There is no doubt that with the increase in scientific data and media interest in all things ‘green’, businesses and individuals are looking for ways to minimise their impact on the environment.
Citygate Volkswagen is no exception.
Over the past few months we have been working with specialist environmental consultants, Combat Climate Change and many suppliers to establish a robust environmental policy.
Our environmental policy is not just about our business, its also about giving our customers environmental choices.
We hope that you are as excited about this development of our business as we are.
Environmental Intent
We are committed to responsibly managing and minimising our environmental impact, across our business, now and in the future.
Energy Use
As a business, it is of course inevitable that we use energy, primarily in the form of electricity and gas.
We will be looking at a variety of ways to reduce our consumption from converting all out lighting to energy efficient light bulbs to ensuring that all PCs and peripherals are turned off when not in use. They may seem like small steps but the impact that they have can be quite significant.
Offset Programme
Realistically, we can’t reduce our energy consumption to zero. However, we will be establishing the Citygate Offset scheme, to pro-actively invest in C02 reducing projects outside of our business to counteract the energy that we use.
We will be working with Combat Climate Change to ensure our scheme is relevant and has a positive impact on our local communities.
We will also offer all our customers the opportunity to offset the CO2 impact of driving their vehicle as part of the scheme.
Click onto to our carbon calculator to see what this might mean for you.
Our Products
Volkswagen is committed to developing vehicles and manufacturing processes that lessen the environmental impact.
The first of these evolutions is the BlueMotion engine which has been specifically designed to give a greater performance while simultaneously using less fuel.
The new Polo BlueMotion has an outstanding official fuel consumption figure of over 72mpg, making it one of the most economical cars of its kind in Europe.
But it is not just new cars that can minimise their impact. As cars age and clock up miles, carbon builds up in the engine which can cause a deterioration of engine performance, decreased fuel efficiency and increased emissions.
By adding a special additive to your fuel tank with our Citygate green service we can reduce your vehicle’s carbon emissions by up to 50% and regain fuel efficiency.
We have also launched a new Citygate SmartGuard Paint and Fabric Protection Service which uses non-aerosol applicators, which are kinder on the environment.
Our People
The team at Citygate is wholly supportive of our environmental policies and understands that their day-to-day actions affect our strategy.
Everyone will be encouraged through focus groups and an ideas scheme to search for ways to take our policies forward.
As part of our induction process, we will explain our environmental ethos to all new members of the Citygate team and seek new environmental champions.
Recycling and Waste Disposal
We wholeheartedly support Volkswagen’s commitment for economic recycling as vehicles come to the end of their life.
Management and Review
We are committed to taking positive steps forward. What we have outlined here is just a start.
Every January, we will prepare an environmental report that charts our progress, new initiatives and the genuine impact of what we have achieved. Our environmental report will be transparent and available to everyone. The first report will appear here in January 2009.
