When Pam Nicholson was named president of Enterprise Rent-A-Car in 2008, one of her first responsibilities was to complete the integration of her company’s 2007 acquisition of Tulsa-based Vanguard Car Rental, owner of Alamo and National car rentals. Acquiring the Alamo and National brands has helped Enterprise penetrate other market segments. Alamo targets vacationers, and National caters to frequent business travelers. Both firms operate chiefly in airports. Pursuing its strategy of locating in communities, Enterprise did not begin locating rental branches in airports until 1995, opening its first such office in Denver. Since then, the company has also discovered that the revenue stream from local rental branches is smoother than that from airport locations, where business can be cyclical. Operating a total fleet of 1.1 million rental vehicles—the world’s largest—Enterprise takes its environmental responsibility seriously. To reduce its environmental impact, the company aims to buy wisely. Enterprise has the world’s largest fleet of fuel-efficient cars: more than 440,000 vehicles that get better than 28 miles to the gallon on the highway. Its fleet includes 5,000 hybrid vehicles and 73,000 “flex-fuel” cars—vehicles that can operate on E85 fuel, a combination of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Enterprise typically places the flex-fuel vehicles near gas stations that sell E85. In another nod to the environment, Enterprise offers hourly car rentals and recently launched its nationwide WeCar program for vehicle sharing in corporations and at universities and colleges. These short-term rentals reduce the need for car purchases by companies and college students. Recently, the Taylor family gave $25 million to create the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, to research alternative fuels that reduce dependency on fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions. That same year, it pledged to plant 1 million trees in America for the next 50 years to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The company already uses recycled paper products in much of its operations. Enterprise also became the first major car-rental company to offer a carbon-offset program. Under the optional program, customers can elect to pay $1.25 to offset the pollution created by their rental vehicle. Enterprise matches customers’ payments dollar for dollar to $1 million. About a thousand customers a day buy the carbon offset, and Enterprise plans to extend the program to the United Kingdom. Next on Enterprise’s “to do” list is finding a way to mitigate the environmental impact of the waste generation and electricity and water use in its 8,000 offices worldwide.

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car differentiated itself from its largest competitors by locating primarily where people live and work. But now the company has expanded to airport rentals. What can president and COO Pam Nicholson do to ensure that Enterprise branch offices continue to mirror their local communities? How might its environmental programs play a part in those local efforts? 

• According to a recent survey of the rental-car industry, customer satisfaction with airport car rentals declined for the second consecutive year. Yet, for the fifth year running, Enterprise ranks first among car-rental companies in customer satisfaction. In your opinion, how does this rating relate to the human resource management policies and practices at Enterprise? How should Nicholson use such survey findings?