WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME AND INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS TO EXPERIENCE THE 100% ELECTRIC NISSAN LEAF FOR 6 MONTHS.
Rolle, Switzerland (July 5th, 2012).- Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Fleet Forum today handed over a 100% electric Nissan LEAF to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Food Programme (WFP), signaling the start of the Electric Vehicle Demonstrator Programme.
Under the agreement, Nissan is providing five Nissan LEAFs to the Fleet Forum programme for a year free of charge. The first two organisations, announced today, receive the Nissan LEAF for 6 months each to experience the benefits of electric mobility, and to encourage them to add zero emission vehicles to their fleet. After they have completed their six month loan periods, the vehicles will return to the programme to be lent to another of the 50 active members of the initiative. At the end of the 12 month period, Nissan and Fleet Forum plan to review feedback from the participants in order to strengthen their partnership further.
«The World Food Programme welcomes the opportunity to test electric vehicles in urban environments in collaboration with Nissan and Fleet Forum,» said Amir Abdulla, Deputy Executive Director and COO. «As a leader in humanitarian logistics, WFP is committed to using efficient vehicles across its operations. Innovative technologies, like the Nissan LEAF at the WFP office in Geneva and at Rome headquarters, contribute to WFP’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.»
«The Nissan LEAF testing program comes right on time as the International Committee of the Red Cross is looking how it can utilise vehicles with the lowest level of emissions.» said Dario Moro, Vehicle Fleet Manager at ICRC.
Under the concept of Blue Citizenship program, Nissan is committed to working with non-profit organisations such as Fleet Forum to deliver sustainable mobility solutions that will improve the world we live in.
Nissan, together with its Alliance partner Renault, aims to be a global leader in zero-emission mobility. As part of its comprehensive approach to promote sustainable mobility, the Renault-Nissan Alliance has partnered with governments, municipalities, NGOs and companies worldwide to prepare the ecosystem that will enable the successful mass market adoption of electric vehicles.
Fleet Forum:
The Fleet Forum is the first independent knowledge centre within the international aid and development community that is focused on issues surrounding humanitarian fleets. The Fleet Forum was founded in 2003 in order to support humanitarian organisations to improve and professionalise the management of vehicle fleets. The Fleet Forum is managed by the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the UN World Food Programme, World Vision International, Care and TNT.
Text by: Clásicos al Volante.
Photograph by: Nissan.
