Car Rentals - Europcars Initiatives

Due to climate change Australia's average temperature has increased by 0.9 degrees since the 1950's. The number of hot days and nights has increased and the numbers of cold days and nights have declined. Global sea levels have risen by 10cm from 1920-2000 and substantial warming has also occurred in the oceans surrounding Australia.

Europcar recognises that until environmentally friendly cars are produced and made available to the public on mass (e.g. hydrogen fuel cell cars, which is expected in 2020) a way of limiting further carbon emissions and offsetting the amount of pollution already existing is crucial in preventing further climate change. As such they have incorporated a number of initiatives into their business practises.

Europcar is Australia's first rental car company dedicated to reducing its carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. Europcar operates at over 110 locations in Australia and is one of the leading car rental companies in the country. Customers can feel confident that they are making a positive contribution towards the environment, when they hire a car here.

One of the most significant environmentally friendly changes has been the joining of forces between Greenfleet and Europcar in 2006:
- to limit carbon emissions
- to reduce current greenhouse gas levels
- to invest in technology to reduces fuel usage (and consequently the amount of carbon emissions),
- And further to support local communities, invest in rural Australia and protect native Australian animals.

In partnership with the environmental organisation Green Fleet , Europcar has planted 14,000 trees to offset one year's carbon emissions for each new car (836 in total) received in December last year. They have committed over $250,000 to offsetting the carbon emissions from their fleet of 6,000. For each car 17 native trees were planted which will neutralize the yearly emissions from one car (based on 4.3 tonnes of CO2 for the average car). Their first tree planting was in December at Somerset Dam, QLD and their next planting is expected to be on great Alpine Road near Mount Kosciusko.

Europcar staff and customers are encouraged to offset carbon emissions from their own vehicles. Every time you rent a car from Europcar for $2 (tax deductible) you can offset your vehicle's emissions. Greenfleet's website (www.greenfleet.com.au) gives individuals with the opportunity to neutralize their own car's carbon emissions. For $40 (tax deductible) a year Greenfleet will plant enough trees to neutralize your car's carbon emissions.

POINTER: Planting trees are the only method that can offset carbon emissions from transport which is the largest contributors to air pollution in the world.

Internationally Europcar's reputation is know for being committed to the environment. Europcar Asia Pacific CEO Josh Green mentions factories in Indiana, USA, operate with an aim to eliminate environmental risk in their operations e.g. zero landfill, preservation of native animal habitats, conservation and reduction in waste materials.

Europcar has incorporated Sustainable Business Practices into their business, creating a workplace culture that encourages environmental changes. Businesses create a large amount of waste each year and it costs billions to manage it. Reducing their waste can bring down costs. A simple way of doing this is by measuring and tracking waste (i.e. paper, water, fuel, energy etc) and creating goals to decrease these.

Some sustainable ideas used by Europcar include:
- Remove all fax machines and have the faxes sent to an email serve. This will save paper.
- Replace all polystyrene cups with reusable mugs.
- Turn all lights and computers off during the night, when they are not in use.
- Make it easier to recycle, place more paper recycling boxes around and encourage everyone to use them.

Europcar's car washes are becoming green also. They are a company setting green benchmarks in the car wash industry, all car wash facilities comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Sustainable Business Practises (SBP) requirements and use recycled water in their washes. Europcar is consulting with environmental engineers on how to design and build greener facilities in their other carwashes e.g. Melbourne and at Cairns airport.

POINTER: Another great idea is using environmentally friendly products i.e. Buying recycled paper and switching to green cleaning products (this can improve air quality, generally less toxic, saves money).

Links for further information:
- Europcar
- Greenfleet
- Comparison: Check and compare environmental credentials of vehicles at this site
- Climate change in Australia

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