Company’s Management Training Program Incorporates Corporate Sustainability Efforts and Reinforces Importance of Business Planning for Long Term
NEW YORK, 2012-09-17 — /travelprnews.com/ — Enterprise Holdings, which owns and operates more than 400 Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car rental facilities in metro New York, has reduced its local energy use by almost 10 percent since 2010. Even more recently, the metro New York team reduced energy consumption by more than 530,000 kilowatt-hours in its facilities during a five-month period. That reduction alone is enough to power more than 22 American homes for a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Enterprise Holdings is the largest car rental company in the world, so decreasing energy use in each of our rental branches can make a real difference in our business,” said Andy Church, president and general manager for Enterprise Holdings in New York. “Our presence in every U.S. market means that even small changes can have a significant impact.”
Leadership Role
In 2010, Enterprise Holdings committed to reduce both energy use and energy costs by 20 percent companywide through its 20/20 Vision initiative, with $50 million in energy cost savings by 2015.
Church believes the industry-leading program aligns the interests of customers, employees and business partners across all five New York boroughs.
“Our hope is for our metro New York locations to collectively reduce energy use by up to 25 percent by 2015,” he said. “This, in turn, will further strengthen our leadership role in local mobility and our ability to provide convenient and affordable local car-rental and car-sharing services to New York consumers.”
To that end, Lee Broughton, head of corporate sustainability for Enterprise Holdings, stresses the cumulative impact of all 76 of the company’s regional subsidiaries participating in the company’s 20/20 Vision initiative, especially during tough economic times like these.
“Decreasing our environmental footprint overall results in cost savings, regardless of how long cars are being rented – by the hour, the day, the week or even longer,” Broughton noted. “This kind of conservative and disciplined financial management has always been key to Enterprise’s approach to corporate sustainability.”
Training Opportunity
A top recruiter of college graduates in the United States, Enterprise has long helped employees, like Gavin Ramrattan, an Enterprise Rent-A-Car branch manager in Jamaica, N.Y., learn valuable business skills such as managing profit and loss statements, marketing and customer service. Today, the company’s renowned Management Training Program not only provides employees hands-on experience and real-life lessons in how to run a successful business, it also can introduce them to corporate sustainability fundamentals. That means up-and-coming managers in many locations are now able to include sustainability as part of their broad scope of responsibilities – which drives profitability at the grassroots level and reinforces the importance of business planning for the long term.
“Our team is always on the lookout for new ways to reduce our energy use,” said Ramrattan. “It has become a natural part of our decision-making process and how we operate, and we’re seeing the benefits of sustainability in our bottom line. In fact, due to our more efficient HVAC system, painting the roof white and upgrading interior and exterior lighting, my branch has seen more than a 30 percent reduction in electricity use.”
John Kloehr, group controller for Enterprise Holdings’ New York Metropolitan Division, notes, “Our efforts range from installing energy-efficient lighting to adding motion sensors on thermostats and controlling parking lot lighting with an astronomic timer. And we’re seeing results through reduced consumption and costs.”
Enterprise Holdings’ goal is to improve the operational efficiency of its entire worldwide network, which includes more than 7,700 neighborhood and airport locations – more than twice as many locations as the company’s nearest U.S. competitor. As a result, Enterprise, National and Alamo branch offices have taken a variety of steps toward that goal, incorporating both simple and complex changes to local operations.
More information about Enterprise Holdings’ public commitment to economic, social and environmental sustainability may be found on the company’s www.DrivingFutures.com website and in its Corporate Sustainability Report.
About Enterprise Holdings
Founded in 1957, Enterprise Holdingsis the most comprehensive service provider in the car rental industry, operating – through its regional subsidiaries – the Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands as well as its flagship Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand in North America. With annual revenues of $14.1 billion and more than 70,000 employees, Enterprise Holdings owns and operates more than 1.2 million cars and trucks, making it the largest car rental company in the world measured by revenue, employees and fleet. For more information about St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings, visit www.enterpriseholdings.com, and follow @LeeBroughton on Twitter. This news release and other announcements are available at the Enterprise Holdings press room.
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