Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)
Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)
At Avis Budget Group, we’re committed to continue advancing, now more than ever, our environmental, social & governance (ESG) strategies to truly play a leading role in the transition to a sustainable economy and a more just, fair and equal workplace and society.
Message from our CEO
Avis Budget Group is a strong, innovative, and transformed company. Our 21,000 employees are driven by a shared ambition to be at their best every day, so that together, we can become the best vehicle rental company in the world.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic challenged society, upending our world in unimaginable ways. Avis Budget Group was no exception, as we faced the toughest year in our 75-year history.While we continued to encounter obstacles well into 2021, our company remained vigilant in pursuit of being the best. We took immediate action to reevaluate our strategies, adapt to the evolving landscape, and develop new ideas to drive our work forward. By the year’s end, Avis Budget Group emerged stronger than ever, delivering a record year in 2021.
As we take pride in our achievements, we are mindful of the work ahead. Being the best means leading by example. It means being stewards within our industry and our communities. This is where our sustainability efforts play a key role.
In 2020, we established a formal Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy, which chartered a 10- year plan that will see us achieve a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. To reach this goal, we are focused on providing access to sustainable transportation options across the globe by collaborating with innovative partners and introducing electric vehicles at scale.
We have made strides by steadily adding electric, hybrid, and connected vehicles to our fleet. The focused management of our inventory and cautious, deliberate purchasing decisions are two key factors contributing to our pandemic survival and record results in 2021.
Our success during this unprecedented period can be attributed to our 21,000 employees and their ongoing dedication to Avis Budget Group. I have worked at the company for more than 40 years and I’ve never been prouder to be a part of this team.
The recognition of our employees’ efforts extends beyond our internal appreciation. During a time when it was difficult to be a frontline worker, our customers appreciated their exceptional efforts. Our customer satisfaction scores steadily increased throughout the year, and Brand Keys awarded us top customer service honors in 2021 for the 23rd year in a row.
These past two years have been challenging, informative, and inspiring. We’ve learned so much about ourselves and our capabilities, and I can confidently say that we, as a company, are forever changed.
The actions we have taken to date have demonstrated that not only are we a stronger organization – we have laid the foundations that will drive us to be the best vehicle rental company in the world.
Diversity,
Inclusion &
Belonging
Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
At Avis Budget Group, we value each employee around the world, whose talent, skill and personality have helped establish us as a leading global mobility provider. And because we believe that embracing and promoting diversity is a critical component of our success, we have committed to creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment.
Global Gender Pay Equality
To ensure that as an employer we are compensating men and women fairly and equitably, five years ago we standardized our reward programs across all countries. We now have global bonus and stock programs that provide for equal incentive pay opportunities for all employees in like positions. Additionally, we use global standards to inform compensation decisions for all new hires and promotions.
To monitor our performance for our management employees, we evaluate base salary placement relative to our internal salary ranges for men and women. In 2019, the average base salary placement for women and men management was at 100% parity.
For our front-line hourly workforce (non-management employees), we maintain pay equity through our standardized compensation practices in which all employees begin at the same start rate, based on their location and position, and annual pay increases are applied consistently to all employees based on tenure.
Inclusive Mobility
A diverse workforce means richer ideas and broader perspectives when it comes to considering the needs of our customers, stakeholders and employees. Most importantly, it’s the right thing to do. We’re committed to improving diverse representation across all functions in the business.
As an equal-opportunity employer, we are proud to provide an inclusive workplace that embraces and celebrates demographic, cultural and lifestyle differences. We strive to have a diverse and inclusive work environment where employees feel valued for their uniqueness, recognized for their diverse talents, and where they can bring their whole selves to work, every day.
To help us celebrate and promote this, and ensure we continue to give all our employees a voice, we have created a number of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). These groups bring together employees of diverse backgrounds to advocate equality, opportunities for advancement, and discuss best practices to promote racial understanding and diversity.
Inclusive Mobility
A diverse workforce means richer ideas and broader perspectives when it comes to considering the needs of our customers, stakeholders and employees. Most importantly, it’s the right thing to do. We’re committed to improving diverse representation across all functions in the business.
As an equal-opportunity employer, we are proud to provide an inclusive workplace that embraces and celebrates demographic, cultural and lifestyle differences. We strive to have a diverse and inclusive work environment where employees feel valued for their uniqueness, recognized for their diverse talents, and where they can bring their whole selves to work, every day.
To help us celebrate and promote this, and ensure we continue to give all our employees a voice, we have created a number of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). These groups bring together employees of diverse backgrounds to advocate equality, opportunities for advancement, and discuss best practices to promote racial understanding and diversity.
This year we launched our third ERG, Power of COLOR, aimed at driving change, advancing Black Leaders, and listening, learning, and acting on feedback from our Black employees to enhance our work environment and communities. Alongside our other groups, Power of WOMEN and Power of VETERANs, this group will advance our effort to create a more inclusive workplace that embraces and celebrates demographic, cultural and lifestyle differences.
Supporting Our
Veterans and
Military Families
Supporting Our
Veterans and
Military Families
Avis Budget Group is a 2020 and long-standing winner of the Military Friendly® Employer and a Military Friendly® Spouse Employer awards
Our recruiters have the skills necessary to understand and recruit veterans. We have developed bespoke training modules as part of our learning journey and each recruiter has a veteran hiring goal. We also participate in Veteran Recruiting Career Fairs, including virtual fairs, showcasing roles well suited to vets’ skills, interacting with attendees one-to-one, and encouraging them to apply for a role within our company. Our many Veteran organization partners throughout the US and Canada also provide a steady stream of highly qualified candidates who bring their unique and valued backgrounds to our company.
Supplier Diversity
At Avis Budget Group, we have a long-standing culture of embracing diverse suppliers. Year after year, we are recognized with high honors from supplier diversity industry associations based on our achievements in supporting diverse enterprises for our commitment to our communities.
Health,
Safety &
Well-being
Health, Safety & Well-being
At Avis Budget Group, our people are our most valuable asset. Our core belief is that Health and Safety is every employee’s responsibility, not only for our employees but for our customers, vendors, and all community stakeholders. Our customers consistently tell us that it is our people’s professionalism, calm and friendly demeanor, and desire to go above and beyond that makes Avis Budget Group a great company to deal with. This is what makes them return to us time and again. It is imperative that our people bring their best selves to work every day. This is why we take their health, safety and well-being so seriously.
Our Response to the global COVID-19 Pandemic
The pandemic has been an unprecedented and challenging time for everyone. Through it all, the health and wellbeing of our employees has been our focus. When remote work was possible, many were able to work from home or flex their hours. In the U.S., where most of our employees rely on company provided benefits, we arranged for the following:
- Free health benefits for employees on furlough
- Free COVID-19 testing and associated facility costs
- Free telemedicine
- Additional paid time off for employees who needed to quarantine due to COVID-19 symptoms or who tested positive, or those who had to provide care for a family member who was ill with COVID-19
- Options for employees to take a withdrawal from their retirement plan if they were suffering a financial hardship because of COVID-19
Well Being
Well Being
At Avis Budget Group we take a holistic approach to well-being. We understand that to deliver our best performance, our employees need to be healthy and happy in all areas of their lives. Our Live Well program focuses on helping our people achieve all aspects of well-being through habits and activities that promote physical, financial and emotional well-being. Read more in the full report >
Physical
In addition to our health plans, we offer a number of other ways for employees and their families to get and stay physically healthy.
Financial
Avis Budget Group offers employees access to financial consultation for matters such as reducing debt and retirement planning.
Emotional
We are seeking to break down the barriers around mental health by providing employees not only with services to mitigate mental distress, but also to provide them with the tools to recognize warning signs in themselves and others.
Development and Engagement
At Avis Budget Group we want to take each of our employees with us on our journey. To do this, we engage them with our strategy, listen to what they have to say and connect them to more.
We empower and enable our people to bring their ‘A’ game every day through modern, bespoke and accessible learning and development programs and an innovative employee communication app.
We run a regular comprehensive employee survey to gauge how people feel about working at Avis Budget Group and act on the results.
Read more about employee development and engagement >
Environmental
Responsibility
Environmental Responsibility
As a responsible corporate citizen, Avis Budget Group is committed to monitoring, measuring and managing our environmental impact, and working to reduce it where practicable on an ongoing basis. This enables us to meet customer expectations while building a resilient business for generations to come.
Our Environmental Footprint
Carbon Offset Program
At Avis Budget Group, we are committed to helping educate both consumers and travel professionals on their environmental impact from rental car use and on how that can be reduced. We also work closely with our corporate customers to help them achieve their environmental impact reduction targets.
We also offer our customers a wide range of solutions to reduce the environmental impact from their car rentals including:
We have created a list of tips and a video on smart and safe driving habits that is available to the public on our website. The tips promote road safety and fuel efficiency techniques which help lower fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Electronic toll collection services are offered to our customers in North America and parts of Europe. Studies show that paying for tolls electronically significantly reduce or eliminate idling and traffic back-ups at toll booths, and thus reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
For every Zipcar on the road, 13 personally owned vehicles are eliminated from the street, and members report reducing their yearly vehicle miles traveled by focusing on purpose driven trips. Car-sharing members reduce their carbon footprint by up to 1,600 pounds per year.
Hybrid or fuel-efficient vehicles are available to customers at almost all our locations. With a total of 21,000+ hybrid vehicles in our fleet, hybrid rentals are popular due to their fantastic fuel efficiency and lower environmental impact.
Through carbon offset credits, we offer our corporate customers the option to help make their car rental program 100% carbon neutral. Carbon offset credits are created through projects that remove or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in various ways such as renewable energy generation, energy efficiency and reforestation programs.
Carbon Footprint Calculations are available for corporate customers. We partner to calculate their business travel impacts and meet their emissions goals. Our emissions calculator is used to determine a benchmark and track emissions reductions over time. The calculator can drill down information by car class, miles driven, by country or globally over any particular time period.
Car Sharing
Seven years ago, we acquired Zipcar, the world’s leading carsharing network which has played an influential role in improving city life since 2000.
Zipcar is driven by a mission: to enable simple and responsible urban living. By providing its members on-demand, self-service vehicles in reserved parking spaces in public places, it functions as a great alternative to car ownership.
Members can save costs associated with vehicle ownership by reserving vehicles online or over the phone for a certain time period, from minutes to days. We have more than 300 electric vehicles in our London fleet alone, available as part of the Zipcar Flex product.
Fleet Efficiency
At Avis Budget Group, we offer our customers the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of vehicles, including hybrids, electric or fuel-efficient vehicles at almost all of our locations. Our fleet consists primarily of vehicles from the current and immediately preceding model year – this ensures the highest possible standards of air emissions control.
Our hybrid fleet is one of the largest in our industry with 30,000 hybrid vehicles globally.
Giving
Back
Giving Back
We are a global company with local reach in hundreds of communities around the world. Our family-friendly values are truly demonstrated by the many hours our employees volunteer to care for the needs of our communities. Whether we work individually or as a team, doing the right thing and supporting our communities helps employees see their work as more than a job and make them feel proud to be part of the Avis Budget Group family.
Our Employee Volunteering Program – ‘Inspire the World’
Avis Budget Group team members have huge hearts and have devoted thousands of hours to supporting our communities. In 2019, we advanced our global volunteer program “Inspire the World”. Through this program we challenge our employees to dedicate an hour of their time to a local cause or charity close to their hearts. Throughout our locations we have designated “Care Captains”, who help roll out corporate philanthropy initiatives and also tailor their own local community activities. Care Captains are dedicated to helping others and ensuring that employees are involved and engaged.
Social Partnerships and Collaborations
We are a national sponsor of Make-A-Wish, providing both financial and in-kind support to help grant the wishes of children with critical illnesses.
As a corporate sponsor of R U Ok?, our funds support their school- based programs which educate kids about the signs of depression and anxiety.
We are a partner of Susan G. Komen in its fight to end breast cancer. Susan G. Komen is the only organization that addresses breast cancer on multiple fronts, including research, community health, global outreach, and public policy initiatives, in order to make the biggest impact toward eradicating this disease.
Since 2021, we have sponsored Toys for Tots by providing both financial and in-kind support to brighten the holidays of children around the U.S. Toys for Tots was started in 1947 by Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks. As a top-rated charity, more than 97 percent of donations go directly to providing toys, books, and other gifts to less fortunate children.
Our Commitment
Avis Budget Group is committed to continue advancing, now more than ever, our corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies of People, Future, and Life. As part of our multi-year plan, we will fully embed our CSR goals into our business strategy, operations and in all stakeholder engagement, to truly play a leading role in the transition to a sustainable low–carbon economy and a more just, fair and equal workplace and society. We recognize that change won’t happen over-night and we commit to continue refining our strategies, facilitating the conversation and acting to drive internal change and influencing external change through specific strategies and accountability.
Reports and Statements
2021 UK GENDER PAY GAP REPORT
Policies and Additional Information
A Company Committed To Our Business… And Yours
Increased purchases from diverse suppliers enhance Avis and Budget’s supply chain and assist in meeting and exceeding our customer’s expectations at on-airport locations and for major corporate customers.
As such, the company has established a Disadvantaged, Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise Program to promote the growth and development of diversified suppliers. Within the scope of this program, employees should channel business opportunities to minority and women-owned business enterprises whenever the opportunity arises to procure goods and services from an outside supplier. Helping these entrepreneurs move quickly into the mainstream of the economy strengthens the diverse business community economically and Avis Budget Group takes pride in contributing to the overall economic growth of the communities where we do business.
Our Mission
Our program is intended to assure that disadvantaged, minority and women-owned Business Enterprises will have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in Avis Budget Group’s contract awards.
For more information on how to participate or to register online with Avis Budget Group, please click here.
How does Avis Budget Group handle vehicles that have been recalled by the manufacturer?
At Avis Budget Group, the safety of our customers and employees is of great concern. Our policies and procedures regarding the handling of vehicles that are the subject of a manufacturer’s recall notice is a prime example of how we put our customers’ safety first.
Periodically, automobile manufacturers provide notices of issues relating to their vehicles. These notices range from minor issues to recall notices relating to vehicles that may pose a risk to the safety of the driver, passengers and the general public.
In the United States, when we receive a safety recall notice from a vehicle manufacturer under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, we identify the affected vehicles in our fleet and place them on a “hard hold” in our reservations system, which prevents them from being rented. We then do not rent these a vehicle until we are able to implement a remedy that has been approved by the manufacturer and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In addition, when our vehicles become subject to a safety recall, we use a third-party vendor that automatically calls customers within 24 hours when we have confirmed that the vehicle they have out on rent has been recalled. This process is used to contact all customers who have provided a telephone number and/or email address during the reservation or check-in process through which the customer can be reached. Each customer who has rented a vehicle that is subsequently subject to a recall will receive a message providing specific instructions as to how, where and when the vehicle may be returned for an exchange. If no valid telephone number has been provided, a written notice will be sent to the renter’s residential address.
Accommodations are available upon request for applicants and employees who are eligible under the Americans with Disabilities Act by calling 1-844-710-4748 or emailing Hr4uSupport@avisbudget.com.
Avis Budget Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.