Freemans Event Partners drive carbon cuts at British Grand Prix

Freemans Event Partners and Net Zero Now race ahead in reducing carbon at the British Grand Prix  

Freemans Event Partners, as a longstanding food & beverage provider for the British Grand Prix has consistently pursued innovation and sustainability in event management. In 2024, they took another bold step by partnering with Net Zero Now to address the carbon footprint of the British Grand Prix event in July, aligning their operations with the growing imperative for environmental responsibility.

The goal of this initiative was to identify and deliver actions that would reduce emissions from delivery of the catering by 5% compared to the forecast undertaken by Net Zero Now, but to also aim for a more ambitious target of 25% reduction in a new “Zero Zone” area.  Several key initiatives were implemented to reduce emissions, with the Zero Zone acting as a testing ground for many of these efforts, including using shuttle buggies, compostable waste disposal, carbon menu labelling and hybrid power generators. 

How Freemans Event Partners achieved a 5% reduction in GHG emissions from the British Grand Prix catering.

The total measured emissions for the event amounted to 1,076.53 tCO2e, a significant reduction from the projected 1,747.14 tCO2e. Food and drink stalls contributed the largest share at 757.99 tCO2e, with other key categories including generator fuel (82.75 tCO2e), packaging (95.37 tCO2e), commuting (45.04 tCO2e), logistics (36.13 tCO2e), and waste (3.68 tCO2e).

While the event shows a commendable 38.4% reduction in emissions compared to initial projections, it’s essential to recognise that a substantial part of this decrease stems from improved data collection and precision, rather than solely from the reduction initiatives. Moving forward, Freemans Event Partners and Net Zero Now are well positioned to compare emissions year-on-year with greater accuracy allowing for continued reductions and smarter strategies.

Pioneering the ethical events catering category.

Richard West, Sustainability Manager at Freemans Events Partners, says:  “Through partnering with Net Zero Now we’ve realised that collaboration is key to making lasting and impactful environmental changes in the events catering industry.  This collaboration provided us with valuable frameworks for measuring and reducing our carbon emissions and has reinforced our commitment to ESG principles.  The process has been much more straightforward than we thought it would be and we look forward to setting even bigger reductions targets as we go forward. ”

Harry Llewellyn, Climate Research Manager at Net Zero Now, comments:  “With the conclusion of this year’s British Grand Prix, we are now equipped with a more precise understanding of Freemans Event Partners' carbon footprint for this event, grounded in real-world data.  The empirical data collected has allowed us to transition from theoretical projections to a refined and actionable carbon analysis.  We champion Freemans Event Partners and their pioneering environmental responsibility ethos in the events catering space and look forward to working on other events with them in the coming months.”

To see the full report and details of the initiatives tested and results, go here.