PHILADELPHIA – Demetra Markopoulos, the real life CarsDiva behind CarsDiva.com, kicks off her "Go Green" group on CarsDiva.com and newly hosted TheFleetExchange.com online community, aimed at all members involved in the automotive fleet industry, with her recent "Green" activities. 

First, Markopoulos traveled to Detroit for a video interview with John Viera, Ford Motor Company's director of sustainable business strategies, to learn about Ford's "Blueprint for Sustainability" a comprehensive plan that reaches out more than 20 years into the future. "When we talk about the 'greening of the product," said Viera, "it really falls into 3 categories: it's the emissions coming out — how do you minimize that? It's the materials you are putting in — do you have materials that are recyclable? And the biggest piece is fuel economy, because fuel economy relates to carbon dioxide emissions."

You can see all of the CarsDiva's interview with John Viera in her new "Go Green" group section of CarsDiva.com and on TheFleetExchange.com in the "Going Green."

Next, Markopoulos attended the first-ever 2008 Green Fleet Conference, held in Chicago September 15-16. Created by Bobit Business Media, the publisher of Automotive Fleet magazine, the Green Fleet Conference was targeted at commercial and public sector fleet professionals to educate, discuss, and develop solutions for "greening" their fleets. 

"It's a first year conference for us and the interest and attendance in this Green Fleet symposium exceeded our wildest expectations," says Mike Antich, the keynote speaker for the Green Conference and the associate publisher and editor of Automotive Fleet, Fleet Financials, and Government Fleet magazines. "We had so many attendees over what we anticipated that we actually ran out of program books on the first day and had to print more. Green is clearly a major topic and initiative for senior corporate and government management and there is a clear need for information. We think this Green Fleet Conference helps to fill that need."

A short video with the CarsDiva and Mike Antich, on the Green Fleet Conference floor, can be found on CarsDiva.com.

John Dmochowsky, sales fleet manager of Kraft Foods, best summed up the question of what green means when he said, "It's an intersection between environmental, social, and economic responsibilities." 

"The vehicle manufacturer, fleet, and consumer interest in "green" right now is clearly intense, evident by the level of commitment at Ford Motor Company with their "Blueprint for Sustainability," and entirely separately, by the strong interest and attendance in the first ever Green Fleet Conference," said Markopoulos. "We will be featuring more Green topics on both CarsDiva.com and TheFleetExchange.com professional networks in the months to come, as more initiatives and innovations are announced."