Leading US car rental company Enterprise Holdings has announced a new companywide sustainability initiative.

On Thursday last week, Enterprise unveiled the new project which it claims will reduce both usage and costs by up to 20 per cent in the next five years. The 20/20 Vision program from Enterprise has already made a selected debut, with some markets used to trial the initiative, which will save up to $50 million in energy costs.

The parent company of popular car hire organisations National Car Rental, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Holdings claimed that its outlay into energy-saving technology, combined with the adoption of concrete conservation practices, would enable the savings to be achieved across its 7,600 airport and neighborhood facilities in the US.

The initial upfront investment includes energy efficient lighting worth $107,000 at the St Louis head offices, thought to save $50,000 per annum, and a $20,000 outlay for new parking lot lights in Southern California, with an expected $14,000 in savings each year. The group has also declared that around $900 per branch will be spent to convert to energy saving lighting, which reduces energy consumption by up to 70 per cent.

The long term sustainability plan features pledges for the development of biodiesel and fuel-efficient vehicles, along with hybrid cars and even a promise of 50 million trees to be planted over the next 50 years.