29 November 2024, London – Extreme E, the groundbreaking electric off-road racing series, proudly announces its triumph at this year’s Sports Business Awards, highlighting its leadership in sustainability, equality and diversity.
Extreme E took home the Gold Award for Sustainability in Sport, as well as the Silver Award for Sports Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.
Ali Russell, Managing Director of Extreme E, said: “Winning these awards underscores Extreme E’s commitment to driving sustainability and equality, not just in motorsport but across global industries. It’s fantastic to receive this industry recognition.”
Launched in 2017 the Sports Business Awards celebrate the very best in the sports business. The Awards recognise and reward achievement by the teams behind the scenes that facilitate sporting excellence and endeavours, championing resilience, adaptability and resourcefulness.
Built on five pillars – energy, environment, equality, entertainment, and e-mobility, Extreme E is a trailblazer in demonstrating how motor racing, a traditionally carbon-intensive sport, can drive positive change. The championship not only raises awareness about the impact of climate change on global locations, which have included Greenland, Chile’s Atacama Desert, and Senegal, and their communities, but also pioneers and promotes sustainable solutions to mitigate environmental challenges around the world.
Continuing to race the series’ ODYSSEY 21 off-road electric vehicles and leveraging solar and green hydrogen energy, its Season 3 Sustainability Report, published in association with EY, revealed that the racing series maintained its carbon-neutral status and reduced its overall carbon footprint by 8.2 per cent.
This achievement was supported by Extreme E’s motorsport industry-leading race site infrastructure, including the use of green hydrogen in remote locations produced by ENOWA’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell System, while the series also employed innovative waste management procedures, engaged regional suppliers, and sourced food and drink locally for each race event, among many other reduction methods.
Each Extreme E team features a male and female driver who race on the same course in the same race, providing a level playing field for competitors, a world-first in motorsport.
Track data, verified by EY, revealed that the Season 3 female to male performance gap has closed by 51 per cent since Season 1, proving that the rate of progression for female drivers is advanced by gaining equal access to track time and performance development.
Extreme E has also supported opportunities for a new generation of young mechanical and engineering talent, through the creation of the Racing for All programme, informed by the findings of The Hamilton Commission. With Extreme E team numbers limited to just five mechanics or engineers, Racing for All initiative provides an additional position for a sixth member to join each team to gain hands-on experience. Within two years since the initiative launched in 2022, more than half of the Extreme E grid supports a candidate within their team.
In 2025, Extreme E, will evolve to become Extreme H, the world’s first hydrogen racing series. Building on the success of Extreme E, Extreme H will demonstrate the capabilities of hydrogen and seek to accelerate the integration of this exciting clean energy in sports, mobility and beyond.
About Extreme E:
Extreme E is a radical off-road racing series, founded by the same team behind Formula E, which showcases electric SUVs and futuristic technologies in some of the world’s most remote and challenging environments.
This five-event global voyage utilises its sporting platform for the purpose of promoting electrification, environment and equality. The series’ goal is to highlight the impact of climate change in some of the world’s most endangered environments, promote the adoption of electric vehicles to pave the way for a lower carbon future, and provide a world-first gender-equal motorsport platform.
The first sport to ever be built out of a social purpose, Extreme E aims to minimise environmental impact while maximising awareness, racing in places that have already been damaged or affected by climate change or human interference and taking fans deep into the heart of the most pressing issues facing our planet’s future.
Not only that, but Extreme E is also helping the car industry to develop future-facing technology using racing as a platform for road innovation, which accelerates change ten-fold.
In 2025, Extreme E will transition into Extreme H – the world’s first hydrogen off-road racing series – and will be recognised as an FIA Championship from 2025, as we continue to be a pioneer in motorsport.
About PIF
PIF is one of the largest and most impactful sovereign wealth funds in the world. Since 2015, when the board was reconstituted and oversight transferred to the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, PIF’s board of directors has been chaired by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister, Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, and Chairman of PIF. PIF plays a leading role in advancing Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation and diversification, as well as contributing to shaping the future of the global economy.
Since 2017, PIF has established 94 companies. PIF is building a diversified portfolio by entering into attractive and long-term investment opportunities in 13 strategic sectors in Saudi Arabia and globally. PIF’s strategy, as set out in the PIF Program 2021-2025 – one of the Vision 2030 realization programs – aims to enable many promising sectors and contribute to increasing local content by creating partnerships with the private sector, in addition to injecting at least SAR150 billion annually into the local economy. PIF works to transfer technologies and localize knowledge to build a prosperous and sustainable economy domestically. As the investment arm of Saudi Arabia, PIF looks to make unique investments, and is building strategic alliances and partnerships with significant international institutions and organizations, which contribute to achieving real long-term value for Saudi Arabia, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030. PIF has also created an operational governance model that reflects its main tasks and objectives, in line with best international practices. Applying this model of governance enhances the level of transparency and effectiveness in decision-making and future progress.
More information about PIF can be found at: www.pif.gov.sa
Media Contact: media@pif.gov.sa
About Continental Tires: Founding Partner and Official Tyre Partner
Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent, and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation.
The tyres business area has 24 production and development locations worldwide. Continental is one of the leading tyre manufacturers with more than 56,000 employees and offers a broad product range for passenger cars, commercial and special-purpose vehicles as well as two-wheelers. Through continuous investment in research and development, Continental makes a major contribution to safe, cost effective and ecologically efficient mobility. The portfolio of the tyres business area includes services for the tyre trade and fleet applications, as well as digital management systems for tyres.
About LuisaViaRoma: Official Fashion Partner
Defined by the Financial Times as “a haven for directional fashion,”LUISAVIAROMA.COM is the top online luxury fashion destination with 5,000,000 visitors per month and worldwide shipping. With each new season, the website presents the collections of more than 600 established designers and young emerging talents.
About ENOWA: Official Green Hydrogen Partner
ENOWA is a world-class energy and water company founded in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. ENOWA produces and delivers clean and sustainable resources for industrial and commercial applications using a smart and connected system designed to be circular and takes advantage of NEOM’s optimal solar and wind energy profile. ENOWA benefits from NEOM’s greenfield site, which has no legacy infrastructure, to advance Energy, Water and Hydrogen innovation. ENOWA will act as a catalyst and incubator for developing new, sustainable energy and water businesses while creating a robust economic sector regionally. Through its commitment to renewable energy and efficient water management, ENOWA seeks to become a global reference for industry leaders and setting a benchmark for sustainable circular economic systems around the world.
For more information, please visit: enowa.neom.com
About Vodafone Business: Official Technology Communications Partner
With expertise in connectivity, global scale and the leading IoT platform, Vodafone Business is a leading technology communications company helping organisations succeed in a digital world and keeping society connected. Vodafone’s purpose is to connect for a better future, enabling an inclusive and sustainable digital society, and many of its solutions have sustainability and inclusivity embedded.
Vodafone is a leading European and African telecoms company. We provide mobile and fixed services to over 330 million customers in 15 countries (excludes Italy which is held as a discontinued operation under Vodafone Group), partner with mobile networks in 45 more and have one of the world’s largest IoT platforms. In Africa, our financial technology businesses serve almost 79 million customers across seven countries – managing more transactions than any other provider.
This collaboration will see Vodafone Business leading innovations and capabilities such as 5G, MPN, IOT and MEC, integrated into Extreme E’s global operations and will include full involvement in the purpose- driven elements of the series, with special prominence on Extreme E’s Legacy Programmes and the Science Laboratory on board the St Helena. Through its IOT solutions, Vodafone Business is helping sustainability efforts, including agriculture, forestation and decarbonisation of energy grids.
Find out more on http://www.Vodafone.com/business and follow Vodafone on its social media channels:
Twitter: @VodafoneGroup
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone
About EY: Official Sustainability Partner
EY is a global leader in assurance, consulting, strategy, transactions and tax services, and already plays a significant role in working with Extreme E. Originally announcing its collaboration with the championship back in 2020, EY came on board to help Extreme E achieve its commitment to minimising its overall footprint whilst creating a positive legacy.
Whilst Extreme E strives ‘to race without a trace’, the framework provided by EY has helped the series to minimize its environmental impact across each of its remote race locations. Both prior and post-racing impact assessments have supported Extreme E to strategically plan their actions within these areas.
EY and Extreme E will work closely together to promote the five pillars of Extreme E (or “Five Es”) through the adoption of ‘XE Talks’. These informative presentations, facilitated by Extreme E’s Scientific Committee, will shed light on the Five Es, showcasing the joint commitment of EY and Extreme E.
About Symbio: Official Hydrogen Fuel Cell Provider
Symbio is a leading technology and industrial partner for sustainable mobility pioneers. A front-runner in zero-emission hydrogen mobility, Symbio combines industrial leadership, breakthrough innovation, and entrepreneurial agility to create tailor-made solutions and support its clients in the deployment of their clean mobility roadmaps. Symbio designs and manufactures a wide range of StackPacks (pre-integrated and pre-validated fuel cell systems) that meet all power, durability, and autonomy needs of on-road and off-road hydrogen mobility.
In 2023, Symbio inaugurated SymphonHy, the largest integrated fuel cells Gigafactory in Europe, with a capacity of 50,000 fuel cell systems per year. The Group ambitions to manufacture 200,000 StackPacks annually by 2030 to accelerate the deployment of clean mobility that is respectful of both the environment and health.
An equally-owned joint venture between Forvia, Michelin, and Stellantis, Symbio combines 30 years’ experience, and has a track record of more than 8 million kilometers driven by its solutions. To learn more, visit www.symbio.one.
About Kaizen Clean Energy: Official Clean Energy Technology Provider
Kaizen Clean Energy (KCE), a manufacturer of hydrogen generators, is developing integrated solutions for electric vehicle (EV) charging, hydrogen fuelling, and distributed power for the grid and critical assets.
KCE offers its mobile microgrid to customers through an Energy as a Service contract, which eliminates large capital expenses and provides customers with the flexibility to scale with energy needs over time.
Kaizen Clean Energy will support ENOWA – NEOM’s energy, water, and hydrogen subsidiary and Green Hydrogen Power Partner to Extreme E – in delivering a pioneering hydrogen microgrid solution to the championship.
Find out more on: www.kaizencleanenergy.com.
About ALLCOT: Official Environmental Contribution Partner
Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, ALLCOT works together with communities, organizations, and governments worldwide in climate actions, to accelerate the transition to Net Zero. ALLCOT develops Climate action through projects and solutions with triple impact: environmental, social, and economic; using four strategies:
Sustainability strategies: Innovative, comprehensive, and tailored solutions for businesses to reduce and compensate greenhouse gas emissions and measures the socio-economic co-benefits through the SDGs.
Project development and implementation: Implementation of carbon projects in developing countries, rooted in community engagement, environmental stewardship, and economic viability, driven by integrity, equity, and transparency.
Capacity building: Providing individuals and communities with practical skills and knowledge, possible to apply in their daily lives.
Advocacy: Creating systemic change to work closely with policymakers and stakeholders to promote sustainable policies and practices at the local, national, and international levels.
Find out more on: www.allcot.com
About Jackson Swiss Partners: Official Foreign Exchange Supplier
Jackson Swiss Partners, known for its lean, debt-free, and profitable business model, prioritises client protection and financial prudence above all else. With a steadfast commitment to avoiding speculative ventures and minimising risk exposure, Jackson Swiss Partners sets itself apart by offering bespoke FX hedging solutions akin to insurance policies rather than traditional trading strategies.
