etyres concern about environment - automotive pollution, global warming, mobile tyre fitting better

etyres is very concerned about the environment, as Vicki Butler-Henderson explains in this audio: Vicki Speaks

Vicki Butler-Henderson has also made a video describing the etyres Green Policy (requires FlashPlayer8)

As we operate in the automotive industry we have an added responsibility because vehicles are one of the main causes for pollution and global warming.

See etyres Green Policy suggestions to reduce the impact of motoring on the environment

On the plus side our mobile tyre fitting service is inherently better for the environment than the individual cars driving to a tyre depot. The journey mileage of one of our mobile tyre fitting vans is much less that the cumulative mileage of the Customer's cars would have been if they had travelled to a tyre depot.

Correct Tyre Pressures for Major Car Makes & Models

A major part of our Customer service proposition is that we do not change tyres prematurely. Our TredChecker® computer system, which has taken years to perfect, maximises tyre mileage by eliminating the waste that commonly occurs.

However, like most businesses we know that we are causing pollution on a continual basis.

So we assessed the damage that we cause. The most obvious areas of risk are the emissions from the vans that we use and the worn tyres that we replace. But this is not the full extent of the problem. When we change tyres we rebalance the wheels. When doing this we remove the old lead balancing weights and replace with new zinc ones, lead is an environmentally damaging material. So until all the old lead weights have been replaced the lead must be disposed of carefully.

We sell and fit car batteries and the old ones that we remove from our Customers cars have a huge damage potential. The old rubber valves present a difficult disposal problem because they are made from brass, bonded to rubber. When we repair punctures we use solvent based adhesive. Even though we are a high tec Internet company, our office still generates a lot of waste paper. Only a small proportion of our office share transport when commuting to work. The list of areas where we cause damage to the environment goes on and on.

So we decided to make changes.

All our new vans, ordered after October 2004 now run on LPG rather than diesel.
We already had a very firm policy on the disposal of the scrap tyres but this has been reinforced by the introduction of a very strict audit of each of our approved scrap tyre collection contractors.
Most drivers, or indeed fleet Managers, do not use any structured method of monitoring tyre wear. We decided to make our TredChecker^® system available to all Car Fleet operators, regardless of size.
To comply with new leglislation we now only use zinc balancing weights.
We used to deal with the disposal of the scrap lead weights at local level. We are now introducing a policy of strict control and appraisal of the scrap dealers so that we can be sure that the lead is disposed of correctly, with particular emphasis on environmental protection.
We are currently exploring the availability of methods of tyre repair that do not involve solvent based adhesives.
All our office waste paper is now recycled. We now email nearly all our sales invoice receipts.
We have introduced a car sharing policy for all our office staff.
We already work hard on reducing the journey time per job by careful route planning. As we become busier, and our sales are rocketing, our journey planning becomes easier, with less mileage between jobs.
We already had a strict disposal policy for the old batteries. This has been reinforced by stricter monitoring of the scrap battery disposal service that we use.
We are actively looking for improved methods of disposing of the old valves. Suggestions will be gratefully received.

We realise that in the past we have not operated a sustainable business but we are now changing. Our Green Policy is our ongoing commitment to protecting the environment. We are fortunate that our method of mobile tyre fitting is inherently able to reduce road usage. We will continue look for other ways to operate in a sustainable way.

etyres research into the use of Biofuel (Nov06)

etyres Evaluates Use of Bio-Diesel Fuels (Nov06)