F1: Teams told they must work to improve governance and transparency

Formula One teams must do more to improve their governance and transparency if they are to embrace a sustainable future, according to new research.

The report by the Standard Ethics group has concluded that F1 teams need to make clear their position and goals on environmental, social and governance issues, with only three of the 10 on the grid currently having a publicly stated code of ethics.

“There is work to do for the governance side, this is the most important,” said Jacopo Schettini, the director of research at Standard Ethics. “It is very, very important to see a long-term commitment to sustainability. A long-term commitment comes from crucial important documents like a code of ethics or a sustainability plan or policies on specific issues.

“There were three teams with a code of ethics – McLaren, Aston Martin and Ferrari. They were talking about all major sustainability issues but I would like to see more from the other teams.”

“We analyzed by what they publish,” he said. “It’s very important, the first part of sustainability is to be transparent, to inform people what you are doing about that. You should publish everything.”

“Sustainability is not just environmental topics, but also gender inequality or risk management, or health and safety. It’s a lot of issues,” Schettini said. “Having an ESG reporting system we can see what they are doing, they have to improve governance and reporting.”

“Sustainability needs transparency,” he said. “Transparency and a long-term vision, give us a long-term vision. What you are thinking about sustainability and keep us updated on your goals. If you fail to meet a target we understand, you can postpone a target but it’s very important that you have a target and a roadmap.”