Portland - Most everyone has the desire to improve the environment and reduce global warming, but Climate Trust has taken this effort to new level and is now involving auto service and repair technology in its program to offset greenhouse gas.
According to Climate Trust, it is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing solutions to stabilize the changing climate. It was founded almost a decade ago after Oregon law began requiring major utilities to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) production using programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
That program, according to Climate Trust, has assisted with a variety of long-term projects such as the preservation of a Northwest Native forest, helped develop small-scale rural wind turbine systems in Iowa, created efficiency upgrades at a steam plant in Minnesota, funded a city project in Portland to create weatherization programs, and much more.
The Climate Trust's projects currently in place are expected to offset nearly 2.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from an $8.8 million investment, making the trust one of the most experienced offset buyers in the U.S. and world markets.
Offsets are so named because they counteract or offset greenhouse gases that would have been emitted into the atmosphere.
While most of the funding for Climate Trust comes from power plants and utilities that participate by donating money from emission reductions (based on formulas provided by carboncounter.org), two Portland-area repair facilities are now involved in the program. One of those is Hawthorne Auto Clinic, owned by Jim Houser and his wife, Liz Dally.
Houser said they began the Climate Trust program in July and have been promoting it on their Web site and by advertising in local shopper-style newspapers. Because they feel strongly about reducing emissions and protecting the environment, Houser said they plan on hiring a public relations firm to help further promote the project.
In the automotive service arena, the program involves customers who commit to participating in the program, Houser said.
"Customers bring their vehicles to our shop for their 30-, 60-, or 90,000-mile annual maintenance, and we perform our normal service using a scan tool to check codes and determine the status of the vehicle and provide any needed service," he said.
The service also includes the normal fluid changes and tire pressure checks, as well as other system checks and maintenance, he said.
Once the service is completed and documented, Houser said he enters the vehicle data (type and year of vehicle, mileage, etc.) on the carboncounter.org Web site and determines what the savings of tons of CO2 emissions equates to, based on the annual service performed, and the shop donates that amount to Climate Trust monthly. For example, he said, a 2002 midsize sedan recently serviced equated to $52.68 in savings, so that amount was donated to the trust. On average, the shop has 10-11 vehicles a month participating in the program, he added.
While Hawthorne pays the entire amount of the determined CO2 savings reduction, the customer receives a certificate from Climate Trust designating them as a participant in the ongoing program.
"The customers like the program," Houser said. "It's value-added because doing the annual maintenance improves fuel economy, reduces emissions, and the customer's vehicle is operating at its optimum level, plus money is donated to further reduce the impact on CO2 emissions."
One of the programs that Climate Trust has implemented in Oregon involves the installation of electrical outlets at truck stops so heavy-duty trucks can plug in their rigs instead of idling their engines to keep refrigeration or other systems running. "That is just one of Climate Trust's creative projects, and it certainly reduces emissions," Houser said.
Hawthorne Auto Clinic is one of 65 businesses in the Portland area that have been recognized as an environmental leader in the Eco-Logical Business Program that minimizes pollution.
Houser wrote a workbook, "Keep Your Shop in Tune," that is distributed to local automotive service and repair shops by the Eco-Logical program, a cooperative effort of eight state, county, and city agencies.