- Project started in 1999
- Two million trees planted
- Predicted to create a carbon storage gain of 1,200,000 tonnes of CO2
- 10 Million Euro Commitment
An environmental project created by Peugeot will help to reduce the effect of
vehicle emissions on the environment.
In an area affected by deforestation in Fazenda São Nicolau, in the heart of
the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, Peugeot started a project to plant two
million trees, to create a forestry "carbon sink".
The project was started in 1999, but now in 2006, the young forest is ready
to carry out its task of capturing carbon from the atmosphere. The basic aim of
the project is to provide an area which will absorb more carbon over a given
period of time, than it emits. This will then offset the already low carbon
emissions from Peugeot vehicles and help combat the global greenhouse effect.
In creating this "carbon sink" Peugeot calculated the amount of CO2 produced
by individual cars and then planted the equivalent number of trees to balance
out the cycle. The first "appraisals" on the effectiveness of the programme
already show that the equivalent of 55,000 tonnes of CO2 have been absorbed.
Peugeot had several objectives in creating the carbon sink. To start, it
wanted to take a comprehensive approach to controlling greenhouse gases from
human activity. In addition to devising technological innovations to reduce CO2
emissions at the source, the carmaker is committed to making a positive
contribution to the initiatives that came out of the Kyoto Protocol, which
emphasizes the importance of fighting the man-made greenhouse effect. Thanks to
its innovations, PSA Peugeot ranks among the world’s leading manufacturers with
the best performance in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. As for its
environmental contribution, Peugeot’s carbon sink was created to study the
relationship between reforestation, sequestration of atmospheric carbon and
climate regulation through the development of a living, large-scale prototype
over a 40-year period.
The project also fits in with the commitments of the Group’s corporate
citizenship responsibilities. The local population was involved in creating the
sink from the very beginning to ensure that it was firmly anchored in the
community. An environmental education program was set up in local schools and
more than 1,500 students have discovered the usefulness of a growing forest by
visiting the São Nicolau tree farm. In addition, some 80,000 saplings have been
distributed to owners of small local farms since 2000.
Lastly, the Group wanted to promote biodiversity. Instead of selecting a
single, fast-growing species that would be particularly productive and easy to
plant, the project managers chose numerous species to create a forest with as
many plant varieties as possible. This, in turn, should help diversify the
area’s fauna by bringing back a number of forest animals.
As well as the "carbon sink" project, Peugeot is also cutting CO2 emissions
at source with its HDi diesel technology, which reduces CO2 emissions by 20%
compared to a conventional diesel engine. Combined with their particulate
filters, Peugeot diesel engines are amongst the cleanest engines on the planet.
Later on this year a new range of petrol engines will be launched in the new
Peugeot 207, designed not only to improve performance, but also to further
reduce emissions.
For more information on ‘Opération Carbone’ visit www.peugeot.com
Notes to editors
The Peugeot "carbon sink" in figures:
- Budget 10 million Euros financed by Peugeot.
- Area of land acquired: 10,000 ha including 7,000 ha of forest, 2000 ha of
grazing land and 1,000 ha of riverside degraded forest.
- 2,000 ha of reforested land
- 2 million plants planted
- More than 50 species planted
- 80,000 saplings distributed to landowners in the region between 2000 and
2004
- 1,500 students welcomed as part of an educational environment programme
between 2001 and 2005
- Carbon storage gain observed since 1998: the equivalent of 55,000 tonnes of
CO2
- Carbon storage gain forecast for 1998 to 2038: the equivalent of 1,200,000
tonnes of CO2
|
