ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Controlling Environmental Impact
The rally has always been organized within the framework of a responsible ecology policy in Africa. Using cleaner fuel, with action taken to compensate for CO2 emissions, and with treatment of its waste, the Dakar is now armed with some promising means for controlling its environmental impact.
For the first time, competitors in the motorbike category (for whom the organization provides fuel on the African part of the rally) will be refuelled using petrol that includes a proportion of biofuel. With the participation of Total, which is setting up a special supply network, the motorbikes racing will produce lower CO2 emissions, thanks to the combined action of the guaranteed ETBE content and the “Excellium” additive that reduces consumption.
The Dakar has commissioned a “Carbon Footprint” in collaboration with the Environment and Power Economy Agency. The method, which consists of evaluating greenhouse gas emissions directly or indirectly linked to the activity of the rally, gives a very realistic impression of its environmental impact. After assessing the emissions associated with the fuel consumed by the competitors and organization on the rally, the experts also took into account the travel of spectators going to Lisbon, the travel of the competitors before and after the race, as well as the impact of the number of spectators on television (consumption of electricity, etc.), and of the production of the steel needed to make the vehicles. So the Dakar 2007 carbon footprint has been produced with the widest possible scope.
The results obtained establish an emissions level of 22,000 tonnes CO2 equivalents by the Lisbon Dakar from 3rd to 21st January 2007. By way of comparison, a single Formula 1 Grand Prix emits the same quantity as the whole Dakar. Still with sporting events, the 2007 Rugby World Cup, which commissioned a carbon footprint carried out with the same parameters, emitted 570,000 t CO2 eq.
Of all the Dakar’s emissions, the greatest single proportion relates to the electricity consumed by TV viewers (18.9%), along with spectator transport (18.9%). Fuel consumption by the competitors over the 8,000 km of the rally represents only 2000 t CO2 eq. – in other words, the emissions from a single day’s traffic on the 40 km Paris outer ring-road.
For nearly 15 years, the Dakar has been employing local service providers to take care of collecting waste and disposing of it at existing disposal sites. This year, partnerships have been made, particularly in Morocco, to organize the transportation of waste to processing centres capable of processing and/or recycling it. In the other countries through which the rally passes, waste is sent to disposal facilities that hold ISO 14000 certification.
On the bivouac, waste sorting will be organized for both competitors, members of the organization, and the media and rally partners. Particular attention will also be paid to the recovery of used oil, a reprocessing system for which is going to be set up by the Total network.