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Europcar, the European leader in car rental, has been awarded an ISO 14001 certification for fulfilling its environmental promises. The main measures implemented by Europcar in terms of social and environmental responsibility are formally documented in its "Charter for the Environment," which was certified by Bureau Veritas in 2008. This was the first certification of such a charter in the fields of quality, safety, health, environment and corporate social responsibility given to a company in Europe.
Europcar’s charter is founded on bold commitments in four main areas: a green car rental fleet, clean and environmentally friendly fleet maintenance, awareness-raising measures for employees and customers, and ISO 14001 certification of internal environmental management processes.
During its control audit in 2009, Bureau Veritas clearly observed the progress achieved by Europcar in respecting its commitment, regarding a "green" fleet, fleet maintenance, awareness-raising for employees and customers and internal processes. Thus, regarding its green fleet, Europcar signed a partnership agreement with Nissan to launch electric vehicles in the rental market and is developing global zero-emission mobility solutions.
Regarding fleet maintenance, Europcar has set up a recycling program for waste, fluids and wastewater from all its washing stations.
In view of raising awareness among employees and customers, Europcar launched an internal competition within its employees to find the "best green idea," recently awarding an e-Solex for an IT hardware recycling concept. For its customers, the company has set up CO2 offset and invoicing programs stating the quantity of CO2 emitted for each car and van rental.
Concerning its internal processes, Europcar gained ISO 14001 certification for its internal environmental management processes in Germany during February 2009, following on from Spain and Italy where it secured ISO 14001 accreditation in May 2000 and June 1999 and has just received it for the Group’s headquarters. The company aims to gain the same certification in France, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Belgium by the end of 2009. Franchisees in other countries are required to apply the same processes.
"For over 10 years, we have been offering clean vehicles and have played a pioneering role in our industry," stated Rafael Girona, Chief Operating Officer of Europcar Groupe. "We take our sustainable development commitments and initiatives very seriously indeed. ISO 14001 certification and Bureau Veritas’s validation of the progress made reinforces our confidence that we are on the right track."
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
