-- A reduction in carbon emissions in the first year equivalent to
retiring 40 buses from the company's fleet;
-- Reducing the company's petroleum use by approximately 420,000 gallons
in the first year its buses run on biodiesel;
-- Reducing the emission of particulate matter, which has been shown to be
a human health hazard; and
-- Reducing the emission of hydrocarbons, which contribute to the
localized formation of smog.
"Enterprise Holdings' move to cleaner burning, renewable biodiesel is a
premier example of corporate responsibility," said NBB Chief Executive
Officer Joe Jobe. "We are pleased that as Enterprise Holdings proactively
seeks cleaner energy alternatives, biodiesel is among the solutions."
The White House last week detailed efforts to build a new clean energy
economy, expressing strong support for biofuels. Among other measures, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule to implement
the renewable fuels standard of 36 billion gallons by 2022. The EPA
guidelines identify biodiesel as an advanced biofuel and require 1.15
billion gallons of biodiesel be used domestically by the end of 2010.
"Biodiesel has the best energy balance and the best greenhouse gas
reduction of any fuel that is currently in the commercial marketplace, and
is the only advanced biofuel that has reached commercialization in the
U.S.," Jobe said.
In addition to embracing biodiesel and other alternative fuels as they
become commercially viable, Enterprise Holdings also provides strong
support for renewable fuels research. In 2007, the company's owners, the
Taylor family, made a $25 million grant to the Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center in St. Louis to create the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute
for Renewable Fuels. Led by renowned plant researcher Dr. Richard Sayre,
top scientists work at the Institute to develop alternatives to finite
fossil fuels by finding new ways to create fuel from renewable, reliable
plant sources.
"The combination of energy independence and our need to identify
alternative sources for our fuels is the future. I believe biofuels are
bringing us a step closer to achieving these critical goals and Enterprise
is enabling science to become a reality," said Sayre, director of the
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels.
Sayre joined Broughton at the NBB's National Conference, speaking about the
Institute's focus on using renewable, reliable plant sources to produce
"third-generation" biofuels that can someday be used on a large scale to
power cars, trucks and aircraft. "Our research today is going to have a
profound impact on the fuel we use tomorrow."
Enterprise Holdings' support for current and emerging renewable fuels and
alternative engine technologies is just a part of its industry-leading
environmental stewardship platform, which also includes:
-- The world's largest fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles - More than
410,000 cars in the combined Alamo, Enterprise and National fleet that
average a highway fuel efficiency rating of at least 28 mpg or better;
approximately 230,000 average 32 mpg or better; and nearly 470,000 have
earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay
certification mark -- a distinction the EPA grants to vehicles that
emit relatively low levels of both regulated pollutants and greenhouse
gases such as CO2.
-- Customer Carbon Offsets - Alamo, Enterprise and National customers can
offset the CO2 emissions of their rental cars by opting to pay $1.25
per rental to fund certified offset projects through TerraPass. The
company's charitable foundation will match customer contributions
dollar-for-dollar, up to $1 million. In the first year, the carbon
offset program generated $440,000 and offset 42,000 metric tons of
carbon dioxide.
-- Conservation - The company's charitable foundation has pledged $50
million to plant 50 million trees over 50 years through the 50 Million
Tree Pledge, a public/private/nonprofit partnership with the Arbor Day
Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service. Trees are being planted on
public lands in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
All told, over the past several years Enterprise Holdings and the Taylor
family have contributed or pledged more than $120 million to environmental
initiatives. For more information about the company's full environmental
platform, visit www.keystogreen.com.
About Enterprise Holdings
Enterprise Holdings,
through its regional subsidiaries, owns and operates more than 1 million
cars and trucks, the largest fleet of passenger vehicles in the world
today, under the Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise
Rent-A-Car and National Car
Rental brands. As North America's largest and most comprehensive car
rental company, Enterprise Holdings also operates a network of more than
7,600 car rental locations in neighborhoods and at airports worldwide, and
leads the industry with more than a third of all airport business in the
U.S. and Canada.
Enterprise Holdings is headquartered in St. Louis. Ranked No. 21 on the
Forbes Top 500 Private Companies in America list, Enterprise Holdings is
unparalleled in size, strength and stability -- the only investment-grade
company in the car rental industry. In addition, Enterprise Holdings is
part of a global strategic alliance with Europcar, creating the world's
largest car rental network. Other Enterprise business lines include Enterprise Fleet
Management, Enterprise
Commercial Trucks, Enterprise Car
Sales and WeCar car sharing. For
more information about Enterprise Holdings, visit www.enterpriseholdings.com. For more
information about Enterprise Holdings' environmental stewardship and the
company's long-term commitment to ensure the sustainability of its
business, visit www.keystogreen.com.
Contact Information: For more information, contact: Lisa Martini Enterprise Holdings 314-323-0709