Land Rover Is A Mean Green Machine! Well, the Building, Anyway.

When Ford unloaded Land Rover on India’s Tata Motors, commentators didn’t see a whole lot of future for the brand. Sure, Landies are known worldwide for bearing the white man’s burden in places where he was eventually kicked-out and replaced by ruthless, genocidal despots. But the western world’s new-found fascination with automotive CO2 levels (of all things) didn’t bode well for Britain’s stilt-borne barges. Even before the transfer, Land Rover has been busy appeasing [both] 4X4-loving tree huggers by hanging-out the greenwashing– paying for carbon credits, stocking the cafeteria with organic cauliflower cheese, that sort of thing. Under its new masters, the planet-friendly spin continues. A press release this morning reveals that Landie’s Gaydon training facility has been converted to Eden Project II.

“Instead of using conventional air conditioning in the classroom areas, the design team chose innovative new plasterboard which incorporates a BASF phase change material consisting of microscopically small polymer spheres containing a wax storage medium. When the temperature rises, the phase change material inside the polymer capsules absorbs heat and melts. When the temperature falls, the liquid solidifies and emits heat. This ensures a more uniform room temperature without the carbon emissions and costs associated with conventional air conditioning.

Whoa! Can I get a car that does that? No? Bugger.

“Other sustainable solutions implemented by Jaguar Land Rover in this renovation include Rainwater Harvesting Tanks, Solar/Thermal Heating, Solar Water Heating, High Efficiency Lighting and Spray Foam Insulation. It is estimated that the improvements will save over 275 tonnes of CO2 per annum.”

For whom?