CorpComms Magazine

When dozens of Greenpeace protesters, including the head of its British operation, invaded a Land Rover plant in Solihull in Birmingham three years ago, it looked like the vehicle so beloved of farmers would become the poster child for the anti-SUV movement.

As its members chained themselves to the production line, Greenpeace demanded that Ford, then the owner of Land Rover, pledged to immediately stop making and marketing the vehicles for the city market.

Simon Warr, director of communications and public affairs for Jaguar Land Rover, now owned by India's Tata Motors, says: 'It felt like we were under attack. Greenpeace personalised their fight against SUVs to Land Rover.'

But, perhaps more than that, it felt like Greenpeace was hijacking Land Rover's ongoing work in tackling the effects of its vehicles on the climate.

It was an issue that the company had already identified as crucial to the future of Land Rover, but the protest arguably galvanised the debate. It consolidated the efforts to change the business, which began in research and development, stretched across to engineering, manufacturing and even the production line.

'The protest raised awareness of the debate within the company, but it didn't start it,' says Warr. 'If anything, it established that we needed to be a little more pro-active in our approach.'

The protest also coincided with a shift in the market place. Consumers were actively asking about the impact of their cars on the environment while fuel prices were also rising, leading to requests for more energy efficient vehicles.

Emissions Reduction

Yet customers also now view certain functions, such as electric windows, air conditioning and satellite navigation systems, which all add to the emissions from a vehicle, as standard, adding extra layers of complexity to the problem.

Land Rover pledged to invest £700m, later upgraded to £800m, by 2012 on projects specifically aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. It is looking at the use of aluminium in its vehicles to make them lighter and more fuel efficient, along with developing smaller petrol engines to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than a quarter without sacrificing performance.

The investment timescale is important. The European car industry has reached a voluntary agreement with the EU to reduce the average CO2 emissions of new cars to 130g per kilometre by 2012. Currently, the average CO2 emission from a new car is 160g per kilometre while Land Rover's diesel Freelander emits 190g per kilometre, although, as a counterbalance, it drives a respectable 39 miles to the gallon.

'At the upper end, an average new Range Rover emits 300g per kilometre, so there is a long way to go,' adds Warr. 'But we also have to work to reposition ourselves in the marketplace. A Land Rover has always been perceived as a different vehicle from a Chelsea Tractor. It is viewed as a working vehicle akin to a farmyard vehicle.'

Research carried out by Land Rover also indicated the vast majority of customers use their vehicles for off-road travelling, where they both need and use their capability and power.

'Our vehicles are fit for purpose,' says Warr. 'They are designed for a specific purpose. The challenge going forward is for the technicians to develop a combustion engine that is more efficient and to take weight out of the vehicle while retaining its features and capabilities.'

He adds: 'It will not actually be politicians, NGOs or campaigners who save the planet. It will be the engineers that develop the new technology that changes the energy efficiency of our vehicles. We recognise there is an issue but engineers cannot fix it overnight. We are investing money to improve their knowledge of the problem. But we are also trying to find things that we can do today to improve the situation.'

Customers buying a Land Rover can offset the first 45,000 miles, which represents the average usage over three years, through a special programme offered by the manufacturer. Unlike other carbon offset schemes, such as those promoted by airlines, however, customers have to choose to opt out. 'In the first two and a half years, just one person opted out,' recalls Warr. The New Vehicle Offset Programme invests in a range of alternative energy projects, including hydropower in Tajikistan and wind energy in China.

Similarly, over the past three years Land Rover has sought to offset the carbon emissions from operating the vehicle assembly at its two production facilities.

'We don't plant trees or anything like that,' explains Warr. 'We pay into a fund run by ClimateCare which sponsors low carbon schemes in countries outside the Kyota Agreement. One of the initiatives we currently fund is an efficient cooking stove scheme in Uganda.' The stove reduces the use of charcoal, thereby slowing down deforestation, while there are additional health benefits for the chefs who no longer breathe in toxic fumes.

Other efforts to establish the vehicles' environmental qualities revolve around promoting the 'fit for purpose' qualities of Land Rover, which have been widely recognised by international humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross. Indeed, the Land Rover is the vehicle of choice for one quarter of all international aid agencies. 'They tell us that they couldn't do their work without Land Rovers,' explains Warr. 'The Red Cross has used Land Rovers for 50 years.'

Charitable Partnership

Land Rover works closely with six humanitarian organisations, but it has also reignited its relationship with the Red Cross. This year is the 60th anniversary of the Land Rover and the 100th anniversary of the Royal Charter being granted to the British Red Cross. To commemorate the occasion, Land Rover has donated 60 vehicles to the British Red Cross and its sister national societies across the world.

Land Rover has also linked its relationship with the Red Cross with its G4 Challenge, which next year takes place in Mongolia. The last one, two years ago, took place in Bolivia. Eighteen countries will compete, each with a team of one man and one woman, in a three week event involving off road driving in a Land Rover Discovery and challenges ranging from abseiling to kayaking, to kite buggying, mountain biking and navigation tasks.

The competition also encourages each team to minimise their impact on the environment, with specialists analysing the route and ensuring that each location is returned to its original state once the Challenge has passed.

The Land Rover G4 Challenge has gained a reputation as the world's toughest adventure contest. Contestants must raise funds to participate, and the winning team gets a Discovery for their national Red Cross organisation. More than £100,000 has already poured into Mongolia, benefiting an existing Red Cross social programme, but Land Rover has pledged £1m in total.

The battle for Land Rover and Warr is ongoing, but his efforts are helped by a growing realisation within the company that sustainability and energy efficient vehicles are no longer PR stunts. Indeed, Warr chairs the company's sustainability committee. As the head of the company's corporate communications function, his team are also de facto guardians of the brand and sustainability is central to this. 'This debate is extraordinarily complex,' says Warr. 'But sustainability is no longer periphery to the communicator's role; it is at the heart of it.'

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