Lowenna Cleary on sustainability, inclusion, and finding your own path

As Sustainability Assistant at Motorsport UK, Lowenna Cleary works to support the development of an accessible, inclusive, and environmentally conscious motorsport community across the United Kingdom.

When Lowenna joined her dad to watch an episode of Drive to Survive, she didn’t expect motorsport to become such an important part of her life.

“I’d never taken any interest in motorsport before then,” she tells Females in Motorsport. “I always thought it was a ‘man’s sport’, and didn’t feel like I’d belong to that.

“But that day, I immediately fell in love with it.”

At the time, Lowenna was pursuing a degree in Business Management and Criminology at Bath Spa University. One day, she came across a Business of Motorsport Master’s online, and it just clicked.

“I realised,” she says, “I could make a career out of this.”

She moved to London and took every chance to gain hands-on experience. She signed up as a marshal, then volunteered as an events secretary for the organisation Motorsport Vision Racing, where she was offered a position as a race events administrator. In London, she connected with other female motorsport fans and helped grow the platform “Girls Across the Grid”.

When Lowenna found an entry-level role as Sustainability Assistant in motorsport, a perfect match for her passions and for her drive to make a difference in people’s lives, she immediately applied. And the rest is history.

At Motorsport UK, the governing body of motorsport in the United Kingdom, Lowenna’s role as Sustainability Assistant involves organising, overseeing and participating in initiatives concerning both environmental and social sustainability.

Like all sports, motorsport has an impact on the environment. Part of Lowenna’s work is to understand the source and extent of this impact, and develop strategies to implement more sustainable practices in the sport.

Motorsport UK has developed an online, free-to-use carbon calculator tool, that allows motorsport clubs to measure their carbon footprint. The calculation takes into account all aspects of motorsport events, from the fuel used on track, to the logistics and means of travel of teams, officials, and spectators, to the energy required for the venue itself to operate.

“It’s very important for us [at Motorsport UK],” she says, “to understand what aspects of motorsport events generate the most emissions.

“For each discipline, it can be very different. In Formula 1, for example, the fuel used on track is one of the lowest emitting areas, while in karting, where participants travel locally and a lot of time is spent on track, the fuel can make up the majority of their emissions.”

In addition to attending events to make the measurements herself, Lowenna runs an environmental volunteers programme to support clubs in measuring their carbon footprint. Knowing firsthand the impact that volunteering can have in starting a career in motorsport, she is particularly passionate about this project.

“The volunteers,” she says, “are mostly students or young people looking to get into motorsport. Getting the data for the carbon calculations involves a lot of talking to people, so it’s a great networking opportunity for them.”

Even though motorsport has an environmental impact, it’s not quite as much as one would imagine. It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that it’s one of the most polluting sports, but Lowenna is ready to debunk this myth.

“Since we use fuel on track,” she says, “the public perception of motorsport is that it’s one of the most unsustainable sports, while when you compare it to, say, football, it really isn’t.

“It’s really hard to change this public perception, also because people aren’t really aware of all that we do to try and make motorsport more sustainable.”

With regards to social sustainability and inclusion, Lowenna supports in organising and coordinating programmes and outreach events to increase diversity in the sport.

Motorsport UK runs two main careers outreach programmes, Girls on Track and Race for Diversity, but also supports wider inclusion initiatives focusing on women in motorsport, disability and accessibility, racial diversity and LGBTQ+ inclusion.

One of Lowenna’s projects is the Inclusion Hub, an online platform to help young people enter the world of motorsport. The platform highlights early careers, job and volunteering opportunities, networking communities and educational opportunities, featuring around 30 organisations that aim to increase diversity in the sport.

“We also organise physical hubs and other networking events,” she says. “If a young person comes to us looking to get involved in the sport, we can guide them to the right opportunity or individual.”

Attending outreach events, talking to people, and helping them find their way into the field, is what Lowenna loves most about the job, and not just because of her social and extroverted personality. It is exactly what she looked for: a chance to really make a difference in people’s lives.

“I love that I have the chance to provide opportunities in motorsport to people that wouldn’t have ever thought it was a possibility for them,” she says. “We run a Disabled Driver Scholarship, to help drivers with disabilities get into motorsport grassroots. The winner gets access to an adaptive vehicle, as well as a fully-funded season in Autosolo.

“I had the opportunity to be on the judging panel for the scholarship, and it was such an incredible experience. If I had to pick my favourite day of the job, that would be it.”

Lowenna’s journey is a testament to forging your own path, and proves that, with passion and determination, it is possible to carve a place for yourself in motorsport that is just the right fit for you. With her work, she strives to make the world of motorsport more inclusive, accessible, and safer for all, and reminds us that everyone deserves to feel like they belong.

All pictures courtesy of Lowenna Cleary.