Who
Enterprise Rent-A-Car specialises in providing replacement vehicles and courtesy cars, the company also provides daily and weekend rental for private or business use. Started in 1957 as Executive Leasing Company in St. Louis (Missouri), the business was based on the founder Jack Taylor’s visionary idea that customers would see the benefits of leasing cars rather than buying them. Since then Enterprise Rent-A-Car has grown steadily and established itself in five different countries becoming an international rental car company, with more than 7,000 locations and 850,000 vehicles worldwide.
The company is now established as one of the three top rental car companies in the UK and a growing competitor in Europe. With 3,400 staff across the UK and 190 in Ireland in its 325 branches, three quarters of the UK population live within five miles of an Enterprise location.

What
Enterprise Rent-A-Car works in a number of areas to improve life for their employees and their communities concentrating on environment, training, increasing staff skills and diversity.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car actively supports sensible, long-term solutions to reduce vehicle emissions and offset the effects of those that remain. These solutions are focuses in five areas: conservation, fuel efficiency, alternative technologies, research and development, and carbon offset.
Working with the Arbor Day Foundation the company has created the 50 Years 50 Million Trees programme that aims to plant 50 million trees over 50 years across the countries in which the company does business.
Additionally Enterprise Rent-A-Car runs the Thinking green in our branches which reduces waste and saves energy. They use photocells and aura lights outside every branch, as well as using low flow flush, plumbed in water filters, low emission carpets, recycled paper contracts, recyclable furniture, low VOC paint and energy efficient computers inside every branch.
Committed to embrace new, clean fuel and engine technologies as they become commercially viable, the company has about 4000 gas/electric hybrid vehicles worldwide. It also offers the environmentally friendly transportation option of hourly vehicle rentals in several major metropolitan areas.
Aiming to minimize its environmental impact, Enterprise Rent-A-Car created the Institute for Renewable Fuels with a $25 million grant in 2007. The Institute is currently working in conjunction with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre to develop acceptable and affordable alternatives to finite fossil fuels by creating fuel from renewable and reliable plant sources.
The company offers the customers the opportunity to benefit the environment by offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions generate by an average rental car. The £1.25 paid by the customers for the offset is collected by the company and passed on to ClimateCare to be invested in their portfolio of carbon reduction projects.

The Enterprise Management Training Scheme run by Enterprise Rent-A-Car provides employees with diverse business skills and allows them to specialise in their chosen area. The course provides every employee with an inclusive workplace that offers the respect, training and opportunities to succeed.
The company rewards employees with a percentage of the profits generated by their branch, pension plans, life assurance and private medical assurances. It also has a range of other rewards including the service award programme, income protection, employee referral bonuses, recognition awards, company sponsored events and the international language programme.
Aiming to achieve completely satisfied customers, the company has created its Enterprise Service Quality index (ESQi), which measures customer satisfaction through telephone surveys every month. In this way, Enterprise Rent-A-Car has demonstrated its adaptability and its insistence to put customers’ needs first.
The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation provides grants to causes that are selected by its employees, customers and vendors in order to make a positive impact in thousands of local communities worldwide. The company also participate in Give As You Earn, which allows employees to contribute to charity organisations.
The company believes that diversity is a central goal in all areas of its business. Enterprise Rent-A-Car partners with Students in Free Enterprise, Race for Opportunity, Opportunity Now and Inclusive Recruitment for local and national diversity recruitment efforts. In addition, the company has 11 local teams throughout the UK and Ireland the help individuals, groups or business units achieve local diversity goals.

Why
Enterprise Rent-A-Car aims to contribute to a community’s sustainable grow by using locally sourced goods and services, and hiring people who reflect the diversity of communities. They encourage their employees to involve themselves in the communities that supports the business, as well as giving back to the environment each and every day.

Business benefits

• In 2008, Enterprise Rent-A-Car was named one of ‘The 50 Best Companies to work for in Ireland’ and gained a place in ‘Times Top 50 Companies Where Women Want to Work’
• Employees are well trained and have a loyalty to the company and their community
• The company ranks the top of European industry when it is about fuel efficiency, with 44.5 mpg average in its vehicles

Community benefits

• Their initiatives and business model limits vehicle ownership, reducing congestion and addressing other environmental concerns
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car offers the customers the opportunity to benefit the environment by offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions generate by an average rental car.
• The company also works in partnership with local leaders and supports initiatives that are vital to the health and development of the community.
• For every 100,000 customers who participating in the ClimateCare, Enterprise Rent-A-Car estimated that more than 33,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide are offset.

Website www.enterprise.com