HONOLULU (Aug. 3, 2009)—Lex Brodie's Tire Co. is promoting several initiatives to its community to help keep lush, tropical Hawaii a nice hue of green.
Under a “GreenFleet Hawaii” banner, Lex Brodie's is offering customers a “super vehicle checkup” that includes Amsoil synthetic motor oil—marketed as being good for 7,500 miles; a 38-point AAA vehicle inspection, tire rotation and balancing; BG 44k Fuel Additive (for greater engine fuel efficiency); battery and brake checks; and towing coverage.
Lex Brodie's President Scott Williams said the dealership is using a tagline of “all vehicles are greener through proper maintenance” to emphasize to consumers that selling a car and buying a hybrid isn't the only way to help the environment.
One of the dealership's promotional pieces—with the headline, “One Person, One Vehicle…and the World!”—points out to consumers that “one vehicle can have a devastating affect on our environment.” It goes on to discuss ways motorists can protect “our local waters,” including:
* Repair those leaks;
* Use commercial car washes;
* Recycle your oil;
* Recycle antifreeze/coolant;
* Return used batteries;
* Check tire pressures; and
* Drive less.
The dealership “started off being ‘green' when we reviewed our environmental control policies and when we looked into recycling efforts as a result of my son's schools' PTA initiatives,” Mr. Williams said. “We consulted with the City of Honolulu to put our policies together and ended up partnering with them to do public education campaigns to protect the environment from hazardous automotive products.”
He even wrote an article that has run in a local paper about the company's efforts.
“For the recycling, we discovered some really cool new fundraiser recycling bins and helped roll them out with our media,” he added.
A couple of years ago the company also invested in a near 100-percent retrofit of its lighting fixtures to newer, brighter, more energy-efficient lights.
All those activities helped get the ball rolling.
At www.GreenFleet¬Hawaii.com, Lex Brodie's also is promoting to the community a carpool challenge, a “Tread for Bread” hiking/jogging challenge, and a biking challenge to encourage Hawaiians to drive their cars less and reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.
Mr. Williams said the Web site has calculators where visitors can log how many calories they burned from their physical fitness activities and convert those calories into kilowatts of energy generated.
Kilowatts are further converted into dollars, and Lex Brodie's will contribute that dollar amount to schools to buy energy-efficient appliances. More information on the program and other prizes is posted on the site.
He said the dealership—which features a caveman caricature in its logo—is active in helping the island's local schools, and a few years ago helped the schools advertise the launch of the recycling containers. Advertisements from the company have played up a caveman tossing cans into a bin alongside the words: “Recycling—So easy a caveman can do it!”
The schools that raised the most money through recycling paper and other materials, received matching grants from Lex Brodie's, Mr. Williams told Tire Business.
The dealership also recently partnered with the city of Honolulu and the public schools to produce commercials educating the public on how to protect water supply and prevent water pollution, Mr. Williams said.
The moral of the story, he continued: “Just get started…then you'll be surprised at how much more you'll be motivated to do and you'll discover it's both fun and rewarding.
“You won't even care if it actually helps you be more profitable. Once you're there, it will help you grow!
“Just like clean air, water and soil helps plants grow, earnest green initiatives will help your community and company grow.”
Managing Editor Sigmund J. Mikolajczyk contributed to this report.