The Welsh closed road event will use Carbon Positive Motorsport to provide carbon offsetting for this year’s event.
Rali Ceredigion will partner with Carbon Positive Motorsport to provide carbon offsetting for all competitor and organiser event vehicles, as part of a long-term roadmap and commitment to mitigate the event's carbon footprint.
Rali Ceredigion will be the first multi-venue rally in the UK to permit electric rally cars, and will also be the first UK rally to run under the FIA’s new environmental management accreditation.
This year’s event will focus on sustainability, and will introduce a number of ground-breaking initiatives to minimise its environmental impact. These will act as a platform to deliver a longer-term legacy of environmental improvement, by using local partners to help promote the adoption of lower-carbon transport alternatives.
The rally is the third BRC event this year who have chosen to take steps to mitigate their carbon footprint, by using high-quality UK sourced and certified carbon offsetting projects as part of their environmental plans.
Carbon Positive Motorsport are the first company in the world to offer dedicated carbon offsetting services exclusively for motorsport. The company makes it possible for all motorsport events, teams, competitors, and spectators to offset their carbon footprint from fuel usage, and will provide carbon positive levels of offsetting for Rali Ceredigion's organisation vehicles and also for competitor vehicles as part of their entry. The event will benefit from a level of carbon offsetting providing 25% more carbon offsetting in the future than generated through the average fuel use associated with their participation.
By only using the highest possible quality, 100% UK based carbon offsetting projects, which generate future carbon reduction through rewilding, environmental benefits such as restoration of ancient woodlands and the reintroduction of native species of trees and animals to improve biodiversity, result in a greater positive environmental impact than by offsetting alone.
Stringent verification processes assure genuine and greater long-lasting impact than for typical commercial carbon offsetting schemes, which often use low cost and quality overseas projects, or abatement schemes, which generally replace future carbon emissions rather than sequester and capture the existing carbon in the atmosphere.
All carbon offsetting for this year’s event will be registered on the UK Land registry in the name of the event and organising club, which ensures traceability of the total carbon emissions that will be offset.
Nicky Grist Stages winner Osian Pryce is an ambassador for Carbon Positive Motorsport. Picture thanks to Arfon Jones.
Carbon Positive Motorsport was launched last year and has provided offsetting to competitors at all levels of the sport, including current British Rally champion Matt Edwards, former champion David Bogie, and current BRC championship front runners Garry Pearson, and Osian Pryce, each of whom have become brand ambassadors and are supporting the adoption of carbon offsetting within rallying, as part of the solution to reduce the sport's environmental impact.
Current triple British Rally Champion Matt Edwards has been a long-standing campaigner for the need for rallying to improve its environmental perception and has been heavily involved with Carbon Positive Motorsport as its leading brand ambassador since its launch last year.
Since launch, the Carbon Positive Motorsport initiative has generated plenty of interest, as competitors and events across all motorsport disciplines have started to recognise and act on the environmental needs of the sport, to ensure that motorsport and the environment are sustainable for future generations to enjoy.
The Rali Ceredigion initiative forms the first step of a partnership that will help create an environmental road map for the event to progressively reduce and further offset their carbon footprint. Carbon Positive Motorsport are working with their offsetting partner, Highland Carbon, to investigate and develop local Welsh carbon offsetting projects for future use.
Additionally, the company is donating 10% of their sales profits to support motorsport organisations in the Ukraine providing humanitarian aid to people who have been devastated by the current war - through a collaboration with championship winning Ukrainian co-driver Juliya Yefymova.
Rising Welsh talent Matthew Jackson plans to compete on this year’s event in his Carbon Positive Motorsport/MJ Rallying Fiesta with co-driver Sasha Heriot. Picture thanks to Arfon Jones.
Chairman of the Rali Ceredigion organising committee, Phil Pugh, commented: “A focus on sustainability will run throughout all aspects of the event, from a range of innovative initiatives that significantly reduce the environmental impact, to working with local partners, using the event as a platform to promote sustainable motoring whilst showcasing options to help decarbonise transport."
Ceredigion County Councillor Clive Davies, Cabinet Member for the Economy and Regeneration said: “We’re proud to be part of Rali Ceredigion this year. The organisers are fully committed in introducing new measures to reduce environmental impacts of the event and we would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness of the need to all work together to reduce the impact we have on the environment.
"This will be the first event in the UK to achieve a new environmental management accreditation issued by the FIA – the world motorsport’s governing body. Rali Ceredigion will be reducing the impact and emissions of spectator vehicles by providing park and ride and public transport opportunities, promoting car sharing and using repeat competitive stages to limit the need for spectator movement.”
Carbon Positive Motorsport director, Paul Glass added, "We are delighted to support the Get Connected Rali Ceredigion, and proud to be supporting the first UK event to run under FIA’s new environmental management accreditation scheme. We're doing so through a new package for Rally events that uses our unique database of rally car fuel consumption, which has been developed based on actual competition consumption figures to create an average figure that we can apply and offset.
"We have been working with events and competitors to create an end-to-end event carbon offsetting package – which is all about creating the easiest and most affordable way for an event to make the biggest positive carbon offsetting impact, and to help an event to strengthen and sustain motorsport within their local communities.
"We're a purpose led business run by competitors and motorsport professionals who are genuinely passionate about motorsport and the environment. Our sole purpose is to help protect motorsport and the environment, making both sustainable for future generations to enjoy."
To further reduce the event's environmental impact, Carbon Positive Motorsport are also offering all Get Connected Rali Ceredigion competitors and spectators a 20% discount on their standard web shop prices, to encourage all travelling to the event to help bring a greater positive environmental impact.
A special discount code (GCRC22S) has been created to use on our website, which will be available for all competitors and spectators to use to carbon offset their event related travel.
It only costs a little to make a big difference for the sport, so whether you're a competitor or spectator, why not join with us to help make motorsport sustainable. To become Carbon Positive yourself, visit carbonpositivemotorsport.com #CarbonPositiveMotorsport #CarbonPositive #PositiveAboutMotorsport
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