TerraPass popular with car hire companies

TerraPass, the US-based carbon off-setting scheme, is becoming increasingly popular with those car hire companies that want to prove that they are actively trying to limit the negative effects of their industry on the environment, as well as put at ease environmentally-conscious renters. Enterprise, National and

Alamo all signed on to the TerraPass carbon reduction program late this fall and the scheme comes into effect on January 1, 2008. Once implemented, TerraPass will allow customers to pay an extra $1.25 for each car hire, in order to “off-set” the carbon emitted by their rental vehicle.

TerraPass is a highly successful business venture established by Tom Arnold, who describes himself as both an environmentalist, but also a capitalist. As such,

Arnold took his passion for the environment and built an innovative business around it. TerraPass started as a university assignment in 2004, after one of

Arnold’s professors challenged him to come up with a way to promote the sale of carbon-offset “credits” on the internet and to turn this into a successful business. Students, including

Arnold, each received $5000 in start-up money for their project and had only a month and a half to establish their online business.

Arnold’s concept focused on making a relatively precise calculation concerning the amount of carbon emitted by a car and then devising a way to buy an adequate number of credits in order to off-set the negative impact on the environment. Whenever drivers decide to off-set their emissions, the money spent on buying credits is passed on to a range of “green,” environmentally-friendly initiatives. This is also how TerraPass will spend any contributions made by Enterprise, National and

Alamo customers.

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