Green Options

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Last week, I began to take a look at some of the environmental initiatives underway at St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-a-Car (which also own National and Alamo). While my discussion with VP of Corporate Responsibility and Communications Pat Farrell, and VP of Public Relations Christine Conrad, involved all five of the current “planks” in the company’s environmental platform, we were there to focus on its most recent announcement: customers could now purchase carbon offsets when reserving a vehicle by phone, or through the company’s web site.

The offset program with Terrapass started just over a month ago, with the company officially announcing it on January 15th. To its surprise, the program gained popularity before the official announcement: after the soft launch on January 1st, an average of 1000 customers a day were buying the $1.25 offset option. I did ask Pat about the controversy surrounding offsets: was this simply a way to make drivers feel better about doing the things they always do? Are they simply green “indulgences?” He told me,

That’s why the offset program is the fifth of the five planks in our platform. I often equate offsets with ‘marking time’ or ‘marching in place’: you’re doing something, but not necessarily moving forward. So, if that’s all you’re doing, that would make me uncomfortable. If you’re using them in combination with other solutions, though, that makes sense.

Last September, when discussing a new tool for vehicle fleet managers to determine the environmental impact of purchases, I made a quick reference to efforts by the rental car industry to “green” their fleets. At the time, I’d seen a number of press releases touting these efforts, particularly commitments to purchasing vehicles that produced lower levels of emissions. I remember thinking that I should reach out to St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-a-Car to find out more about their efforts; unfortunately, thinking was as far as I got.

I got the chance to rectify that situation when I met with Pat Farrell, Enterprise’s VP of Corporate Responsibility and Communications, and Christine Conrad, VP of Public Relations, two weeks ago over lunch. While the focus of our discussion was the company’s new offering of carbon offsets (in partnership with Terrapass) to customers renting by phone or through the company’s website, Pat and Christine also wanted to discuss the range of environmental initiatives Enterprise had taken in recent years. These have included:

Greening its fleet: The company (which also includes National and Alamo) now owns 73,000 flex-fuel vehicles, and 4000 hybrids. Over 237,000 of its 1.1 million vehicles average at least 32 miles per gallon, and 264,000 have earned EPA Smartway certification.

Contributing to Biofuels Research: Last year, the Taylor Family, which owns the company, donated $25 million to create the Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.

Conservation Efforts: Enterprise’s charitable foundation has committed to plant 50 million trees over the next fifty years in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation (though will not use these trees for offset credits)

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