- 53rd annual Earth Day celebration demonstrates growing support for environmental protection
- SRO partners with Fondazione Sylva for regeneration project in Italy
- Innovative technology and renewable energy schemes further strengthen SRO’s global investment
SRO Motorsports Group will mark this year's Earth Day (22 April) with a renewed commitment to sustainability and positive environmental action, highlighted by the company's new tree-planting partnership with Fondazione Sylva.
Celebrating the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970 and present-day efforts to combat the climate crisis, each Earth Day places emphasis on a central theme. The mantra for 2023 is 'Invest in Our Planet', which SRO will support by planting 1,000 trees with Fondazione Sylva. The Italian non-profit was founded in March 2021 to contain environmental degradation in the Salento area of southern Puglia, where a decade-long epidemic has destroyed millions of olive trees.
Four key approaches underpin the organisation's work: reforestation, which includes five-year maintenance of all newly planted trees; educational workshops for school teachers and students; community engagement in both the private and public sectors; and initiatives that engage the arts and cultural heritage communities. In 2023 Fondazione Sylva will reach a total of 27,000 trees planted, with SRO contributing to this number through its recent commitment.
Planting activities will take place between November 2023 and January 2024 with a focus on complementing the area’s existing ecology. This will include oak species such as Quercus coccifera, Quercus Ilex and Quercus pubescens, as well as evergreens like Arbutus unedo and Pistacia lentiscus. Other species may also be added in small numbers for agronomic purposes, such as to encourage the growth of more vulnerable plants.
"We are delighted to add our support to the important work being done by Fondazione Sylva," commented SRO Motorsports Group founder and CEO Stéphane Ratel. "Our initial plan was to back the planting of 270 trees, but it soon became clear that this was a very worthwhile project and we took the decision to upscale to 1,000. Being as SRO stages multiple events in Italy each year, it feels especially important that we show our ambition and commitment to a cause such as this."
Working with Fondazione Sylva represents one of several cases in which SRO has followed the 'Invest in our Planet' mantra during the past 12 months. The company has supported a number of innovative technologies and renewable energies across the globe, such as a hydroelectric power project in Indonesia, the Omega Wind Power Plants Programme in Brazil, and the Methane Recovery Project Princepeel Wilbertoord in the Netherlands.
In a further aspect of its sustainability work, SRO is now in the process of finalising its 2023 carbon compensation portfolio. This will once again include both renewables and innovative technologies, helping to drive the significant changes required to combat the climate crisis.
