Leading
international environmental figures from government, business and education
have signed up to oversee Land Rover's industry leading carbon dioxide offset
programme.
An independent
Board of Governance, specially formed for this purpose, will include, among
others, one of the first people to raise awareness of climate change, the former
government adviser and diplomat, Sir Crispin Tickell. He'll be joined by the
director of the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford, Professor Diana
Liverman, the director of the Business Programme at the sustainable development
charity, Forum For The Future, Dr Sally Uren, and the government adviser and former
director of environment policy at B&Q, Alan Knight. Further appointments
will be announced in due course.
Land Rover has cut emissions with each
successive model in its range and is developing technologies to make further
improvements. The CO2 emissions from its main manufacturing plant at
Solihull have been cut by 30% over the past 10 years. The offset programme is a
key part of an integrated approach to further reducing CO2 emissions
and will offset all of the CO2 generated by Land Rover’s
manufacturing operations and the first 45,000 miles of vehicle use by its UK
customers. It is run by Climate Care, a highly respected offset provider. The
ultimate goal is CO2 neutrality with investments being made in
renewable energy projects such as wind and solar, technology change and energy
efficiency.
Sir Crispin said, “Climate change is a
long standing issue and these are important steps towards practical actions to
tackle part of that problem.”
Sally Uren said, “Offset schemes are a
useful way of engaging the public on the climate change agenda. However,
offsetting is a transition mechanism at best, as it will be investment in new
technologies that will provide the long-term solutions to climate change. Land
Rover recognises this and we look forward to seeing new advances in technology
reach the market in the not too distant future.”
Phil Popham, Land Rover’s Managing
Director, said, “The Land Rover carbon offset programme is an industry leading
initiative and demonstrates our commitment to the environment, which includes
investing in new technologies to further reduce the emissions from our
vehicles. I am delighted that such distinguished figures, who’ve played leading
roles in highlighting the issue of climate change, have agreed to give us their
advice and assistance in tackling this issue.”
The board will meet every four months and
will use its expertise to ensure due diligence is exercised throughout the
offset process to make certain it is accountable, efficient and transparent.
|
Biographies of the board . . .
Sir Crispin Tickell
Sir Crispin Tickell was Chef de Cabinet to
the President of the European Commission (1977-1980), British Ambassador to
Mexico (1981-1983), Permanent Secretary of the Official Development Assistance
(now Department for International Development) (1984-1987), and British
Ambassador to the United Nations and Permanent Representative on the UN
Security Council (1987-1990), adviser on environmental issues to three
successive British prime ministers as well as Convenor of the British
Government Panel on Sustainable Development. Tickell was one of the first people
to call attention to the hazards of global warming. Author of “Climate Change
and World Affairs”, he is also in the unique position of understanding both
science and public policy.
Professor Diana Liverman
Currently, director of
the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford, Professor Liverman was previously
Associate Director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University.
She has also served as chair of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Committee
on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change, and as a member of
advisory committees for NASA, NOAA and the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric
Research. She is a member of editorial boards of the Annual Review of
Environment and Resources and of Climatic Change.
Dr Sally Uren
Sally joined Forum’s Business Programme in
2002. Since then she’s been working with business partners across all
sectors to get to grips with sustainability, has overseen and contributed to a
wide range of research projects – all designed to unlock the links between
sustainable development and successful business – and has presented at both
national and international conferences. Prior to joining the Forum, Sally
founded and directed the Sustainability Group at private consultancy Casella
Stanger (now owned by Bureau Veritas).
Dr Alan Knight OBE
Alan
Knight has 15 years experience of understanding the impact and opportunities
CSR and sustainable development provide to global retail and is the SDC’s
Commissioner on Sustainable Consumption.
He is the founder of “Single Planet Living” Limited, a company that offers
coaching and presentations on SD in retailer and commerce.
From 1990 to 2000 he served as Head of Sustainable Development at
B&Q, the UK’s market leader in home improvement and part of the Kingfisher
Group. He co-chaired the UK Government's Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption
and serves on the UK Sustainable Development Commission and was for 6 years
chair of the Government's Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the
Environment (ACCPE). He chairs DEFRA’s Ethical Trading Champions group and
DTI’s Retail Innovation and Sustainability group. He sits on the technical
advisory group for Duchy Originals, is an Ambassador to WWF UK and is a former
director of both the Tropical Forest Trust and the Forest Stewardship Council. |
Land-Rover
