Avis has been awarded “The Enviropaedia Eco-Logic Award for Water Conservation” at the Eco-Logic Awards, which took place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in November, to celebrate and recognise eco-logical individuals, organisations, products and services.
Avis chief executive, Wayne Duvenage says, “Having received the Climate Change Leadership Award earlier this year, we are further excited about receiving The Enviropaedia Eco-Logic Award for Water Conservation, which is another endorsement of the great work being done by our company on environmental matters.”
The Enviropaedia Eco-Logic Awards have been created with one primary objective, which is to enable and assist consumers to participate in looking after the planet, through the conscious use of their consumer spending power.
These Awards, initiated by Enviropaedia and judged by a panel of highly respected, environmentally aware individuals, explore a range of products, services and organisations with a view to then recognising and rewarding those that have been produced in an eco-logical manner.
“Avis embarked on its water recycling program in 2008, after assessing our significant use of water when washing rental vehicles. As soon as we started measuring our use, we became astounded at how much water was being wasted,” comments Duvenage.
Intensive water recycling was introduced into facility upgrades to reuse 85% of water used for washing vehicles. Rain water harvesting reservoir tanks were built under the parking areas to enable “water neutral” status in wet months.
The savings have resulted in just over 85 million litres of water saved per annum. Furthermore, this equated to over R1 million in costs saved.
As we continue along our green journey, we urge all businesses to consider our planet and the finite or dwindling nature of its resources, firstly for the sake of enabling a sustainable environment for future generations and life to thrive, but also for the benefit of company performance, productivity and savings.”