Carbonfund.org and Avis Budget Group, parent company of Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car, have announced an alliance through which Avis Budget Group will offer its corporate and retail customers a variety of carbon offset options to minimize the environmental impact of their vehicle rentals.

The new program will offer Avis and Budget customers flexible options to offset based on the length of their rental.  For a $1.25 Daily offset, Carbonfund.org will offset 300 pounds of CO2.  A Weekly for $5 will offset 1200 pounds, while a Monthly offset will cost $20 and will offset 4800 pounds.

The alliance with Avis is the latest in a string of partnerships between Cabonfund.org and nationally-recognized transportation brand names, including JetBlue, Amtrak, Orbitz, and others.  “We are very pleased to work with a company such as Avis Budget Group, which is extremely conscious of its environmental impact,” said Carbonfund.org Executive Director Eric Carlson.  “Together we will be able to make a positive impact on the future of the environment and set a standard for offsetting emissions for rental cars.”

Carlson will take advantage of the carbon offset option when he travels to Los Angeles next week for the National Business Travel Association Conference on an all-CarbonFree trip.  His trip will be covered in posts to the Carbonfund.org blog.

“At Avis Budget Group, we are very concerned with how our business affects the environment,” said Ronald L. Nelson, chairman and chief executive officer, Avis Budget Group.  “Teaming up with Carbonfund.org will help us advance our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our fleet.”

The alliance with Carbonfund.org adds to the many environmental initiatives of Avis Budget Group, which is already partnering with its corporate customers to assist them with their individual carbon reduction targets. The company is also creating a formal environmental management system (EMS), which is being designed to measure and manage environmental aspects of the Company’s operations in accordance with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 guidelines.  The EMS will cover air, water and land quality issues, landfill contributions, resource depletion and conservation, solid/liquid waste, odor/noise emissions and other environmental aspects.

Avis Budget Group also offers its customers a variety of vehicle choices for reducing environmental impact.  Out of a fleet of more than 375,000 vehicles, 63 percent of the fleet is US EPA SmartWay Certified and 25 percent of the fleet is rated at 32 miles per gallon or better.  The fleet also includes a large selection of gas/electric hybrid vehicles for rent in compact, full-size and small SUV car classes.