Did you know that fuel consumption can vary by up to 45% on the same route depending on how you drive? As well as renting from our new, fuel-efficient Avis Eco Collection, by following our Eco Driving Tips you can save money and reduce your emissions on all your car journeys:

1) Plan your journeys.
Plan your journeys to avoid peak periods, road works and getting lost – you will have a more relaxing journey and will waste less fuel.

2) Drive smoothly
Try to avoid harsh acceleration and braking – pulling away too fast can use up 60% more fuel.

3) Traffic jams
If stuck in a traffic jam for more than a couple of minutes, turn off the engine to cut exhaust emissions and conserve fuel.

4) Change gear efficiently.
Change gear at 1500 to 2500 rpm can save up to 15% on fuel – and reduce emissions by the same amount.

5) Avoid short journeys.
Short journeys on a cold engine use up to twice as much fuel as a warmed up engine – producing more pollution.

6) Limit your speed.
Optimise your fuel consumption, reduce your emissions and avoid speeding fines by observing the speed limit.

7) Concentrate
Look ahead and anticipate the road conditions and other people’s actions – this reduces the need for hard braking and acceleration.

8 ) Keep you cool.
Using air vents rather than opening windows can reduce fuel consumption by 4%, while air conditioning can increase fuel consumption by up to 2 litres per 100km.

9) Don’t Rev
Avoid revving the engine unnecessarily – this wastes fuel and increases harmful emissions.

10) Drive Carbon Neutral®
Avis is proud to be the first car rental company in the world to offer Carbon Neutral® driving to all its customers. If you would like to absorb the CO2 emissions from your next car hire please speak to one of our station staff who will be keen to help you. For more information on carbon offsetting your car rental please visit www.avis.co.uk/environment.

To download an illustrated PDF with all of our Eco Driving tips, click here, why not share them with your friends and family?

I am excited to announce the launch of the Avis Eco Collection, our new low emissions car group. If you choose to rent a car from the Avis Eco collection you can drive away in a brand new, stylish and fuel efficient VW Golf 1.6 TDI 90ps. The cars combined MPG is 62.8 and its CO2 emissions are sub 120, at 118g/km. Currently these cars are available at 21 Avis locations across the UK.

Also to celebrate the launch of the new Avis Eco collection, we will offset the carbon offset all of the Eco collection rentals that have pick-ups in December 2009 and January 2010.

We would love to hear what you think about this new car group and it would be great to get feedback if you have rented one of our Avis Eco cars.

Avis are pleased to announce that we now offer our customers the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions from their car rental in the UK when they collect there keys. The cost to offset the rental is £1, this has been calculated based on average vehicle emissions, length of rentals, mileage and age of vehicles. The money raised will be allocated by our partner, The CarbonNeutral Company.

To celebrate the launch for every customer who chooses to offset the carbon on their rental in December 2009 and January 2010, Avis will match the total amount collected.

We would also like our customers to choose which project they want us to invest the carbon offset fund in. We have selected three potential projects, now all we need is for you to vote in our blog poll for one of the following:

Candelaria Hydro Power Project – Guatemala
The project involves the generation of renewable energy through the installation of a run-of-river hydropower plant in Guatemala. The project generated emission reductions of approximately 14,500 CO2 equivalent in 2006, verified and certified to the Voluntary Carbon Standard.

Damao Wind Power Project – China
This project generates clean energy from 40 new wind turbines in China. The total emissions reductions are estimated to be 100,000 tCO2 equivalent, verified to the Gold Standard (GS).

Vehicles for Change
In the Vehicles for Change portfolio, the verifiable emission reductions are generated by a coalmine methane capture project in Germany, which is combined with an initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina producing bio-diesel from waste cooking oil to be used as cleaner fuel for public buses. If successful, the Bosnian project will demonstrate the financial and practical viability of bio-diesel as a cleaner fuel source, paving the way to sustainable development in a nation adversely affected by war.

Have your vote now!

I’ve just read that Willie Walsh, CEO at British Airways, is due to announce a pledge by airlines, airports and airplane manufacturers to cut carbon emissions to half 2005 levels by 2050. I know that BA hasn’t had the best press over the past couple of years but I’ve been really impressed by Willie Walsh’s efforts to lobby for proactive measures to tackle climate change in the airline industry.

In anticipation of the announcement Willie Walsh declared: “International aviation emissions were not included in the Kyoto protocol 12 years ago. Now we have a chance to rectify that omission, and we must seize it”. Walsh will be joined by senior executives from Qatar Airways, SAS and IATA to unveil the plans at the UN climate summit in New York today.

Also included in these plans are proposals to make all industry growth carbon-neutral by 2020, to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5% each year over the next decade and to submit plans for joining a global carbon trading scheme to the UN by November 2010.

The plans are welcome news with analysts predicting that global aviation emissions could account for 15-20 percent of all CO2 produced in 2050, if left unchecked.

Unfortunately I never get to go to the Frankfurt motor show but it is great to be reading all the buzz around some of the electric and hybrid cars on show. Peugeot, Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Ford and Renault were all there to showcase electric-powered concepts while Tesla showed off a Brabus tuned-up Roadster and their upcoming Model S.

There were plenty of hybrid and plug-in hybrids on display also. Toyota look to be expanding their hybrid range to the Auris and GM’s hybrid plug-in, the Ampera, is particularly exciting and is expected to go on sale in the UK in 2012. But the hybrid that has really got me drooling is BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamic concept. BMW claim that the diesel hybrid will hit 0-62 mph in 4.8 seconds while running at 75.1 mpg. Check out this video that I found on Youtube and I think you’ll see what I mean! And let us know if you have any thoughts on the motor show or if you were even lucky enough to go!

While some continue to doubt the effect the human race has had on climate change across our planet, there is no doubting that tackling climate change is high on the political agenda. 183 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, which represents a legally binding commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Much of the effort is being channelled on to reducing the amount of CO2 that we emit into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.

Road vehicles account for 19% of domestic greenhouse gas emissions in the UK so it should be no surprise that this is a major area of focus in reducing our carbon footprint. As such, the UK has committed to reducing the CO2 output of new car registrations to an average that is no higher than 130 g/km by 2012 and to an average no higher than 95 g/km by 2020.

Hitting these targets is largely dependent on the accessibility of vehicles that run on low carbon fuels. One of these alternatives, hydrogen fuel cells, is still too expensive to produce (and being some 10 years away from being practical according to government projections) while one of the other great hopes, biofuels, are being challenged on their environmental credentials, particularly given the high profile impact it has had on food supplies. Both fuel types continue to be the recipient of significant financial investment and, with good reason, have the potential to provide a long-term solution in the replacement of fossil fuels.

The UK government, however, is going to focus it’s energies on encouraging the uptake of electric and hybrid cars, for the short-term at least. The government is serious about this but, at the same time, is realistic about the challenges it faces. They are fully aware of the stigma electric cars have attracted due to their characteristicly ugly looks, poor performance, poor driving range (try taking a G-Wiz further than 40 miles) and an incredibly long re-charging time (about 7 hours on the mains).

There are plenty of incentives for manufacturers to resolve the issues of performance and there is plenty of evidence that progress is being made. Nissan Motor Company, for example, recently announced that, with the help of the government, they are planning to open plants to manufacture their advanced lithium-ion batteries in Sunderland. They also recently announced the launch of the Nissan Leaf which they plan to lead with as the first mass produced electric car, producing 100,000 by 2012. We even now have our first electric sports car in the form of the Tesla Roadster.

Of course consumers may need a little more encouragement if they are to trade-in their current car for an eco-friendly alternative. For this reason the government has committed £230 million to fund a £2k to £5k incentive to encourage consumers to buy electric. The incentive is due to launch in 2011. Similarly, £30 million has been allocated to encourage the development of an infrastructure of electric re-charging units that plug directly into the national grid, charging your car in under 10 minutes.

It seems to me that many of the right steps are being taken. We’ll potentially have the cars and the infrastructure to make electric a goer. But somehow I still have my doubts about just how popular electric cars will be. I can’t help shaking this nagging feeling that it will take more than an incentive to get people to lose their beloved petrol car. Maybe it’s because people, in isolation, do not feel they can have any impact on climate change. But there is also the fact that, in our Western society, the car remains one of our precious symbols of status and trading that in is a difficult pill to swallow.

But then what is the alternative? Whether you are a sceptic about climate change or not, the worst case scenarios are so terrible that it seems too big a gamble to ignore. Whole species face extinction, lives are in danger and, according to The Stern Report, not taking action could cost from five to 20 per cent of global GDP every year, now and in the future.

So how do you feel about the future of motoring? What would it take to convince you to trade in your car for an ultra-low carbon alternative? Is it about performance, looks, driving range? Or would you never consider doing such a thing?

At Avis, we’re committed to reducing our impact on the environment. We’ve previously supported the CarbonNeutral campaign, introduced Electric Bikes for deliveries in London and in Jan 2008, we were voted the Greenest car hire company in the Telegraph travel awards.

Now, we’re supporting ACT ON CO₂, a cross governmental campaign designed to help people to save money and fuel as well as reducing their CO₂ emissions. Visit the ACT ON CO₂ website for more information on buying, driving and sharing cars.

There are a few easy things you can do to reduce the amount of work your car engine has to do, the amount of fuel you burn and your CO₂ emissions. By following the below tips, you could cut your CO₂ emissions by around 8% – equivalent to saving up to one months fuel per year.

1. Pump up to cut down

Under inflated tyres create more resistance when your car is moving, increasing CO₂. Simply check your tyre pressures regularly and before long journeys. This will also help to increase the life of your tyres. However, remember that over inflated tyres can be unsafe, so check your car manual for the correct tyre pressure.

2. Less clutter means less CO₂

Clutter in your boot is extra weight your engine has to carry around. By removing it, you will burn less fuel and cut your CO₂ emissions.

3. Driving at an appropriate speed reduces CO₂

Staying within the speed limit increases driver safety and drivers should never exceed the speed limit. It also reduces CO₂ emissions and saves money on fuel. At 70mph you could be using up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% more fuel than at 50mph.

4. Less stopping and starting means less CO₂

Every time you stop and start in traffic, the engine uses more fuel and produces more CO₂. Keep an eye on the road ahead and slow down early by gently lifting your foot off the accelerator while keeping the car in gear. In this way, traffic may have started moving again by the time you approach the vehicle in front. You can simply change gear and be on your way.

5. Over revving accelerates emissions

Modern engines are efficient from the moment they are switched on, so revving up like a Formual 1 car in pole position wastes fuel and increases engine wear. Using your gears wisely can also reduce revs. If you drive a diesel car, try changing up gears when the revs reach 2000rpm. For a petrol car, change up at 2500rpm.

6. Idling is wasting fuel

When the engine is idling, you’re wasting fuel and adding to CO₂ emissions. If you’re likely to be stationary for more than three minutes, switch off the engine.

Why not let us know on this blog what your tips are for saving money on fuel and reducing your carbon footprint?

I read an article from the Environmental Transport Agency (ETA) a few weeks back suggesting that “green” cars are too expensive. The example they used was of a VW Polo 1.4 TDI BlueMotion, a diesel car fitted with advanced filters. The technology benefits the driver with increased fuel efficiency and a lower CO2 output (just 99g/km). However, the report calculates that for Polo owners to re-coup the cost of paying for this version over a standard Polo, they’d have to drive 78,000 miles over 6 and a half years.

For those looking to buy a green car there is a good buyers guide on the ETA website which will help you assess a car’s green credentials. But it does beg the question, would you pay more for a “green” car?

If I was a learner driver right now I think I would’ve balked at the end idea of having to endure an additional assessment on my driving test. But if I knew that this assessment could help me save 15% on my fuel costs then I might be a little more enthusiastic.

Well according to The ETA, that’s how much fuel newly qualified driver’s stand to save with the Driving Standards Agency introducing a new green assessment to the UK driving test. Thankfully for prospective drivers, the assessment will not deliver a fail for inefficient driving but it will help provide tips and advice to help new drivers adopt a more fuel-efficient driving technique.

I think that’s a really positive step by the Driving Standards Agency and my only disappointment is that I did not get to benefit from this assessment! If you’re interested in any tips for efficient driving then we do have some blog posts on:
- Saving money on fuel by driving well
- A new tip to reduce your fuel consumption

On the BBC website this week, I saw a story about how, in a climate of rising taxes and high fuel prices, fleet managers and employers are embracing lower emission cars to save costs. Specifically, they are looking for cars that emit less than 160 grammes per kilometre of CO2.

Car manufacturers are understandably under pressure to reduce the carbon missions produced by their cars. By having a fleet which is generally less than 7 months old we are seeing the benefit of this as, with every cycle of new cars we get, the average CO2 output of ours is becoming smaller. Now, virtually all of our small cars and a high percentage of our medium size cars fall within this category. Even some of our large cars come in surprisingly eco-friendly, such as:

- Ford Focus Estate – 119g-159g per km of CO2 (Depending on engine)
- Renault Laguna Estate – 133g-159g per km of CO2 (Depending on engine)

and the real surprise:

- BMW 320 Automatic 2.0 Diesel – Only 144g per km of CO2

Due to the tax and fuel savings it is understandable that fleet managers are turning to lower emission cars. But what about the environmental impact? There seems to be increasing social pressures to purchase more eco-friendly products but do you actually feel the need to be more environmentally responsible? Does the carbon output of a car determine which car category you book or even which car hire company you choose to rent with. I’d be interested to know your thoughts using the poll below: