At the London finale of their eleventh season, Formula E drive home their guiding principles: community engagement and climate consciousness.
At Excel London, in East London, across a weekend of tightly-fought group qualifiers, head-to-heads and final races, the 2025 London E-Prix brought motorsports fans together to celebrate the end of another impactful season. Powered by 100% renewable electricity, the technology at the core of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is a mere starting point for a company dedicated to pushing the boundaries of global social impact.
New Zealand’s Nick Cassidy took the podium top spot for Jaguar in the male-dominated race, with no female drivers competing at the event. Mission managed to speak with a senior member of the Formula E team on sustainability issues within and around the Formula E racing.
“We embed sustainability measures in every single aspect of our events,” says Julia Pallé, Vice President, Sustainability at Formula E. Not only are the cars powered by renewable energy, Pallé explains, but Formula E are also swapping single-use plastic for reusable alternatives where possible. In their fan village, they have installed free-to-use hydration stations with reusable cups, made from recycled and recyclable materials, while all food packaging is created with a fully compostable and biodegradable algae lining.
“We see that the fans are very interested in the sustainability narrative. It’s one of the reasons that they come to the series.”
Julia Pallé, Vice President, Sustainability at Formula E
As of July 2025, Formula E became the first sport to become Net Zero Pathway certified in line with the British Standards Institute’s revised guidelines. “We see that the fans are very interested in the sustainability narrative. It’s one of the reasons that they come to the series,” says Pallé. “However, there is also the other part of sustainability that sometimes goes unconsidered, which is the social impact.”
From the FIA Girls on Track initiative to the Better Futures Fund, Formula E has been designed to enact purposeful change within communities across the globe. Their Driving Force education programe has reached over 50,000 young people through live and digital learning. The STEM and sustainability learning modules are free to access and have been created with educators in mind, providing young people with the tools and knowledge to become agents of change.
“It’s really important to support the young generation in navigating the fear they have around climate change in particular. There’s a lot of narrative around eco anxiety, and we feel strongly about showcasing the solutions. People can live a sustainable lifestyle that is cool, fun and exciting, without feeling that it’s a compromise,” Pallé says.
While motorsports remains one of the only sports where men and women can compete as equals, only 1.5% of licensees worldwide are women. To address the disparity, three-time W-series champion Jamie Chadwick has partnered with Daytona to launch The Jamie Chadwick Series, an all-female karting championship geared at getting more young women involved in racing.
“Our sport is generally seen as male-dominated. When I started, I think there were maybe one or two other female drivers. That was it,” says Chadwick. The up-and-comer saw a need for greater female representation across the board: female racers, engineers, mechanics, representatives.
“I wanted to create a community and an environment where young girls would feel comfortable trying the sport, where they could bring their friends, and even make friends.” The year-long initiative is delivered through group mentorship sessions, where participants hone their skills and passion with Chadwick’s guidance. “It’s been incredible; the uptake has been way bigger than I would have expected. We’ve seen a lot of young girls come through the karting series and go into mixed competition and have success as well”.
“I wanted to create a community and an environment where young girls would feel comfortable trying the sport, where they could bring their friends, and even make friends.”
Since its inception, Formula E has committed to working alongside grassroots communities and charities on a local and global scale. To date, they have partnered with initiatives such as the Change Please Foundation, a London-based social enterprise which provides support and advice to people experiencing homelessness, as well as Sheltersuit, who will transform race gear into more than 300 insulated suits for individuals sleeping rough.
In each city of the E-Prix, Formula E facilitates an Inspiration Hour community tour, providing underrepresented communities with behind-the-scenes access to races, including pit walks and hands-on workshops. “Within every new race market, we customize our approach to the local culture, needs and expectations,” says Pallé. “There’s no way you can have a successful presence within the market if there’s no community buy-in. It’s very important for us to leave a long-lasting, positive impact within the communities we visit.”
As Formula E embarks on its second decade of operation, it looks to further increase its community presence and positive climate impact. “We have a very clear ambition, which is by 2050, we need to have reduced our CO2 emissions by 90%. It’s going to be a huge effort. It is also going to be a huge opportunity for us to showcase our leadership, our ability to use innovative ideas for the projects and solutions which will help us get there,” explains Pallé.
“I find this exciting because it’s going to be something that will require us to think outside the box,” she adds. “That’s probably one of the privileges of our ecosystem, in that we’ve always been disruptors, but in the positive sense, and once more, we will have to be disruptors.”
Homepage image by Simon Galloway/LAT Images for Formula E, top inside image photo by Joe Portlock/LAT Images.
