Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which launched an
aggressive environmental initiative in June, has expanded the
program in an effort to reach as many as 25 million of its
customers.
Under its carbon
offset program, Enterprise, along with its National and Alamo
brands, will offer customers an opportunity to help reduce carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions generated by their car rentals.
During the
reservations process, customers will be offered the option of
paying $1.25 per rental, which will go to fund for certified offset
projects that remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
"Our customers tell
us that making sustainable choices when they rent a car is
important to them," said Andy Taylor, chairman and CEO of
Enterprise, in a statement. "This carbon offset program empowers
them to make that choice and address the impact of automobile
emissions on climate change."
Additionally,
Taylor said Enterprise would match customer offsets purchased
dollar for dollar up to $1 million.
The offset program
dovetails with other environmentally friendly initiatives launched
by the company in recent months, including its pledge, in
cooperation with the National Arbor Day Foundation, to underwrite
the planting of 1 million trees a year for the next 50
years.
Enterprise also has
the largest fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles in the industry. At
least 47% of its rental fleet, or 334,000 vehicles, are certified
as fuel-efficient and average at least 28 miles per gallon; another
28% of its fleet, or 199,000 vehicles, average at least 32 miles
per gallon
Its fleet also
includes more than 41,000 FlexFuel cars, which are capable of using
ethanol-based fuels, and another 3,000 gas/electric hybrid
vehicles, which are powered by a combination of gas and
battery-generated electricity.
"For us,
environmental sustainability is an integral part of how we
operate," Taylor said. "It's about sustaining our business for the
long term by addressing the parts of world we touch with our
business."
The Enterprise,
National and Alamo brands comprise more than 8,000 rental
locations.
To
contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Michael
Milligan at [email protected].