and the inclusion of temporary as well as permanent circuits being assessed this year for their sustainability progress against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and a range of sustainability-focussed criteria.

We are proud to be driving sustainable practices in Motorsport for our circuit, the country, and in the world. Thank you to every single person who helps us in this vital race.

The softest tread.