When sustainability challenges sport: How motorsport is adapting to and promoting SDGs (2022)

Motorsport, with its global appeal and inherent contributions to climate change (e.g., gasoline-powered engines), is naturally situated to advance the conversation about sustainability. In recent years, motorsport series, teams, and racetracks have increased their sustainability-focused initiatives and reporting. Yet, fossil-fuel burning engines are the number-one leading contributor to climate change, according to the EPA. How committed are these organizations to sustainability or are they engaging in greenwashing? By combining a public relations and sustainability lens, this study focuses specifically on motorsport to examine how fans and stakeholders are responding to sustainability communication and explore the dynamic between sports entities and corporate sponsorship.