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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken its share of lumps (and rightfully so) over the past seven Bush years, so it’s nice to see true acts of environmentalism occasionally coming from the organization.
Writing in Greenversations, the EPA’s blog, Jeffery Robichaud writes about his travels through the Midwest in a Winnebago to audit regional air-quality monitors in areas around Kansas City and St. Louis. The typically breezy nature of the region inspired one of the EPA audit team members to supplement the Winnebago’s gas-powered generator with wind energy.
When I sat down with Enterprise Rent-a-Car’s VP of Corporate Responsibility and Communications Pat Farrell, and Christine Conrad, VP of Public Relations, in January, both spent a fair amount of time talking about the company’s large fleet of greener vehicles: hybrids, flex-fuel vehicles, and higher-mileage cars. As a couple of commenters noted on those posts, though, finding the greener car you want may be a challenge. Enterprise’s Dan Miller, general manager for Atlanta, also heard these concerns from their customers (particularly corporate accounts), so he decided to do something about it. Now, Atlanta residents wanting to rent either a hybrid or higher-mileage (28 mpg or higher) vehicle from the company know where to go: one of the area’s four “green” branches.
Each of these branches carries stocks about 100 cars, and about 60% of the vehicles at each branch consist of greener vehicles. In a short call last week, Pat (and colleague Lisa Martini) told me that these branches are not focusing on flex-fuel vehicles, as the fueling infrastructure in Atlanta doesn’t support their widespread use. He also noted that Miller’s decision was based on “the need for green in Atlanta” because of the high amounts of traffic congestion, as well as customer demand for the vehicles. He stressed throughout the call, though, that this was a “grassroots” decision: Enterprise sees itself as a “confederation of local operations (owner Andy Taylor’s phrase), and Miller’s decision reflects any local managers ability to manage his/her fleet to meet local needs. He expects that other regional managers will be watching developments in Atlanta closely.
Nope, not an April Fool’s joke… the St. Louis Blues hockey team will host a “Go Green” event on its Tuesday night game against the Nashville Predators. While the information is bit sketchy on their website, sales rep Scott Witte let me know that this first environmentally-themed event for the team will mainly involve raising funds for one of the city’s most cherished green spaces, Tower Grove Park. There may be some green vendors displaying [...]
While it is possible to go carless in St. Louis (especially if you live in the city), most residents would claim that it’s challenging. In many cases, this perception represents an unwillingness to give up the convenience of a personal vehicle, but there is merit to the argument: our public transportation system is good, but not great, and the concept of a walkable neighborhood is still very much in its formative stages. In the last month, though, St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-a-Car (a company I’ve blogged about recently) has started an experiment that may help residents rethink the idea of car ownership: it’s WeCar car-sharing program has launched (rather quietly) at Washington University and in the downtown loft district.
As local blogger Steve Patterson noted when WeCar rolled out at Wash, the program appears to be all-hybrid: six Priuses at Wash, one at their medical campus, and nine downtown. Mayor Francis Slay is already singing WeCar’s praises: “It will help the environment,” Slay said. “It will also give people more options as far as commuting. Some people would like to take light rail or the bus to work but they need the flexibility during the day. They can use the WeCar.”
What’s the best defense against charges of “greenwashing?” Its measurement, of course: accurate, verifiable assessments provide evidence that an institution is “walking the walk” in its efforts to operate more sustainably. While the business world might have the most to gain in terms of releasing concrete data regarding sustainability initiatives, higher education’s enthusiastic embrace of green initiatives has also drawn scrutiny from a variety of stakeholders: students, faculty, administrators, alumni and board members all want to know that a campus’ efforts to “go green” represent sound investments in both the institution’s, and the planet’s, well-being. While a number of reports have measured various aspects of college and university environmental programs, no single method for assessing campus sustainability exists… well, until now.
Last week, I ran across an article from the Washington University Record noting that it, along with 89 other institutions, was participating in the pilot stage of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). The pilot represents the start of “a collaborative process to develop a campus sustainability rating system” with the following goals:
- Provide a guide for advancing sustainability in all sectors of higher education, from governance and operations to academics and community engagement.
- Enable meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions by establishing a common standard of measurement for sustainability in higher education.
- Create incentives for continuous improvement toward sustainability.
- Facilitate information sharing about higher education sustainability practices and performance.
- Build a stronger, more diverse campus sustainability community and promote a comprehensive understanding of sustainability that includes its social, economic and environmental dimensions.
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)
