East Riding Stages Rally shows what volunteer-led clubs can achieve

The East Riding Stages Rally is a leading example of how a major volunteer-led motorsport event can combine ambitious sporting delivery with credible, measurable climate action.

Delivered by Beverley and District Motor Club in partnership with communities, residents and landowners, the rally combined top-level competition with professional organisation, local collaboration and a clear commitment to responsible event delivery.

For Carbon Positive Motorsport, the East Riding Stages Rally is an important long-term partnership. The rally was the first in the UK to introduce competitor fuel carbon offsetting, and since 2022, competition fuel has been measured and mitigated as part of Beverley and District Motor Club’s structured sustainability framework.

For other volunteer-led clubs, the East Riding Stages Rally shows that environmental responsibility can be built into an event in a practical and proportionate way. It does not need to become a separate burden. With the right support, it can sit naturally alongside route planning, safety, community engagement, competitor communication and the wider work that goes into delivering a successful rally.

The event

The East Riding Stages Rally has grown into one of the most significant closed road rallies in the UK, bringing rally cars into the heart of Beverley before taking competitors onto closed road stages through the East Riding countryside.

The 2026 event introduced a new ceremonial start and Saturday night stages, creating a stronger public-facing opening to the rally and giving spectators another opportunity to experience the atmosphere of closed road rallying. On Sunday, the competition continued across the East Riding countryside, with crews tackling further closed road stages as the event built on the success of previous years.

The rally was organised by Beverley and District Motor Club, a volunteer-led club with a strong focus on professional delivery, community relationships and responsible event management. Working with local authorities, residents, landowners, businesses, officials and marshals, the club delivered an event that brought major motorsport to the region while recognising the responsibility that came with that scale.

The sustainability challenge

Running a closed road rally involves far more than the competition itself. Competitor fuel, route logistics, service areas, official vehicles, volunteer activity, spectator movement, waste, pollution prevention and community engagement all need to be considered as part of responsible event delivery.

For volunteer-led clubs, the challenge is to make sustainability workable. Most clubs do not have full-time staff or dedicated environmental teams. They need guidance that respects the way events are actually organised and helps them make progress without adding unnecessary complexity.

Beverley and District Motor Club had already recognised the importance of that approach. The East Riding Stages Rally needed a structured framework that could support practical decision-making, demonstrate accountability and help the club take measurable action in a way that fitted how the rally is delivered.

By working with Carbon Positive Motorsport, Beverley and District Motor Club was able to turn that commitment into a clear plan of action, beginning with one of the most direct and relevant sources of rally emissions: competitor fuel.

The Carbon Positive Motorsport solution

Carbon Positive Motorsport supported Beverley and District Motor Club and the East Riding Stages Rally with a practical approach built around the realities of club motorsport.

This included the development and delivery of Beverley and District Motor Club’s Sustainability Policy, covering emissions reduction, waste management, pollution prevention and responsible engagement. The policy gave the club a clear framework for responsible event delivery, helping sustainability become part of the operating structure for the East Riding Stages Rally.

The Sustainability Policy is reviewed annually and overseen by Cat Lund from Carbon Positive Motorsport, acting as the club's Sustainability Champion. This offers the club ongoing support, accountability and continuity, while helping the organising team make progress in a way that is realistic for a volunteer-led event.

Carbon Positive Motorsport’s guidance has enabled Beverley and District Motor Club to achieve Motorsport UK Sustainability Accreditation, demonstrating that the club’s approach met recognised standards and was backed by a clear framework for ongoing improvement.

Within that wider sustainability framework, Carbon Positive Motorsport helped the rally address one of its most direct and measurable impacts: competitor fuel.

For 2026, the club used certified carbon credits aligned with the Colombia Afforestation Project, alongside an equivalent volume of Pending Issuance Units through the Abergavenny Sequoia Project. Together, these strengthened the rally’s approach and showed how a club event can combine immediate responsibility for its carbon impact with longer-term support for UK woodland creation and biodiversity recovery.

The impact

The East Riding Stages Rally has made carbon mitigation part of the way the event is delivered since inception. By measuring and mitigating competitor fuel emissions, the rally has created a practical benchmark for other events.

The partnership also helped the rally tell a stronger story to its stakeholders. Sponsors, residents, local authorities, landowners, competitors and spectators could see that sustainability was being treated as part of the event’s operating structure.

For Beverley and District Motor Club, working with Carbon Positive Motorsport helped turn environmental responsibility into a manageable process. The club had a published policy, an appointed Sustainability Champion, Motorsport UK Sustainability Accreditation and a specialist partner able to support measurement, mitigation and practical next steps.

Cat Lund, Director of Carbon Positive Motorsport, said: “Beverley and District Motor Club has shown consistent leadership with the East Riding Stages Rally. Being the first event to introduce competitor fuel offsetting set an important benchmark, and the club continues to demonstrate a long-term commitment to responsible event delivery.”

Matthew Atkinson, Clerk of the Course for the East Riding Stages Rally, added: “As organisers of the UK’s largest closed road rally, we recognise the responsibility that comes with scale. We work with Carbon Positive Motorsport to measure our impact accurately and respond in a way that is clear and proportionate. Protecting the landscapes and communities that host the rally is central to its future.”

A model for volunteer-led motorsport

The East Riding Stages Rally shows that credible climate action is not limited to major championships, manufacturer programmes or professionally staffed events. With the right structure and support, volunteer-led clubs can take practical steps that are measurable, proportionate and meaningful.

Beverley and District Motor Club has built sustainability into the delivery of the rally in a way that reflects how club motorsport actually works. The approach is practical rather than performative, focused on real competition fuel use, clear responsibilities and continuous improvement.

For other clubs, that makes the East Riding Stages Rally an important example. It shows that sustainability does not have to become another overwhelming task for volunteers. With guidance from Carbon Positive Motorsport, it can become part of good event management, helping clubs protect the places where they compete, strengthen relationships with stakeholders and support the future of the sport.

With solutions tailored specifically for motorsport, Carbon Positive Motorsport helps events, clubs, teams and championships measure their impact, reduce where practical and take responsibility for remaining emissions in a way that fits how the sport actually operates.