Awareness of the environment runs through the backbone of Lotus F1 Team. Built on the site of a disused quarry, the team’s UK base at Enstone prides itself on being energy efficient and cost-effective in every respect. With intelligent lighting systems, recycling programmes and car-share schemes, respecting the environment has become an integral part of the team’s culture.

THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES DEMONSTRATE THE TEAM’S DESIRE TO REDUCE ITS CARBON FOOTPRINT:

Since 2005 Enstone has been carbon neutral, with agreements in place for the site to be powered by renewable energy from large-scale hydro sources.

The team is committed to reducing operational waste by recycling. At present 97% of electrical waste is recycled, while the machine shop recycles over 40 tonnes of waste metal annually. The team also makes use of a waste disposal compactor, which has reduced HGV traffic to Enstone by 50%, with compacted waste being sorted and recycled rather than going to landfill.

Energy efficient lighting is utilised on all new projects and areas of refurbishment. Movement sensors switch off lights when rooms are not in use, while Trilux lighting systems can track levels of natural light during the day, adjusting artificial lighting accordingly to reduce energy wastage. Likewise, Building Management System controls have been installed to provide improved control over the factory’s heating and ventilation systems to optimise efficiency.

The Kyoto Protocol has resulted in the UK committing to reduce CO2 emissions by 12.5% by 2012 from a 1990 baseline. Lotus F1 Team achieved this objective for their operational facility at Enstone in 2005.

Ecological improvements are continually made at Enstone to encourage wildlife populations in an area which is registered as a ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’. Recently 1,600 indigenous young trees were planted on the site, and we conduct ecological and ornithological improvements to encourage wildlife populations on the site.

The new ‘Driver in the Loop’ simulator being constructed at Enstone will make use of Trina Solar power with a 30kW panel design providing sufficient electricity to power the building, and any redundant electricity when the simulator is not in use will be used for lighting and air conditioning requirements elsewhere on site.

Lotus F1 Team continually strives to implement green IT solutions. For example, both Enstone and engine partner Renault’s Viry-Châtillon (Paris) base make use of video conferencing facilities to avoid unnecessary travel between the UK and France.

The team also looks for energy related standards when making purchasing decisions and considers the recycling competency of the equipment as well as the packaging. In terms of software, the team operates a policy of removing underutilised equipment and our VCS cluster provided by Symantec
has helped consolidate servers, thus saving energy.

The advancements made in computing have also allowed simulation to reduce the need for track testing, which leads to significant saving of resources. A good example is found in our Research and Development department where we make use of a chassis dynamics rig to simulate the forces experienced by the car on the racetrack. The rig is used primarily to develop new suspension settings and to assess new concepts using servo-hydraulic actuators. By doing this the team can test and optimise suspension solutions without ever leaving the factory.