Mike Cannon-Brookes drives green agenda in Formula 1 deal

As new sponsor for Williams, the Atlassian billionaire says Formula 1 can show the world that it’s possible to achieve net zero emissions.

Atlassian Williams drivers Alex Albon, left, and Carlos Sainz. Atlassian says the team is ‘as committed to driving sustainability as they are to winning races’.

Mike Cannon-Brookes says Formula 1 can show the world that it’s possible to achieve net zero emissions, as the sport aims to slash the amount of greenhouse gases it produces.

Atlassian – a $US81.58bn software empire helmed by Mr Cannon-Brookes – has become the new title sponsor of Williams as the F1 team embarks on a “comeback plan” after finishing ninth out of the sport’s 10 teams last season.

F1 is one of the most carbon intensive sports, emitting more than 256,000 CO2 equivalent tonnes in 2019 – the year it launched its new green strategy, which included hitting net zero by 2030.

Atlassian Williams Racing engineers at work.

As part of the new sponsorship deal, Williams will adopt Atlassian’s system of work. Atlassian has released its own decarbonisation guide, titled “Don’t #@!% the Planet”, which reveals what steps it took to slash its emissions and what consultants it used.

The software titan says it will achieve net zero by 2040 – 10 years ahead of its initial plans – and has signed its first virtual power purchase agreement to match its in-office electricity and work-from-home energy use among other initiatives.

“I’ve had some really positive conversations with the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) on their plans to get to net zero. F1 can set a great example to the world of sport of what’s possible,” Mr Cannon-Brookes posted on LinkedIn at the weekend.

F1 says it has so far cut its carbon footprint by 13 per cent as of 2022 versus 2018. This is a “significant step” to hitting net zero by 2030, it said.

“F1 is working with a wide group of stakeholders to accelerate this data collection and is currently working to gather data for the year ending December 2023,” F1 said.

Atlassian chief sustainability officer Jessica Hyman.

UN’s sports for climate action

“There is still work to do, and the report sets out the steps being taken to further reduce the footprint and achieve the remaining 37 per cent reduction needed to meet the minimum target of a 50 per cent absolute reduction of emissions by 2030 – with the rest mitigated through credible offsetting.

“These steps include a focus on the logistics sector that accounts for almost half of the total footprint.”

Atlassian chief sustainability officer Jessica Hyman, who released the Don’t #@!% the Planet guide, said Williams was “as committed to driving sustainability as they are to winning races”.

Ms Hyman said Williams was the first F1 team to sign the United Nation’s Sports for Climate Action Framework and have earned a three star environmental rating from the FIA.

Williams in action during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria last year.

“Williams also just rolled out a bold sustainability strategy that’s focused on tackling some of the biggest environmental and societal challenges we face, including reducing waste and water usage. Proud to be part of this journey with such a forward-thinking team,” Ms Hyman wrote on LinkedIn.

In its ‘impact’ report, Williams said it has been “consistently reducing emissions,” across its operations. Its Scope 1 emissions have fallen by about 6 per cent a year to 497 tonnes. But its Scope 3 – or its indirect emissions – remains “challenging”, reporting a 62.9 per cent rise to 7.54 tonnes in 2023 compared with 2022.

“Despite the increase on Scope 3, our intensity ratio decreased, signifying that despite the changes in the current racing calendar as well as the increase in staff travel after the Covid-19 pandemic, we still managed to demonstrate efficiency through our actions,” Williams said in its report.

“Scope 3 is the most challenging data point, where Williams is working towards expanding the covered categories and efforts towards waste and race freight.”

Intensity per full-time equivalent employee eased from 3.85 to 3.83 tonnes.

Williams uses trackside generators used to power its motorhome at European races.

In the 2023 season, Williams used trackside generators used to power its motorhome at European races, which were “respecified to reduce fuel requirements, reducing motorhome fuel usage by 55 per cent across the European races” and saving more than 9,000 litres of fuel.

F1 says its “key projects” in coming years will included exploring different travel options, such as using sea freight or local sourcing; explore sustainable aviation fuel and use renewable energy at promoter sites.

“Over 75 per cent of promoters used renewable energy sources to power aspects of their Grands Prix in 2023 too, ranging from trial activations to the entire event, compared to 50 per cent in 2022,” F1 said.

Cutting edge comeback plan

Although Williams is the joint-second most successful team in F1 history – with 114 wins and nine constructors championships – it finished second last of the sport’s 10 teams last season.

Williams said Atlassian’s sponsorship was “another vote of confidence in the team’s comeback plan to transform and deliver future World Championship success”.

Mr Cannon-Brookes said F1 was the “ultimate team sport” and “depends on cutting edge technology to keep it moving”, which is where Atlassian can assist.

Atlassian co-founder and chief executive Mike Cannon-Brookes.

“We will be supporting Williams through their end-to-end digital transformation, moving them to a completely new way of working with the Atlassian system of work,” Mr Cannon-Brookes said.

“Thanks to our collaboration tools, Williams can take advantage of Atlassian’s data rich, AI-powered platform and innovate faster than ever.”

The adoption of this approach and the Atlassian product suite across Williams will “unleash the potential of Atlassian Williams Racing, deepening teamwork and collaboration to deliver on-track performance”.

“Formula 1 is the ultimate team sport. It’s where engineers, developers, commercial teams, pit crews and countless others work together in real-time at incredible speeds to race for a podium finish,” Mr Cannon-Brookes said.

“Atlassian shares Williams’ deep belief in the power of teamwork. We know that when great teams have the right tools and practices, they can achieve things that would be impossible alone.

Williams said the deal was the biggest in the team’s 48-year history. But financial terms were not disclosed.

It will be known as Atlassian Williams Racing when the F1 season starts in Australia on March 16. Mr Cannon-Brookes was already showing off the team’s new swag, switching one of his trademark Rabbitoh’s caps for an Atlassian Williams Racing one.

Not F1’s first billionaire

His foray into the sport follows Melbourne cryptocurrency and gambling billionaire Edward Craven’s Stake.com empire securing naming rights for the Sauber F1 team last year following the departure of Alfa Romeo.

Williams driver Alex Albon crashes out during practice ahead of the Australian Grand Prix last year. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Craven chose F1 as a way to attract a new audience to Stake. “The upcoming years will be a thrilling ride with some mind-blowing activations planned that will redefine excitement on and off the track,” he said.

Atlassian has also been bold – and sometimes cheeky – in its ambition. At its annual Team conference last year in Las Vegas it launched an advertising campaign targeting bigger rival ServiceNow.

ServiceNow, which held its own customer showcase in Las Vegas a week after Atlassian’s, was faced with a series of billboards from the Australian-founded company, emblazoned with the words “end bad service management now’’, with the ‘‘o’’ in “now” coloured green, taking a dig at ServiceNow’s logo.

Atlassian is also seeking to differentiate itself from Microsoft, Amazon and Google in the AI race after it launched its new artificial intelligence agents platform Rovo, which Mr Cannon-Brookes said was more than a “souped-up version of chatbots”. He said Rovo focused on making teams rather than individual employees more productive.

Atlassian Williams Racing team principal James Vowles said: “we are putting in place all the right ingredients to get this team back to the front of the grid”.

“I am delighted to welcome Atlassian into Formula 1 and our evolution into Atlassian Williams Racing”.

“Attracting a title partnership of this size and significance is a momentous day in our team’s illustrious history and a major milestone in our comeback transformation.

“In Atlassian we have a partner that through its technology and tools will help unleash our full potential by improving teamwork and collaboration right across the organisation. Our values and ambition align perfectly, and I’m excited about what we can achieve together.”

Melbourne-headquartered fintech Airwallex has also signed a deal with F1 team McLaren to support its financial operations, including multi-currency transactions and its merchandise platform.

Originally published as Mike Cannon-Brookes drives green agenda in Formula 1 deal