This is the fifth time the Circuit de Barcelona, through its Green Meeting Point platform, has organised KISS Barcelona through a wide range of initiatives and activities organised during the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya de MotoGP™. Kiss Barcelona is a commitment to sustainability and to raising environmental awareness, promoted by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) as part of its Ride Green programme with the collaboration of DORNA, IRTA and the UNEP. The Circuit continues to show its clear commitment to 3C Management: "Conscience, Commitment and Coherence", with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of the facilities and to reduce the CO2 footprint. This is further borne out by the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of its successful completion of the Environmental Management Certificate according to ISO 14001.
This year, KISS Barcelona again had great support from World Champion and FIM Ride Green Environmental Ambassador Marc Márquez, who was joined by a group of children when he took part in the creation of a wall-painting on the topic "The Circuit's Commitment to Sustainability", which marked the inauguration of the 2018 edition of KISS Barcelona on the Thursday afternoon before the race weekend. This was one of the most special moments, as it took place next to the Paddock roundabout, where, at last year’s event, Marc Márquez, with a group of children from the Climate Justice Ambassadors group planted a hackberry, which is a typical tree of the region.
The motto of this year’s World Environment Day (WED), celebrated recently by the motorcycling family, was “Beat Plastic Pollution”, with the aim of raising awareness of the problem of plastics in the environment and encouraging people to help to avoid polluting the oceans with plastic by rejecting plastic items that cannot be reused. In line with this, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya offered reusable glasses for sale in all catering points run by Aramark.
As every year, the KISS Barcelona stand, located behind Grandstand G, next to the former heliport, was the focus for raising awareness among the spectators. It was the distribution point for the ECOALF bags, made of recycled plastic from bottles picked up in the Mediterranean Sea. Thanks to the company SIRSA, many spectators were able to take home this environmentally friendly souvenir.
Other measures to reduce the impact of the event included 0Km gastronomy to avoid long-distance food transport and reduce CO2 emissions. 0Km gastronomy was promoted throughout the weekend in the GP Village, where biodegradable cutlery, plates and glasses were used to reduce the use of single-use plastic.
The CO2 emissions were reduced thanks to a large variety of sustainable mobility solutions. As regards public transport, RENFE offered a special schedule and 22,000 additional seats, while 40% of the buses used by the company Sagalés were hybrid vehicles. For individuals, the use of electric vehicles to come out to watch the Grand Prix was an option as the Circuit has recharging facilities available for electric car users.
Children too had their special place in KISS Barcelona 2018. Raising awareness from a young age is key to promoting future responsible and environmentally friendly behaviour. In the Family Village (behind the Main Grandstand) creative workshops focused on plastic were organised for the youngest visitors.
The Catalan track also promoted a photography contest on the social media, encouraging fans to link the Catalan Grand Prix with the environment, using the hashtag #KISSBarcelona on Twitter and Instagram, or uploading a picture on the Circuit's Facebook wall. The prize was a hospitality pass for the 2019 Grand Prix!
In the KISS Barcelona area there was a party atmosphere and plenty of fun. On Sunday kettledrum players gave a concert and the famous Catalan ‘castellers’ built a human tower. The tower was topped out with a flag commemorating World Environment Day.
Taking advantage of the large attendance figures of this exceptional sports event, the Circuit ran a campaign to collect surplus (unused) food, in order to fight food waste. The surplus food was donated to a local foundation, El Xiprer that runs a centre for people in need.
KISS Barcelona 2018 closes on Monday, 18 June. Before the gates shut, Marc Márquez is receiving at the Circuit the winners of the FIM Ride Green drawing contest from two schools in Montmeló who took part in the contest this year.