Extreme E achieves strong ranking in Global Sustainability Benchmark in Sports Awards

The sport for purpose championship has been recognised by GSBS’s Corporate, Social, Environmental, and Governance performance evaluation – which ranked Extreme E ahead of other worldwide championships and organisations, including sporting giants UEFA, FIFA, NFL and Formula 1.

Of the top 55 influential organisations of the professional sports industry that were ranked, Extreme E was joint-fifth overall and joint-second in motorsport disciplines – just behind frontrunners Formula E.

Ali Russell, Managing Director at Extreme E, said: “It is hugely important for us to have our sustainability efforts recognised by our peers, and so to receive this GSBS rating and recognition once more is a great achievement for Extreme E. As a series about to embark on only our fourth season, to be ranked above long-standing global brands in motorsport and beyond is testament to our ethos and core value as a sustainable championship for purpose. It also demonstrates that our environmental and sustainability actions have remained consistent as we have scored highly across the sports industry more widely.

“There is so much effort behind the scenes at Extreme E to deliver not only on track but meet the high sustainability targets we set off track, and so I must pay tribute to the whole team and all of our partners. We are not only able to showcase a pioneering championship with our unique form of racing, but demonstrate solutions we can all be a part of as we promote a less carbon-intensive world.”

GSBS is an independent, global, not-for-profit organisation, which analyses and rates the sustainability performance of professional sports organisations – using only unbiased, science-driven, and data-based methods.

Through encouraging professional sports organisations to deliver more transparent and sustainable behaviour, GSBS raises awareness of their impact and helps them to use their prominent position in society to fulfil their responsibilities as modern businesses.

The GSBS Reporting Framework, and therefore the data collected and reported through it, forms the basis for the annual GSBS Sustainability Performance Rating for each individual organisation. The four categories of the GSBS Reporting Framework build the overall GSBS Sustainability Performance Rating result: Corporate, Environmental, Social and Governance.

Christian Hartmann, Chief Executive Officer at GSBS, added: “We are very pleased and positive regarding the achievements and developments at Extreme E. Such a young organisation is naturally going through different phases. 

“We are already extremely excited for the reporting cycles to come, as we are firmly convinced that hard work and efforts, that the team is investing in today, will pay off tomorrow - not only in regards to a constant improvement of the GSBS Rating, but also as a sustainable role model in the professional sports industry.

“We are proud of the mutual trust and respect, and look forward to continuing to document the development of this fascinating racing series."

The full GSBS report for 2023 is available online: https://www.thegsbs.org.