Claire Magnant : « Le Team Peugeot TotalEnergies se doit d’être novateur et pionnier dans la réduction de ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre ! »

A l’issue de la saison du Championnat du Monde d’Endurance de la FIA (FIA WEC), le Team Peugeot TotalEnergies a remporté le « low-carbon impact award ». Ce prix permet de mettre en avant les initiatives des équipes dans un objectif de réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, pour un sport plus durable.

Claire Magnant, Stellantis Motorsport Program Manager, qui est en charge notamment de la politique environnementale de Stellantis Motorsport, revient pour nous sur ce prix, ainsi que sur les ambitions de réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre du Team Peugeot TotalEnergies et de Stellantis Motorsport.

Can you tell us more about this Low-Carbon Impact Award, and why it is important in the WEC paddock?

“It’s an initiative launched by the ACO and the FIA WEC in 2021 to point out the innovative side of motorsport. Several actions were put in place by the ACO and the FIA WEC, including the use of a 100% renewable fuel, in partnership with TotalEnergies, that allowed the competitors and the championship to reduce their emissions by 65%. The championship is also promoting new technologies for tomorrow’s mobility, with for example the hybrid technology used in the Hypercar class, the main class of the FIA WEC and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This shows that we are not only doing this sport to race cars but also to promote new and more sustainable technologies; we are working to develop innovations that can help limit our impact on the environment.”

Why this award is so important for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies?

“Since last year, with Capgemini, our partner, we have launched the project to measure, reduce and optimise our greenhouse gas emissions. This is also one of the main challenges of the Stellantis Group, with its “Dare forward” plan, that has clear ambitions to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions with a goal of carbon neutrality by 2038. Motorsport is used to showcase the Group so we, within Stellantis Motorsport and Team Peugeot TotalEnergies, have to be innovative and a leader in this field. This is why, with Capgemini, we have launched an important project to analyse our greenhouse gas emissions, then study and point out pillars of actions for a significant reduction. In our method of calculation, we decided purposely to have a wide scope of all our emissions including the impact of the fans going to the races, to be as accurate as possible. Then we have identified more than thirty pillars of actions in four areas: cars and part production, logistics, drivers and team and employee engagement.”

What actions did you implement within Team Peugeot TotalEnergies or at the factory in Satory, to start lowering your greenhouse gas emissions?

“First of all, we are not alone in this project. We are working closely with experts and partners, TotalEnergies and Capgemini.

Concerning some actions within the team, for example, the engineers are now trained to integrate eco-design principles in their domain of expertise, by optimising the use of environmentally friendly materials and the buyers include environmental criteria in all the tenders. In terms of logistics, the team is working in partnership with the championship promotors to have a greener approach. Encouraging the use of maritime transport, reduce the weight of parts and cars transported and optimize and reduce the team logistics for test or race weekends are part of the actions that are implemented since 2022. To have all the employees committed to this important project, workshops were organised at the Satory factory to discuss the causes and consequences of climate change thanks to the Climate Fresk.

We are also working to have the FIA Three-Start Accreditation by the end of the year.

It’s a long term project and in order to achieve our goal of a more sustainable sport, we have to work in collaboration with the championships’ promotors in order to encourage them to put environmental articles in the sporting regulations thanks to real actions such as: narrow down the number of operational staff onsite in one team, put in place some remote support for the engineers…a lot of actions that are already done in Formula E for example.”

What goals and actions will be implemented in 2024 to go even further for a more sustainable sport?

“The pillars that we have identified to lower our greenhouse gas emissions are on a mid- to long-term basis. We are building a strong base for our project to climb to the top of the pyramid to reach our goals, making sure that our sport becomes more sustainable. We have identified axes and implemented a plan that we now have to carry out. It’s a long-term project, something that we are not really used to in motorsport.

“Thanks to the renewable fuel, we already reduced our emissions, which was a project with a significant impact. We are also working with DHL on the logistics, for example a part of the maritime freight is already using a Sustainable Marine Fuel (SMF). We are working with partners that are committed to the same sustainable goal as us.

“All human actions lead to greenhouse gas emissions. This is the case with sporting events and their logistics and the fans that come to enjoy them. Considering the strong awareness about sustainability in the transport sector, Motorsport must be innovative. The emissions generated by race cars are only a small part of the emissions of the whole event and on the other hand they are important to develop the technology for a carbon-free mobility.

“On our side, we will keep working to develop action plan to reduce our emissions and we will keep looking for new opportunities. For example, we are studying with TotalEnergies a solution to use trucks that can run on HVO ((Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil), a 100% renewable fuel made of food waste. At the factory in Satory, we are implementing real actions such as improving our recycling system and the reduction of our waste. We are also working closely with our suppliers to be sure that they are as committed as possible to our approach.

“Finally, we also wish the championship sporting regulations to include more articles with a clear sustainable approach to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. Of course, it will generate substantial costs but if it’s in the regulation for everyone, it’s a small step to make our sport more sustainable.

“All the Stellantis Motorsport and Team Peugeot TotalEnergies teams are involved in this project, from R&D, purchase department, HR to logistics and of course all our racing teams. This is a major issue, and we are all committed to it.”