Car hire firms get greener

Many car hire companies in America are surprised at the success of their attempts to become more environmentally friendly. Carbon-offsetting schemes are among the most popular methods car rental firms have been reducing their environmental impact lately.

An initiative was started earlier this month which gave customers renting cars with Enterprise, National and Alamo, the ability to offset the carbon produced through their driving. The ‘Keys to Green’ program made the payments reasonable and optional.

Funds raised through renters contribution to the scheme are being donated from the car hire companies to environmentally friendly projects which attempt to reduce the earth’s greenhouse gasses.

In most cases, the carbon-offset fee is just $1.25 more than the rental fee, making it accessible and popular among a large number of renters. Another popular element to the program is that each customer contribution is matched by the rental company, doubling the amount of money going towards greenhouse gas reductions.

Some of the money from the carbon offset fees charged by Enterprise have gone into researching wind energy.

Airlines have also introduced similar schemes lately as the public becomes increasingly aware of the environmental impact of their travel. Environmentally conscious travelers may also want to investigate eco-hotels, which reduce their carbon imprints through various means as well.

www.enterprise.com