The 3C commitment of CirCuitCat to sustainability “Conscience, Commitment and Coherence” will once again be one of the mottos at this year’s Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya de MotoGP™. For the fifth year in a row, the Green Meeting Point platform at the Circuit will be promoting the KISS Barcelona initiative, organising a series of events in order to raise awareness among the attending public as regards environmental care and friendliness. At the same time the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) will be made known, including the measures to reduce the CO2 emissions, the Coherence with COP21-22, as well as initiatives for Zero Waste or environmental education, focussed on “Connecting with Nature”, the theme of this year’s World Environment Day.
This week that will be dedicated to the environment will have a luxury ambassador, Marc Márquez. The Honda rider will be in charge of planting the KISS Barcelona tree in Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, together with the Climate Justice Ambassador kids, from Plant for the Planet, a children’s organisation with a single goal: climate justice. This will be one of the most symbolic moments of this project with the aim of raising awareness about the values of sustainability in the world of sports. The tree that will be planted is a hackberry tree, a local species, and the event will take place on Thursday, 8 June, near the roundabout of the paddock. During the event, the bracelets of the Nature Week will be distributed, an initiative coinciding with the whole week, promoted by Xarxa de Custòdia del Territori, with the support of the Department for Territory Sustainability of the Catalan Government. This event will mean the start of KISS Barcelona 2017, commemorating at the same time the 25th Anniversary of FIM Ride Green and the World Environment Day “I’m Nature”, which is celebrated today.
During the weekend, the KISS Barcelona booth will be located next to the former heliport and will be raising awareness among the public. In order to generate less waste, the Circuit will distribute at the booth reusable cups in order to save tons of plastic waste. They will also be distributing the helmet liner sponsored by Sirsa-Interlimp and the Nature Week bracelets.
Stop Food Waste! This will be the board that will be shown at all bars of the Circuit in order to raise awareness among fans about the importance of food, asking them not to waste it. In addition to this, the Circuit will be collecting all food excesses to donate them to different social entities.
We will also be promoting the management of food appreciation with the company Valoriza with destination Ecoembes.
As regards the reduction of CO2 emissions, there is a wide range of sustainable mobility proposals: both with public transport and by train, with a special programming by Renfe, the Spanish railway service, and the bus company Sagalés, with a 40% hybrid vehicle fleet. The electric car is another alternative for drivers in order to reduce emissions, and therefore the Circuit will make recharging points available for them. There will be two for TESLA vehicles and a universal one. Spectators sharing their private cars to get to the Circuit will also have an incentive.
And 25% of the electric power used during the Grand Prix will be renewable thanks to Estabanell Energia.
All of these are direct measures in order to reduce pollution, but there are also indirect ways, such as the Km0 gastronomic offer. This is a way to avoid huge and long food transports to the Circuit and consequently to reduce CO2 emissions during the organisation of the Grand Prix. The type of energy used will also be taken into account.
The Circuit will also encourage a photography contest in the social media where users will have to upload pictures with the motto of the United Nations for the Environment, i.e. I’m with Nature. As usual, the prize for the winners of this contest will be two paddock passes for next year’s MotoGP Grand Prix.
The KISS Barcelona party will be livened up by batucadas and Castellers de la Vil·la de Gràcia on Sunday at 10.00h, in the area of the former heliport, including the building of the KISS Barcelona human tower. In order to promote green energy, there will be a Green Circuit set up behind the Main Grandstand, with electric scooters, while the youngest will be able to make environmentally themed drawings in the Kid’s Zones.
The closure of KISS Barcelona will be on Monday, 12 June, with Marc Márquez welcoming the winners of the FIM Ride Green Connect with Nature drawing contest, from the Bernat i de Boïl school in Barcelona.
All of these actions will be aimed at raising awareness about the need for environmental-friendliness, to make us all enjoy it and keep it in good conditions for future generations.