By Cyber Era NG Special Correspondent

Kicking off yet another record-breaking racing calendar in 2022, DHL delivers the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship™ to Bahrain for the season opener on March 20th. The record-breaking 2022 Formula 1® calendar stretches across 6 continents, including numerous double and triple headers and the debut of the Miami Grand Prix. 2022 also marks a new era in Formula 1, with all-new cars designed for closer racing action, along with increased safety and sustainability. The new cars this year will be powered by E10 fuel, a mixture of 90 per cent fossil fuel and 10 per cent ethanol, bringing Formula 1 one step closer to its goal of a 100 per cent sustainably fueled hybrid engine by 2025.

DHL will be powering the enormous logistical effort behind Formula 1 once again this year, transporting up to 1,400 tons of highly valuable freight to every race, including race cars, tires, replacement parts, fuel, broadcasting equipment, and marketing and hospitality equipment. Focused on helping Formula 1 achieve its target of a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030, DHL is fitting its entire fleet of F1-dedicated trucks with a GPS to monitor fuel consumption, select the most efficient routes, and lower CO2 emissions. Other measures include the use of DHL’s fuel-efficient Boeing 777 aircraft, which reduce carbon emissions by 18 per cent compared to traditional aircraft, and leveraging multi-modal transport solutions, including overland and ocean freight.

“We have been managing logistics for Formula 1 for nearly 40 years and with the continued growth in the sport’s popularity – with more race dates and venues being added to the season calendar – logistics remains a huge part of what makes the F1 experience possible,” says Head of Global Brand Marketing at Deutsche Post DHL Group, Arjan Sissing. “Today our focus is on helping Formula 1 reduce its carbon footprint and overall environmental impact. As the industry leader in green logistics, we are uniquely qualified to deliver on this promise, and are truly proud to be supporting F1 as they continue to set new standards in automotive technology and sustainability. They’ve not only created the most efficient hybrid system ever built, but are now intensifying their efforts to develop a 100 per cent sustainable drop-in fuel from renewable bio-waste – a fuel that could be used by cars and trucks around the world.”

Once again in 2022, DHL will leverage its high-visibility partnership with Formula 1 to also promote smaller brands and artists working creatively towards sustainable solutions. On March 9, the eve of Formula 1 Aramco Pre-Season Testing in Bahrain, DHL announced its collaboration with BEEN London, an award-winning brand that makes fashion accessories entirely from recycled materials. Described by British Vogue as one of the most innovative fashion companies in the world, BEEN London is working with DHL to create a limited-edition collection, “DHL x BEEN London. The Circuit Collection” of sustainable merchandise items made from recycled DHL banners, which famously adorn Formula 1 tracks around the world.

“As F1 focuses more and more of its innovative power on sustainable transport technologies, the potential impact on the global sustainability effort is huge. But we also want to call attention to the ‘smaller’ positive impacts being made by fresh thinkers and entrepreneurs such as BEEN London,” says Sissing. “As part of our broader sustainability effort, this collaboration with BEEN London is about championing diversity and the people making a difference in the sustainability sector, and providing a platform for them to showcase their work.”

Every BEEN London piece is made entirely by hand in one of the last remaining East London leather workshops, packaged by Londoners with learning disabilities and on average has a carbon footprint 10 times smaller than a high street equivalent.

BEEN founder Genia Mineeva, who was on hand for the announcement of the partnership at DHL’s Luxury and Fashion forum in Dubai on March 9, spoke about the big message behind her small company: “Every member of our BEEN London team intends to have a real, measurable impact on the fashion industry by proving that waste can become beautiful. We welcome this initiative coming from DHL as a high-visibility opportunity to do just that – to show the world what can be done with recycled waste material, using old trackside branding to create a beautiful, limited-edition collection travel set for a very good cause.”

The travel sets will be sold on the BEEN London website as a limited-edition collection with proceeds going to Plastic Bank, a social enterprise that helps the world stop ocean plastic while improving the lives of collector communities. Plastic Bank builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities and reprocesses the materials for reintroduction into the global manufacturing supply chain. Collectors receive bonuses for the materials they collect, which helps them provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, and health insurance. “Plastic Bank is the perfect beneficiary of our recycling awareness campaign with BEEN London – a great example of social entrepreneurship leveraging the value of waste plastic to help mitigate a growing threat to our oceans,” says Sissing.

On a mission to accelerate sustainable business over the next ten years, Deutsche Post DHL Group’s Sustainability Roadmap includes a €7 billion(US$7.7billion) investment (through 2030) in clean logistics operations with the goal of reducing emissions from 33 million tons in 2020 to under 29 million tons by 2030, despite the expected further growth in the Group’s global logistics activities. To achieve its target, the Group will increase the share of sustainable fuels in line haul to >30 per cent, increase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blend to >30 per cent, offer green alternatives for 100 per cent of all core products & solutions, and design 100 per cent of all new buildings to be carbon neutral. The company also plans to electrify 60 per cent of last-mile delivery vehicles and deploy more than 80,000 e-vehicles on the road by 2030.

As Official Logistics Partner of Formula 1 since 2004 and Formula 1’s longest-standing global partner, DHL staffs a team of 35 motorsports logistics dedicated solely to moving Formula 1 around the world as efficiently as possible. “It’s a true partnership built on speed, precision and – more and more – on sustainability,” says Sissing.