Today’s Volkskrant carries an interview with Eric Bouwmeester, the man responsible for environmental matters at banking and insurance group Fortis. From next year, Fortis plans to operate as a CO2 neutral company – meaning that on balance, it adds nothing to greenhouse gases.

Fortis, which claims to be the first in Holland to take such a step, plans to cut energy consumption by 10%.
‘In total we emit 195,000 tonnes of CO2. That is equivalent to 81,000 cars each travelling 15,000 kilometres,’ Bouwmeester told the paper.
To cut energy use, the company will be installing more energy efficient heating systems and turning off lights and computers when they were not in use. To counteract the rest of the CO2, Fortis will buy ‘rights to pollute’ on the emissions market rather than planting carbon dioxide absorbing trees.
The cost of the project, which will run until 2009, will be up to €20m.