Offsetting Carbon Emissions: Europcar's Greenfleet program
In recognition of the importance in reducing carbon emissions, Europcar Australia has partnered with Greenfleet, a non profit organisation to offset the carbon emissions of every new vehicle that is added to its fleet. Each year this will result in a $250,000 commitment leading to over 100,000 trees covering 100 hectares of degraded land being planted.
How it works ?
For each car Greenfleet will plant 17 native trees (this costs $40). These trees will help to create a forest, and as they grow will absorb the greenhouse gases that the car produces in one year (based on 4.3 tonnes of CO2 for the average car).
Science shows that 17 mixed species trees will not only absorb a car's greenhouse emissions, but will also help to tackle salinity, improve water quality and provide essential habitat for native species.
Who is Greenfleet?
Greenfleet was launched as a project in 1997, and subsequently Greenfleet Australia was established in 2001 as a not for profit environmental organisation.
Greenfleet specialises in reducing the environmental impacts of transport by:
- Planting native trees to offset current CO2 emissions.
- Promoting fuel-efficient technologies and low carbon fuels in order to reduce emissions in the future.
The first step
Europcar kicked off the carbon-neutralisation campaign in conjunction with its major fleet supplier Subaru and the environmental organisation GreenFleet in December 2006. When Europcar took delivery of its 836 new Subaru Forester, Outback and Impreza models a commitment was made with GreenFleet to plant 14,000 trees to offset one year's carbon emissions for each new car.
The aim
Europcar Asia Pacific CEO Josh Green hopes the move to become a greener car company would help promote environmental awareness in the car rental industry and amongst consumers. "In these times of noticeable global warming and environmental changes, we consider it more important than ever to do our bit to conserve and support the environment," Mr. Green said.
"As one of Australia's major car rental operators, we have more than 6,000 vehicles on our fleet, and we anticipate the creation of a very substantial forest as we replace the fleet. We are proud to be the first Australian car rental company to commit to such an agreement and are seeking the support of customers and the motoring public in our efforts."
Europcar Staff Commitment
As well as offsetting all rental vehicles, Europcar is encouraging all staff to sign up their own private vehicles. As an added incentive the company is subsidising the annual subscription to Greenfleet
What can you do?
You can offset the carbon emissions from your car rental with a $2 donation (fully tax deductible) every time you rent. Help Europcar maintain a carbon neutral fleet.
We would like our customers to consider following our lead and signing up their own cars to the Greenfleet program and offsetting their carbon emissions. For more information please visit www.greenfleet.com.au
Greenfleet donations
Visit our Greenfleet Donations page to see those who have contributed to this program.
Hybrids have arrived
In keeping with Europcar's commitment to lower carbon emissions, we have added Toyota's fuel efficient Prius to our fleet of motor vehicles.
The Toyota Prius is an ultra low carbon emissions hybrid car which uses petrol/ electric technology, making it one of the most environmentally friendly cars on the market. The Prius switches between petrol and electric power to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.
Europcar Does It Green
Europcar features on the Channel program Do It TV. To view the latest segment click here