The announcement that Land Rover’s support will assist in the rescue and relocation of wild orangutans in Indonesian Borneo was made by TV presenter Nick Knowles at a VIP pre-screening of the BBC’s Saving Planet Earth which documents his visit to Borneo to see the work of BOS.

The sponsorship forms part of Land Rover’s sustainable development policy, which outlines the company’s commitment to developing the business responsibly and ensuring sound environmental practice for all Land Rover activities.

Land Rover’s support for BOS will be the donation of a Defender for the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project in Central Kalimantan. The project, which opened in 1999, will use the Defender for the transportation and return of orangutans to safe forests secured by Lone Droscher Nielsen, the founder and manager of the project which currently has 631 orangutans in its care.

Lone Droscher Nielsen, commenting at the VIP pre-screening, said: “The Land Rover Defender will be fundamental to supporting our work in remote areas of Borneo where off-road capabilities are required. It is through such support that we are able to protect the wild orangutan from extinction as well as promoting the preservation of its natural habitat.”

Land Rover has pioneered responsible off-roading through its ‘Fragile Earth’ policy for many years and currently works with five core global conservation partners: Royal Geographical Society (RGS), China Exploration and Research Society (CERS), Born Free Foundation, Biosphere Expeditions and EarthWatch. Land Rover supplies a quarter of the global aid agency market and the vehicles are used by emergency services, police, ambulance and mountain rescue teams across the country and worldwide.

Land Rover’s sponsorship programmes form part of an integrated approach towards sustainability. Land Rover engineers are at the forefront of Ford’s £1bn programme to develop technologies that will reduce emissions and improve fuel economy. Land Rover has also introduced the world’s biggest consumer carbon dioxide off-set programme which offsets 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 hydro, technology change and energy efficiency.