A leading Australian brake manufacturer, Bendix, has commenced a series of initiatives centred around reducing emissions.
In a major move the company has signed up with not-for-profit environmental organisation Greenfleet, to offset 170 company and employee vehicles on a mission to protect the climate by restoring our Australian and New Zealand forests.
Greenfleet is Australia’s first carbon offset provider. Since 1997 it has planted 9.6 million trees, creating more than 500 biodiverse forests in Australia and New Zealand, which are protected for 100 years and have offset more than 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Greenfleet is currently working with over 400 organisations, many of which have been offsetting carbon emissions for over 10 years.
Using the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM), developed by CSIRO and approved by the then Australian Department of the Environment, Greenfleet ensures the carbon uptake of each forest at each planting site.
Greeenfleet forests are legally protected on-title for up to 100 years from land clearing, harvesting and construction, even if the land is sold. In cases of natural disaster such as fire, floods and drought, or damage from browsing animals or pests, the trees are replaced or planted in other areas.
To provide the right foundation for a complex forest to ultimately emerge in each bio-region, the plantings include a range of trees including locally adaptive species in any planting to ensure resilient forests will thrive and flourish. After any planting, regular checks are made especially during the establishment phase to check on the health and growth rate of the trees.
Greenfleet CEO Wayne Wescott said, “We’re thrilled to have FMP join our network of committed supporters. By partnering with Greenfleet, FMP is taking practical climate action with lasting environmental benefits. The native forests we’re planting to offset FMP’s vehicle emissions will be legally protected for up to 100 years.
“FMP are offsetting hundreds of tonnes of CO2 emissions, but they’re also enabling ecosystem restoration right here in Australia. This means conserving biodiversity and creating habitat for our critically endangered native wildlife.”
The move by Bendix involves its many employees, thus ensuring the greatest impact on carbon emission reduction is achieved. This is just one of many initiatives being introduced by the company to protect the environment.
FMP Group (Australia) Pty Ltd General Manager George Kyriakopoulos added, “As an environmentally conscious company, the FMP Group is initiating a series of projects to reduce carbon emissions and the Greenfleet approach has allowed us to not only counter our fleet vehicle emissions but to also include the many vehicles owned by our employees. The company is dedicated to creating a better environment for future generations and with Greenfleet we join with a number of other major corporate conscious national and international companies in this objective.”