To commemorate Earth Day we wanted to share with you some of the ways COTA revved up sustainability at this year’s MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas:
· Tree Planting: Reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo planted a Mexican White Oak tree in the Garden of Champions, east of the Main Grandstand. The tree was planted adjacent to the Texas Chinqapin Oak that Marc Marquez planted last year.
· Resource Recovery: Last year COTA diverted 467 tons of material from landfills through recycling and composting. That’s about the weight of a fully loaded Boeing 747 jet! During last year’s MotoGP alone more than 17 tons of materials were recycled and 2 tons were composted. Final numbers aren’t in for 2016’s event.
· Energy: 182,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity was provided by renewable, clean, energy through the Circuit’s subscription to Austin Energy’s GreenChoice program.
· Pledges: Race fans pledged to take action for the environment at the eco tent located in the Grand Plaza. Guests pledged to reduce their environmental footprint through actions such as recycling at home or riding a bike to work.
· Tree Mapping: Race fans participated in a collaborative community project to map Austin’s urban forest, including the trees in the COTA Grand Plaza, using an app called OpenTreeMap. Each tree mapped equaled a raffle entry for event merchandise. This project was coordinated with the local non-profit Tree Folks.
· Community Involvement: Environmental efforts were supported by student volunteers from Texas State University in San Marcos. Texas State students have supported environmental efforts at COTA during every major event since 2012.
