The World Environment Day it’s being celebrated today and the Circuit, with a clear will to move forward in line with the Sustainable Development Goals SDG within the current context, has embraced the decision of the UNEP to prioritize forest restoration, as the most efficient worldwide available solution to tackle climate change, with a potential to capture two thirds of the carbon emissions caused by humans.
For all of these reasons, the Circuit is joining the celebration of the World Environment Day, which will be dedicated this year to biodiversity, a year in which the Circuit continues to develop the project “The Circuit Forest. A sustainable and dynamic management creating environmental and social value”, which was started last season, in line with the commitment to a sustainable management and funded by means of a circular economy action, thanks to the income from the reusable cup of the Circuit. The Catalan racetrack is well aware that it does not only have the responsibility and obligation to compensate the environmental impact, but also to deliver a positive legacy to the territory.
During the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya de MotoGP™ in 2019, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya officially inaugurated the Circuit Forest, the first green area in the facilities to be improved within a transformation project with the aim of extending the biodiversity of these natural areas in the facilities. Led by Social Forest, a company dedicated to sustainable forest management, which is oriented to training and the labour integration of social excluded or unemployed young people, and within the framework of the FIM’s KISS Barcelona programme, it also counted on the collaboration of FIM Ride Green Environmental Ambassador, Marc Márquez.
In early 2020, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya started the second phase of the project, but it had to be interrupted as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the stop of the activities in the facilities. With the aim of resuming the work in the Crater Forest as soon as possible, the actions planned for the coming weeks are:
- Maintenance works in the area worked on during the first phase.
- Trimming of all trees (196) to make the maintenance and improvement tasks easier, to increase their fire-resistance and to make an aesthetic improvement of the forest mass.
- Felling of tress for health and improvement, and reduction of the tree density to improve the quality of the forest mass. This action does also contribute to increase the CO2 fixation of the younger trees.
- Planting of trees of native species, such as nettle trees or strawberry trees, with the Cocoon technique. A Cocoon is a biodegradable vessel that wraps around the trees allowing to dose the water and making irrigation much more efficient, as it reduces the water consumption. It is also a refuge for biodiversity. The diversification of the tree species is important to avoid the vulnerability associated to dominant species and to improve the quality of the habitat, as well as to attract local wildlife.
- Management of the plant waste which will be ground and scattered in the same place to improve the humidity retention capacity of the ground and therefore improve the watering of the vegetation (mulching).
- Installation of dead wood corners, using the wood from the forest, to increase the presence of invertebrate saprophages, which are in charge of decomposing the wood, and are essential to complete the biological cycle of a healthy forest.
- Installation of a “barefoot path of senses” with natural materials found within the facilities (logs, pine cones, gravel, etc.).
- Installation of educational boards, with the aim of raising awareness among the attending public, making use of the therapeutic effects of the forest. The boards explain the actions performed and their effects on biodiversity. This experience causes a positive transformation in the public’s attitude, and generates positive effects on their health and their well-being.
Joan Fontserè will participate today in the FIM Webinar
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya General Manager, Joan Fontserè, will participate today virtually in the Webinar organised by the FIM as the benchmark circuit in terms of sustainable management. The papers will be dealing with “How to protect and foster biodiversity in motorcycle sport” and will start at 17:00h. To be able to follow it online, you have to register in advance.
CirCuitCat 3C: “conscience, commitment and coherence”
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, committed to a constant improvement of its environmental behaviour, continues making steps forward in order to reduce its CO2 footprint and to become the first racetrack in the world to have a zero footprint. The Catalan racetrack has shown a long-term commitment to sustainable environmental operations within the framework of its CirCuitCat 3C management “Conscience, Commitment and Coherence” certified according to the ISO 14001 standard since 2008, a pioneering milestone in the branch.
The environmental actions performed by the Circuit have received different recognitions and awards by the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM Environment Award), the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA accreditation) and the Royal Spanish Motorsport Federation (Award to Environmental Sustainability).