Carbon-neutral castrol professional oil range comes to South Africa

Castrol has extended its lead in the global lubricants industry by rolling out the first ever globally CO2 neutral Castrol Professional offering, in support of the world’s leading car companies’ green agendas.

Castrol’s global ‘co-engineering partners’ are Audi, Ford, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, MG, SEAT, Skoda, Suzuki, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Castrol Sales Director for Africa, Graham Noonan says CO2 neutrality is achieved both through greener technology in the production of the lubricants as well as by investing in carbon-positive projects around the world, from landfill gas management in Europe to reforestation in Kenya.

“We are excited to now be offering the world’s first certified CO2 neutral engine oil in the local market as it offers franchised dealerships the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint. We have had an enthusiastic response from our franchised car dealerships as this positively contributes further to their efforts for carbon footprint certification,” says Noonan.

Carbon footprint measurement is becoming increasingly important for environmentally-conscious businesses in the automotive sector. More than 70% of young adults across the world, including South Africa, say they would be more loyal to a brand that was reducing its carbon footprint. (Source: Carbon Trust Survey, 2012)

“Our EDGE Professional, MAGNATEC Professional and GTX Professional oils have all now been certified by BSI PAS2060, which is the global standard with the toughest demands for measuring and managing the CO2 footprint of a product’s lifecycle.

“Castrol has committed to a neutralization method that is recognised by sustainability and climate change experts as a gold standard, the method also meets the challenging requirements of the global Greenhouse Gas Protocol developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.”

Castrol Professional targeted around 200 000 tonnes of CO2 to neutralise globally in 2014 with Castrol experts targeting half a million tonnes in 2015.

Neutralising the CO2 footprint is currently achieved by analysing the whole of the product lifecycle, from start to end. This is done by reducing the amount of CO2 generated through the product’s life, including the CO2 from the manufacturing process and then investing the appropriate amounts in certified CO2 reduction projects. This investment produces a net CO2 reduction that is equivalent to the remaining CO2 footprint of the product, after the reduction initiatives have had their effect. The product lifecycle analysis, which calculates the amount of CO2 that needed to be neutralised, was independently verified by an internationally recognised third party specialising in sustainability auditing.

In order to neutralise the CO2 produced throughout the entire production process, Castrol is investing in a range of emission reduction projects including reforestation in Kenya, clean electricity generation in China, and wind farms in New Caledonia.

“Castrol insists on underpinning all carbon neutral claims with good science when it comes to reduction as well as offsetting. Like us, other suppliers could commit to greater levels of recycling in future, and in the short term, be a proponent of efficient and low impact waste disposal.” Noonan says.

When manufacturing products, Castrol works with its raw material suppliers to move to lower CO2 alternatives, which includes using upgraded equipment and production technologies such as low-temperature oil blending.

Castrol also now uses electric vehicles and sophisticated route planning when transporting goods within and from its professional production sites in Europe. The focus is often on reducing CO2 emissions at the tailpipe, but as Castrol hopes to neutralise almost 500 000 tonnes of CO2 through 2015, this shows that suppliers can also make a significant impact.