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2008-06-19Europcar is the First Company in Europe to Have its Environmental Charter Certified by Bureau Veritas

Paris, June 19, 2008 – Europcar International, the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rental, today announced that it has received certification for its “Green Charter,” which formalizes its commitments in favor of sustainable development. It is the first such certification for a company in Europe by Bureau Veritas Certification in the fields of quality, safety, health, the environment and social responsibility.

 

“We have been offering ‘green’ cars for over 10 years and we play a pioneering role in our industry,” pointed out Salvatore Catania, Chief Executive Officer of Europcar Groupe. “As the European leader, we have decided to go even further by taking a systematic approach to sustainable development and by measuring the effectiveness of our initiatives in a transparent manner. The development and certification of our Charter are part of this innovative approach.”

 

Developed in 2007 in association with Europcar’s major partners and customers, the Green Charter consists of commitments in four main areas:

- A “green” fleet: 99.6% of Europcar’s vehicles are certified “Euro IV” (the most recent, applicable European Union emissions standards for vehicles) and, whenever possible, Euro V (the next-generation standard). The average age of cars in Europcar’s fleet is four months, versus eight years for the average car driven on European roads.
- Fleet maintenance: Europcar is committed to instituting programs to collect and recycle materials, including waste, oil-based fluids, and the water used at all of its car wash facilities.
- Internal processes related primarily to fleet purchasing, headquarters administration, local stations and maintenance centers in Europe, as well as to Europcar’s approach to the safety and well-being of its customers, employees and partners.
- Initiatives to raise awareness among customers: Europcar recently launched a carbon-offset program for customers who want to compensate for their CO2 emissions. The company also provides vehicles’ average CO2 emissions in car descriptions so customers can make greener rental decisions.

 

Bureau Veritas Certification will certify that Europcar International’s Green Charter respects all of the commitments set.

 

Europcar took its first measures in favor of the environment 10 years ago with the opening of an “environmental station” in Paris. It was notably the first car rental company in Europe to offer hybrid and electric cars, and it regularly introduces new, cleaner-energy models into its fleet. In France, Europcar has won the “Oxygen Awards” twice for its environmental efforts. The company is currently implementing an electronic rental contract system which substantially reduces paper consumption.

 

About Europcar:

Owned by the French private equity firm Eurazeo, Europcar is the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rentals. Since March 2007 with the acquisition of Vanguard EMEA (National & Alamo brands), its network comprises over 5,300 rental outlets in 160 countries. Europcar serves business and leisure customers throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Excluding franchise operations, in 2007 Europcar signed more than 10 million rental contracts, with 7,700 employees and a fleet exceeding 215,000 vehicles.

For more information: www.europcar.com

 

About Bureau Veritas Certification:

Bureau Veritas Certification (Bureau Veritas Quality International) is the world leader in certification of management systems. Bureau Veritas Certification operates in more than 60 countries and has already provided certification services to more than 60,000 companies in 140 countries.

For more information: www.bureauveritas.com

 

Media Relations for Europcar:

Lorie Lichtlen / Sanaâ Nadir
Burson-Marsteller Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 41 86 76 60 / +33 (0)1 41 86 76 91
lorie.lichtlen@bm.com / sanaa.nadir@bm.com

 

 

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