Rymco Appoints EcoSecurities to Audit and Offset its Greenhouse Gas Emissions

DUBAI, UAE, May 13, 2009 -- Rasamny-Younis Motor Company S.A.L. (RYMCO), exclusive dealer of Nissan Motors (Nissan, Infiniti), GM vehicles (GMC), Renault trucks, Nissan Diesel (UD), FAW trucks, and Kawasaki in Lebanon, has taken pioneering steps in its quest to emerge as one of the country's most environmentally-friendly automotive dealers, by signing an agreement with UK-listed EcoSecurities to audit and offset the Company's direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases.

RYMCO is the first automotive dealer in Lebanon to have signed on with EcoSecurities, a leading company in the business of sourcing, developing and trading carbon offsets from greenhouse gas abatement projects, to assess, measure, and offset the Company's carbon footprint. By becoming carbon neutral, RYMCO takes a giant step towards achieving its environmental commitment.

"Being part of the automobile industry mandates that we take a responsible role in devising strategies to reduce CO2 emissions through increased energy and fuel efficiency to help address climate change, one of the highest priority environmental issues", said RYMCO's Marketing Manager, Charbel Abi Ghanem.

Commending RYMCO's pioneering approach, Mr. Souheil H. Abboud, EcoSecurities' Middle East Regional Director, stated that "RYMCO's decision to go carbon neutral not only stands to expand on their environmental commitments, but will also result in differentiating them from their peers. We are proud to have worked with RYMCO due to their seriousness in making a change from an environmental, social and sustainability perspective".

Carbon neutrality involves calculating a company's greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint, measured in tonnes of CO2, and then offsetting it through the purchase of carbon credits. These credits are usually purchased in the form of Voluntary Emission Reductions (VERs), where the money goes towards funding schemes that are verified by UN accredited bodies to reduce CO2 emissions, encourage new eco-friendly technologies, and contribute to the economic stability of small communities in developing countries.

EcoSecurities is one of the world's leading companies in the business of originating, developing and trading carbon credits, and is a key player in guiding greenhouse gas emission reduction projects through the Kyoto Protocol.

EcoSecurities measured RYMCO's carbon footprint and assessed the company's GHG emissions that resulted from a range of business activities including RYMCO's internal energy consumption, business related air travel, and commuting. EcoSecurities then developed and refined the Company's strategies for pursuing carbon neutrality, by identifying cost-effective mitigation strategies and sourcing verified offsets for RYMCO to purchase. EcoSecurities' carbon footprint assessment allows RYMCO to identify which activities and emission sources are their main contributors to their overall footprint, allowing RYMCO to address these and define measures to reduce the emissions internally.

"Though our contribution is considered minute in comparison to the issue of climate change, we are confident that if more companies realize the impact simple measures such as these have on reducing environmental harm, perhaps more of them will become carbon neutral," noted Abi Ghanem. "Our role at this stage is to demonstrate leadership on an issue of growing policy and economic significance, and to encourage others to follow suit", he added.