Leading international environmental figures from government, business and education have signed up to oversee Land Rover’s industry leading carbon dioxide offset programme.

An independent Board of Governance, specially formed for this purpose, will include, among others, one of the first people to raise awareness of climate change, the former government adviser and diplomat, Sir Crispin Tickell. He’ll be joined by the director of the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford, Professor Diana Liverman, the director of the Business Programme at the sustainable development charity, Forum For The Future, Dr Sally Uren, and the government adviser and former director of environment policy at B&Q, Alan Knight.

Land Rover has cut emissions with each successive model in its range and is developing technologies to make further improvements. The CO2 emissions from its main manufacturing plant at Solihull have been cut by 30% over the past 10 years. The offset programme is a key part of an integrated approach to further reducing CO2 emissions and will offset all of the CO2 generated by Land Rover’s manufacturing operations and the first 45,000 miles of vehicle use by its UK customers. It is run by Climate Care, a highly respected offset provider. The ultimate goal is CO2 neutrality with investments being made in renewable energy projects such as wind and solar, technology change and energy efficiency.

Sir Crispin said, “Climate change is a long standing issue and these are important steps towards practical actions to tackle part of that problem.”

Sally Uren said, “Offset schemes are a useful way of engaging the public on the climate change agenda. However, offsetting is a transition mechanism at best, as it will be investment in new technologies that will provide the long-term solutions to climate change. Land Rover recognises this and we look forward to seeing new advances in technology reach the market in the not too distant future.”

Phil Popham, Land Rover’s Managing Director, said, “The Land Rover carbon offset programme is an industry leading initiative and demonstrates our commitment to the environment, which includes investing in new technologies to further reduce the emissions from our vehicles. I am delighted that such distinguished figures, who’ve played leading roles in highlighting the issue of climate change, have agreed to give us their advice and assistance in tackling this issue.”

The board will meet every four months and will use its expertise to ensure due diligence is exercised throughout the offset process to make certain it is accountable, efficient and transparent.