Power and progress: how Extreme E and Veloce’s equality drive delivers results on track
Progress is the prize for our partners at Veloce Racing. Whether it’s the mixed gender driving format, the ‘race without trace’ sustainability, or the electric off-road competition, the #innovation in Extreme E has served to consistently break the boundaries in motorsport and beyond
Extreme E has released its Season 4 Sustainability Report, showing that in just four years of the electric off-road racing series, the gap in performance times between male and female drivers has narrowed by almost 70%, proving that greater equality in competition environments drives measurable progress.
Our first involvement with Extreme E - and our partners at Veloce Racing - goes back to the Jurassic X-Prix in Dorset in 2021. Our relationship with the team has grown over the years, inspired by common goals across our two organisations – a commitment to sustainability and increasing diversity and inclusivity across our industries, as well as promoting the jobs and skills needed for a greener future.
The ground-breaking milestone for gender equality was highlighted in the report. Female and male drivers recorded their closest times yet with an average of 1.1 seconds between the groups, down from 4.5 seconds in Season 1, demonstrating the power of a gender-equal race format to drive performance parity.
And despite running a reduced race calendar, the purpose-driven series made significant progress off the track. The report reveals impressive strides across equality, clean energy use, and enduring nature-based legacy impact.
Here are some of the key highlights from the report:
- Gender equality:
The male to female driver performance gap has been reduced by nearly 70% since Season 1, demonstrating the championship's commitment to promoting gender equality - Clean energy:
80% of the site power for the most recent event, Scotland’s Hydro X Prix, was delivered via green hydrogen, showing a strong focus on clean energy use - Legacy programmes:
Uruguay and Scotland Legacy Programmes show the success of nature-based investment and showcasing positive long-term outcomes - Carbon footprint:
Season 4 of Extreme E generated a total of 4,618 tCO₂e, and efforts are being made to reduce the carbon footprint with long-term strategies - Innovative initiatives:
Innovative waste procedures resulted in sending zero waste to landfill at the most recent event, signalling a commitment to sustainability - Community impact:
Legacy Programmes have led to significant positive outcomes, such as the designation of a National Protected Area for marine species in Uruguay and habitat restoration for Atlantic salmon in Scotland
By leveraging sport as a powerful platform for change, Extreme E has continued to drive progress towards a more sustainable future.
Extreme E’s founding commitment was the innovative step towards gender equality in racing – in a first for motorsport each team fielded one male and one female driver, sharing the same vehicle for the same number of laps, and carrying equal responsibility for the team performance.
Extreme E remains a signatory of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Sports for Climate Action Framework and the IUCN Sports for Nature Framework. It champions sustainability across the wider motorsport industry through pioneering energy solutions, inclusive sporting formats, and science-based environmental action.
The championship continues to prove that sport is a powerful platform for real-world solutions that accelerate the journey to net zero.
You can find out more about E.ON’s partnerships here.
You can read the full sustainability report here.