JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion is pushing new boundaries on and off the special stages in 2024, as it's believed to be delivering a higher level of carbon offsetting than any other rally in the world.

This year’s event is believed to be setting a new world record for carbon offsetting in rallying, with an expected 200,000kg CO2e being positively offset – around 100,000kg CO2e will be immediately offset through verified carbon reduction units and another 100,000kg CO2e offset in the future through local project issuance units.

This total is double the estimated carbon footprint of all competitors, ticket holding spectators and mandatory organiser vehicles.

The rally's credentials speak for themselves as it was awarded Motorsport UK's Sustainability Award for 2023 and remains the only UK motorsport event to be awarded FIA 2-star Environmental Accreditation.

Partnering with Carbon Positive Motorsport for the third year in succession, the event continues to lead the sport with its visionary commitment to mitigating its environmental impact through an innovative and progressive roadmap of carbon reduction and the use of carbon offsetting for the remaining unavoidable carbon emissions.

This year’s event will see another first, as it will use a local Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and Soil Association verified Sequoia and native broadleaf based carbon project, located in Abergavenny, Wales, as part of the offsetting package.

Carbon Positive Motorsport co-founder Paul Glass, who will attend the event as part of the Rali Engage exhibition introduced for this year, explained more about the project: “Carbon Positive Motorsport is now working with an innovative Sequoia and native broadleaf carbon project located in Abergavenny. These trees are fast-growing and offer 10 times more carbon capture per hectare than any other tree variety.

“This Sequoia Carbon Code project is externally audited and verified by the Soil Association in accordance with the FSC Ecosystem Services Procedure. It will provide the project issuance units which enable the future carbon offsetting of an additional 100% of the event’s estimated carbon footprint.

“We are delighted to be supporting the event this year to achieve 200 tonnes of carbon offsetting, which we believe is the highest level of offsetting by any rally in the world.”

Charlie Jukes, Rali Ceredigion event director, said: “This new global benchmark for carbon offsetting reflects the incredible commitment of the event organisers to increasingly mitigate the event’s carbon footprint every year as we work towards our vision for sustainable motorsport. We continue to use renewable HVO fuel, which reduces carbon emissions by 90% compared to traditional diesel, and are helping pioneer the use of renewable race fuels and green hydrogen.

"We have been pushing for a local certified offsetting project in Wales for a few years so this new Sequoia Carbon Code project in Abergavenny is great news.

“Wales has the potential to be at the forefront of sustainable fuel development and, with our event now part of the FIA European Rally Championship and benefiting from global exposure with action broadcast to 30 international markets, it’s an unrivalled chance to position Wales firmly on the world stage.”