Avis has released the latest emissions figures from its CarbonNeutral program, which shows that alongside an internal CO2 emissions reduction program, the company will have offset 10,962 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions by December 2011, bringing the total emissions offset since 1997 to 167,810 tonnes.
The figure is equivalent to the emissions produced by 29,850 cars in a year or nearly 46,000 flights between London and Melbourne, Australia, and is enough carbon dioxide to fill 167,810 hot air balloons.
Avis was the first car rental company to gain CarbonNeutral status in 1997, and has since successfully reduced its average CO2 emissions year on year.
This has been achieved through the introduction of energy saving measures and environmentally friendly technology including regular energy audits; installing lower electricity consumption technology; installing motion sensors into lighting and appointing a “Green Champions” recycling scheme.
The use of E-learning and video-conferencing has reduced travel for Avis employees, with seven countries now participating, and a resulting 25% reduction in European travel. Avis also encourages car-sharing at its European HQ by allocating priority parking spaces for staff who travel together.
It has also been involved in ‘green’ practices such as the development of renewable energy, methane capture projects and tree planting.
Avis was also the first car rental company in the world to offer CarbonNeutral driving to all its customers, in which their emissions could be completely offset.
Patriot - 06/09/2011 14:57
'the company will have offset 10,962 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions by December 2011, bringing the total emissions offset since 1997 to 167,810 tonnes.' Not reduced but offset. Carbon is an element, so it is not created or destroyed. No carbon enters or leaves earth. Therefore, the amount of carbon on earth never changes. It exists in several forms: carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas inside living things - people, animals, trees, plankton, etc. buried underground (in land or sea) in the form of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) There are many companies in the business of selling carbon offset shares. Some of these companies have a loophole that lets them buy already established trees and sell shares of those trees instead of newly planted ones. This is the fallacy of carbon offset, in that there is no net decrease in carbon emissions by new photosynthetic plant-life. All Avis are doing is self promoting a scheme to bolster their 'Green' credentials. There is still the same amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.