McLaren Group retains Carbon Trust Standard for ongoing commitment to carbon reduction

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes becomes first-ever Formula 1 team to be awarded, and retain, the coveted Carbon Trust Standard

WOKING, SURREY, UK – 7th November 2012 - McLaren Group has been recertified with the Carbon Trust Standard for successfully measuring, managing and reducing carbon emissions across all of its UK operations.

Evening view of the McLaren Technology Centre

Photo by: TAG McLaren

McLaren Group was first awarded the Carbon Trust Standard in December 2010 after several years of rigorous assessment, and has honed its energy efficiency strategies to reduce its carbon footprint on a relative basis by 9% - based on tonnes of carbon and equivalent (CO2e) emissions relative to head-count. This follows a two-year period of significant expansion within McLaren Automotive, which has seen the construction of the 32,000 square metre manufacturing facility, the McLaren Production Centre (MPC), the employment of nearly 300 additional full time staff, and the design, development and distribution of a range of high-performance sports cars including the 12C and 12C Spider.

The McLaren Group has continued to reduce its carbon footprint by researching and implementing state-of-the-art, energy-saving technologies across both the MPC and the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC). This process has been driven by the creativity and precision of world-class engineers from across the organisation, who compare and consider every potential energy saving measure - no matter how small. The initiatives that have contributed to the Group’s year-on-year carbon reduction include:

- The services of MPC are linked to, and supplied by, a central plant in MTC. This ensures that shared systems - such as air compressors and chillers - are operating at optimum efficiency, therefore eliminating the potential waste of running two systems at partial loads.

- Heat recovery systems across MPC capture excess process energy and redistribute it to other areas of the building in need of heat.

- The installation of new, more energy efficient simulation equipment across McLaren Racing has led to savings of 300 tonnes of CO2e per year.

- The continued deployment of new, longer-lasting and more efficient lighting within the MTC has led to a saving of 200 tonnes of CO2e per year.

Martin Whitmarsh, Chief Operating Officer of McLaren Group, and Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes said:

“As an environmentally conscious group of companies we are extremely proud to have retained the Carbon Trust Standard, in turn becoming the first Formula 1 team ever to do so. The process has enabled us to identify new areas to increase carbon efficiency, bringing significant energy savings to all of our operations.

“It is especially satisfying to obtain recertification during a period of considerable growth across the Group, particularly within McLaren Automotive. This demonstrates our commitment to pioneering future technologies, developing new methodologies and relentlessly innovating to improve carbon efficiency.

“While this achievement is an important marker for us, it is crucial that we recognise that the Carbon Trust Standard is an ongoing process. Reducing our carbon emissions and improving our energy efficiency represents a constantly moving target – and one that our whole company is committed to pursuing.”

Darran Messem, Managing Director of Certification at the Carbon Trust commented:

“It is really encouraging to see a high profile organisation like McLaren Group making real improvements to retain the Carbon Trust Standard.

“McLaren Group’s achievement is clear evidence of the significant results in carbon reduction that can be delivered through senior sponsorship from the top and entrenched good practise throughout a business. McLaren Group’s carbon reduction relative to head count demonstrates that growth can be decoupled from carbon to grow your business without proportionally increasing emissions”.

McLaren Group