BITC Responsible Business of the Year 2013, Jaguar Land Rover, has announced its new Environmental Innovation Strategy which aimsto create opportunities for 12 million people around the world by 2020 by creating a range of humanitarian, conservation, environmental and educational initiatives.
As well as focussing on reducing the whole life environmental impacts of its products, manufacturing and supply chain operations, Jaguar Land Rover's strategy will deliver positive impacts in the communities where it operates by improving health, reducing poverty and providing new opportunities for employment and education.
Jonathan Garrett, CSR Director for Jaguar Land Rover, said: "We will collaborate with climate and development expert ClimateCare to enable us to deliver projects that will help towards our target of creating opportunities for 12 million people, specifically in developing countries and to offset emissions from our manufacturing facilities.
Jaguar Land Rover has worked with ClimateCare since 2007, investing in innovative Climate and Development projects that both protect the environment and improve people's lives. To deliver the new target of creating opportunities for 12 million people Jaguar Land Rover will work with ClimateCare for a further three years to develop and deliver world‑ leading carbon for development projects
"ClimateCare has always concentrated on delivering integrated projects that enhance health, well‑being and the environment" explains ClimateCare Director Tom Morton, "We are delighted to be working with Jaguar Land Rover on this innovative programme that will use its carbon offset budget in a smart way, to offset emissions and at the same time deliver measurable benefits for millions of people."
Jaguar Land Rover has taken the first step towards its target by supporting a region of the LifeStraw Carbon for Water project with ClimateCare and global health company Vestergaard in Kenya. The project reduces carbon emissions and provides safe water to over 700,000 people by distributing LifeStraw water filters to the entire Busia region of Kenya.
"This is the first time that one business has supported a complete geographic region of this project, and means we can better identify the positive impact Jaguar Land Rover's support has on local communities" explains ClimateCare Director, Tom Morton.
ClimateCare is working with Jaguar Land Rover and LBG (the London Benchmarking Group) to agree consistent measurement methodologies that will be used to accurately report the number of lives improved throughout the Jaguar Land Rover programme.
lifestraw carbon for water project, Kenya
This award winning project is run on the ground by Vestergaard, a global health company dedicated to helping disadvantaged people, and provides about 4.5 million people in western Kenya with simple, gravity fed water filters This replaces the need for resource‑intensive treatment methods such as boiling water with firewood which depletes forests or chemical treatment. Residents now have ready access to safe drinking water which can prevent waterborne diseases like Cholera and Typhoid.
The project is recognised as a lighthouse project by the UN and has won numerous awards. It also reduces carbon dioxide emissions, measured and independently verified by the Gold Standard Foundation. Vestergaard partnered with ClimateCare to make the project sustainable through the sale of carbon credits to organisations, like Jaguar Land Rover, that choose to offset their unavoidable emissions.
By purchasing carbon credits to offset its entire UK manufacturing assembly emissions for one year, JLR has supported the provision of safe drinking water to the 700,000 people who live in the Busia area.
Notes to editors
ClimateCare
ClimateCare mobilises the power and scale of private finance to deliver projects with positive environmental and social impacts around the world. We combine the vision of a social enterprise and the commercial experience of an investment bank. Leveraging mainstream funding, we profitably deliver some of the largest, most successful corporate sustainability initiatives in the world.
From offices in Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific we help many of the world's leading brands, organisations and governments scale up the impact of their initiatives. By investing their resources in projects that directly combat climate change and poverty, improve health and increase community welfare, we build better futures for millions of people around the world.
Find out more at www.climatecare.org
Jaguar Land Rover has:
- Reduced operating CO2 emissions by 21 per cent since 2007 (per vehicle produced).
- Cut waste to landfill by 75 per cent since 2007 (per vehicle produced). Reduced water consumption by 17 per cent (per vehicle produced).
- Operated one of the world's largest CO2 offset programmes. All Jaguar and Land Rover manufacturing assembly is CO2 offset.
- Emissions from transporting cars to global markets has reduced by 18 per cent since 2008 (per vehicle produced).
Press enquiries and image requests
Please contact: RhiannonSzmigielski,
ClimateCare
Tel: +44 (0)1865
591000
Email: rhiannon.szmigielski@climatecare.org
Kate Birkenhead, CSR PR and Communications, Jaguar Land
Rover
M: 07780 494 352,
E: kbirkenh@jaguarlandrover.com