Cristiana Pace appointed chair of eSC Sustainability Commission

The eSkootr Championship™ has appointed Dr Cristiana Pace – one of the motorsport world’s leading authorities on sustainability – as the chair of its Sustainability Commission, the group that will oversee the growth and development of sustainable and environmental practices within the series and via its technical partnerships.

A 20-year motorsport career

Dr Pace began her motorsport career more than 20 years ago, initially working in race, strategy and performance engineering.

She was the first woman to work trackside as a member of the FIA’s Formula 1 technical department, developing her role as a consultant for the Federation’s Institute for Sustainability and Safety in Motor Sport, where she advised on motorsport safety and the wider deployment of safety systems within FIA championships.

In 2012, she joined Williams Advanced Engineering, focusing on developing the technology-transfer and sustainable innovation sides of the business, and was project-lead on the strategy and successful supply of batteries to the FIA Formula E Championship between 2013 and ’15.

Dr Pace returned to the FIA in 2015 to consult on safety and sustainability while reading at Coventry University, where she successfully completed a PhD in Sustainability and Strategic Management, focusing on the motorsport industry’s shift towards sustainability. In 2018, she founded Enovation Consulting, a sustainability strategy firm that advises on ways that motorsport can successfully contribute to global targets on environmental and social issues.

Cristiana holds a variety of additional roles within the sustainability, education and diversity spaces. She is a member of the FIA Environmental and Sustainability Commission, representing Motorsport UK; a STEAM ambassador and founding signatory of DfE Tomorrow’s engineers’ code; member of the industrial advisory board at Cranfield University; Honorary Fellow of Coventry University Centre of Business in Society; and a reader in motorsport sustainability for Bologna Business School.

Diversity, inclusion & equality

Her work on raising awareness about diversity and gender equality within motorsport includes roles as ambassador for the FIA’s Girls on Track Motorsport UK (previously, the Dare To Be Different organisation founded by Susie Wolff), and a founding member of the gender and equality in the workplace committee for Silverstone Technology Cluster.

Developing eSC’s sustainable practices

Dr Pace is working to devise eSC’s sustainability strategy, developing a robust and well-rounded programme that encompasses sustainable technology, events and freight solutions, second-use and end-of-life programmes, and the integration of greater inclusion and diversity into the series.

She will also chair eSC’s Sustainability Working Group, partnering with representatives from micromobility, sports and universities to develop learning and best-practice around emobility, and assist sustainable start-ups and small innovative businesses to develop and grow with sustained partner support and input.

I’m looking forward to driving eSC’s contribution to sustainability best-practice and sustainable innovation within both motorsport and the micromobility industry.

Dr Cristiana Pace said:

“I’m looking forward to driving eSC’s contribution to sustainability best-practice and sustainable innovation within both motorsport and the micromobility industry.”

“I strongly believe that motorsport, and the eSKootr Championship™ in particular, has a crucial role to play in tackling the climate crisis – both on and off the track. I’ve been really impressed by the commitment shown by eSC’s board members and shareholders to sustainability – ensuring it’s not only central to our business strategy, but also to our decision-making processes in procurement, logistics, material supply chain and events.”

Lucas di Grassi, eSkootr™ Sustainability Ambassador, said:

“We’re delighted to have Cristiana leading our efforts in sustainable technology and solutions, and she is brilliantly qualified to lead in these areas. We’ve built the entire series around the central theme of promoting and enhancing the safe, sustainable use of eScooters in our cities – and it’s vital that we practically uphold this. With Cristiana’s knowledge and experience of applying sporting best-practice to the real world, we are in a prime position to lead on that mission, becoming the most sustainable sport in the world and a net-zero championship.

“I’m looking forward to working with Cristiana. We are already exploring a number of key ideas relating to component manufacturing and recycling which we hope will change the way the industry operates – the future is very exciting.”