Barge logistics alone came to 12,597.02kg CO2e getting the event onto Spike Island, 37.5% of the 33.55 tonne total. That was before a single car moved. Road logistics added another 32.5%.
Red Bull · Spike Island, Cork Harbour · Cork, Ireland · 2025 · Sport and live events · Consultancy
Drift Pursuit ran on Spike Island in Cork Harbour, reachable only by water. Red Bull commissioned a full event footprint with cradle to gate embodied carbon for all non-reusable production materials, plus a supplier assessment, a materials audit and a merchandise review. The site was the reason: Red Bull wanted to know what an island location actually costs before deciding whether to repeat it. The brief also asked for recommendations on scope, meaning which categories were missing and should be added next time.
All 42 suppliers returned travel data, a 100% response rate, each giving origin, distance, vehicle, load and crew numbers. Barge movements were logged separately from road movements, which is why the island cost is visible as its own line rather than buried in logistics. Passenger water transport was counted separately again. Production materials were audited item by item and weighed, with every non-reusable item carrying its cradle to gate embodied carbon into the footprint, and rented and reused items recorded by weight against new purchases. Catering was measured by weight and protein type. Generator fuel was recorded in full. Accommodation was counted by night and by property. Merchandise was reviewed against its certifications rather than its carbon. Ten categories were reported separately, with a written recommendation that grid electricity be brought into scope next time. Conversion factors were taken predominantly from the UK government emission database.
Waste. 1.8 tonnes was created but no segregated data and no end of life destination were provided by the contractor, so landfill and recycling rates were not measured and cannot be claimed. That is a gap on a page like this, and it is stated rather than filled. The second finding was the supplier position: all 42 responded, but 2% held third-party assured certification and 14% reported publicly on sustainability, and no mandatory sustainability requirements had been placed on suppliers before the event. The data was complete. The supplier base behind it was not certified.
33.55 tonnes CO2e across ten categories, the equivalent of driving 193,891km. Barge logistics 12,597.02kg (37.5%), road logistics 10,915.60kg (32.5%), Red Bull paid travel 4,734.43kg (14.1%), Red Bull paid accommodation 2,100.80kg (6.3%), on-site machinery 1,608.80kg (4.8%), food 1,245.95kg (3.7%), passenger water transport 171.10kg (0.5%), production materials 134.04kg (0.4%), energy 35.58kg (0.1%), waste 8.43kg. 1,000 litres of HVO avoided over 2.5 tonnes against an average biofuel blend. 99% of production materials by weight were rented or reused, with 52kg of new purchased material. Red meat contributed 74% of crew catering carbon, 1.24 tonnes. Excluded: grid electricity, attendee travel and accommodation, merchandise embodied carbon. Waste end of life was not provided, so no landfill or recycling rate is claimed. Indicative, calculated in house, not independently audited.
Alternative (generators), KDM (telehandlers), ecoKell (waste), Centra (catering). Compostable wristbands. PVC used for car wrapping only; no other toxic materials found on site.