Motor racing that helps society and the environment? Extreme E is a case study for why sustainability must drive innovation

I’m excited to be sharing the stage with Alejandro Agag , founder and CEO of Extreme E , at this year’s MWC Barcelona event. Extreme E is an all-electric, off-road motorsport series that is helping to accelerate electric vehicle (EV) adoption while raising awareness of the impact of climate change. It is doing this by bringing electric racing to some of the most remote corners of the planet, from the freezing ice sheets of the Arctic to the sweltering heat of the Saudi Arabian desert.

It is a source of great pride to me that 安永 has been collaborating with Extreme E since the launch of the series three seasons ago. Both EY and Extreme E are on a mission to reduce the impact of climate change, while pioneering in the fields of technology and innovation and challenging industry norms through this cross-sector initiative. In addition, the EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice supports Extreme E with its sustainability strategy and disclosures, and it has developed an assessment framework that helps the motorsport series understand the environmental and social impacts of its races around the world.

Extreme E and EY are also both strongly committed to diversity, equity and inclusivity. Indeed, Extreme E is the world’s first gender-equal motorsport series, with every team having a male and a female driver, each taking a lap over some of the world’s harshest terrains. Similarly, EY focuses on creating an inclusive culture while offering equitable opportunities to all people, and engenders diverse teams with a broad range of perspectives.

Catalyst for change

For me, Extreme E is a great example of how sustainability can be a key driver of innovation in virtually any context. This is because it captures people’s imaginations while simultaneously driving progress. In this case, we are talking about sport, but the same principle can be applied equally to other consumer-facing industries such as architecture, fashion, retail and leisure. These industries are not necessarily seen as being at the forefront of the green revolution in the same way as the energy sector is, but they can still use sustainability as a catalyst for transformation.

The fact is, sustainability is a huge opportunity for businesses in every sector, regardless of what they produce and whether they are B2B or consumer-facing. Around the world, businesses are already being encouraged to innovate in ways that will help their countries to hit ambitious net-zero targets. The landmark Inflation Reduction Act in the US is providing US$369 billion in meaningful incentives to support the development of clean energy and EVs. In the EU, the European Commission has launched a Green Deal Industrial Plan to support clean tech innovation. Developments like these clearly indicate the direction of travel: the future of business lies in sustainability-driven innovation.

Already, some significant shifts are underway at a sector level, which demonstrate businesses’ growing awareness of the opportunities that sustainability creates. For example, the?EY European Financial Services Boardroom Monitor?found that Europe’s largest financial services firms are taking proactive steps to enhance their sustainability credentials at boardroom level. This is not surprising given that more than half (51%) of investor respondents believe boardroom experience in sustainability has a “significant” impact in making a company an attractive investment.

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The power of collaboration

When it comes to sustainability as a driver of innovation, collaboration is key. For example, a multinational might choose to work with an up-and-coming green tech startup to bring a new product or service to market. Or – and this is often preferable – it may go a step further and involve its broader ecosystem. By working together on the initiative, the different partners will be able to combine their expertise and knowledge while drawing on a diverse range of skillsets. The output of the collaboration will invariably be much stronger as a result.

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EY has first-hand experience of applying the power of collaboration to sustainability-related innovation. In fact, there are many examples of where EY teams have created long-term value by bringing together deep business insights and multidisciplinary teams with the EY Partner Ecosystem to harness technology for positive human impact. For now, I’ll just highlight one powerful example – the expanded alliance between EY and Microsoft, which aims to help some of the world’s largest companies hit their net-zero goals. Through this alliance, EY and Microsoft are using technology to address a host of corporate sustainability needs. These include improving carbon tracking and reporting, facilitating value chain traceability of carbon and developing enterprise carbon management solutions that support carbon capture businesses.

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Survival strategy

I believe organisations that display demonstrable progress on social and environmental issues – just as Extreme E is doing – will re-invent their industries in the future and earn the enduring trust of their stakeholders in the process. Also, they will achieve this goal through collaboration – because, in a world that is more diverse and interconnected than ever, it simply doesn’t make sense to work alone.

So, I hope that over the coming months and years I will see more collaborations between organisations in the same mould as the collaborations that EY has with Extreme E, 微软 and numerous others. Sustainability-driven innovation is the ultimate survival strategy for our world.?