EUROPCAR GOES GREENER
Carbon offsets make the Green logo shine
December 5, 2006
Europcar Australia announced today a $250,000 commitment to offset carbon emissions from its 6,000-strong fleet of vehicles.
Europcar kicks off the carbon-neutralisation campaign in conjunction with its major fleet supplier Subaru and the environmental organisation GreenFleet. When Europcar takes delivery of its 836 new Subaru Forester, Outback and Impreza models in early December, Greenfleet will plant 14,000 trees to offset one year's carbon emissions for each new car.
This is the first step in a roll-out that will involve more than 100,000 trees covering 100-hectares of degraded land by mid 2008. In addition to neutralising the carbon emissions from Europcar's vehicles, the mixed species trees planted by GreenFleet will also help to tackle salinity, improve water quality and provide essential habitat for native species.
Europcar Asia Pacific CEO Josh Green said he hoped 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 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."
Mr Green said the existing Subaru vehicles had proved very popular with customers since their launch in the Europcar fleet in September 2006.
"Subarus, as all wheel drive vehicles are among the safest, most reliable and comfortable cars on the road. By the end of the year our fleet will number over 1500 ensuring better availability for Europcar customers."
Europcar's prestige fleet supplier Audi has also expressed interest in supporting the initiative and we will be encouraging commitment from other suppliers, Hyundai, Ford and Nissan.
Greenfleet is a non profit environmental conservation organisation that specialises in reducing environmental impacts of transport by planning native trees to offset carbon emissions and promoting fuel-efficient technologies. Since 1997 Greenfleet has planted over 3 million trees on behalf of Australian motorists and fleets.
Nick Senior, Managing Director, Subaru Australia, said the company was delighted to be able join forces with Europcar for such a important initiative.
"We are proactive about environmental conservation and I hope our commitment to this program will help expand environmental awareness," Mr Senior said.
"One of our factories in Indiana, USA has achieved a number of firsts when it comes to environmental policy. This includes zero landfill, preservation of native animal habitats, conservation and reduction in waste materials, with the overall aim of eliminating environmental risk in our operations."
Starting early 2007, Europcar plans to encourage its staff, customers and private vehicle owners to also become a part of the Greenfleet initiative by signing up to offset their own vehicle's carbon emissions.
"Customers will be able to donate towards the Greenfleet initiative whenever they hire a vehicle at a Europcar depot," Mr Green said.
"We will also be encouraging our staff to offset their own private vehicles and look forward to creating a forest of greenery, courtesy of Europcar's Australia wide fleet."
Europcar is one of Australia's most popular providers of car rental services, operating a large fleet of quality vehicles across a nationwide network of over 110 locations.