Enterprise Rent-A-Car this summer will complete a multi-year rollout of a new rental transaction system that connects the reservations, billing and reporting operations of more than 7,000 Enterprise rental offices around the world using a network of 45,000 energy-saving thin client terminals, the company reports.

The new system, called ECARS 2.0, will enable Enterprise to cut its annual carbon dioxide emissions by 6.5 million pounds—a reduction of nearly 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per branch office per year.

“This system produces tremendous operational efficiencies, but it was important to us to maximize environmental efficiencies as well,” said Craig Kennedy, Enterprise’s chief information officer. “One of the key choices we made in developing the ECARS™ 2.0 system was going with thin client terminals. It’s a choice that will soon provide a big payoff by increasing our energy efficiency and reducing our company’s overall environmental footprint.”

The network of more than 45,000 thin client terminals, operated through 743 terminal servers, connects Enterprise rental offices throughout the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Puerto Rico. Hewlett-Packard helped develop the system, a less expensive and more environmentally friendly approach than the conventional use of PCs.

Thin clients use only 13.6 watt-hours and 2.4 watt-hours of electricity in active and passive states, respectively, compared with the 77.1 watt-hours and 1.8 watt-hours consumed by PCs. Over a network of more than 45,000 units, this adds up to significant energy savings with no compromise of operating requirements when comparing the thin client terminal server approach to a full-PC system.

For more information about Enterprise’s environmental initiatives, visit keystogreen.com.