Swedish car maker Volvo has issued a group of its employees with personal CO2 pedometers to help assess and reduce the environmental impact of their daily commute. Many of the participants chose to leave their cars and take the bus or bicycle instead, and as a whole the group reduced their carbon footprint by more than 30%.
The group logged their trips on a website via their mobile phones and the environmental impact was calculated on the basis of distance and mode of transport. The same phone allowed public transport trips to be planned or a fuel-efficient pool car to be booked.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Planning the way we travel is a simple and effective way of reducing our carbon footprints.”
Solar-powered mobile phone encourages walking
A new energy-efficient phone made from recycled plastic water bottles features solar panels that allow a three-minute call after a ten-minute charge.
The Samsung Blue Earth is able to make good use of its small solar panel because it uses only 0.03 watts of electricity while on standby.
Pay as you walk
The mobile phone includes a so-called ‘eco-walk’ function, which uses a built-in pedometer to calculate how much CO2 is being saved if you walk instead of drive.
The CO2 efficiency made the phone user is expressed in ‘number of trees saved’.
The Samsung Blue Earth is due to be unveiled next week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Green driving
The ETA is an ethical organisation providing motorists and cyclists with green breakdown cover and green insurance products. The ETA exists in order to campaign for sustainable transport
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