Volvo IT's Commute Greener appointed as this year's sustainable project

Volvo IT's Commute Greener appointed as this year's sustainable project

Volvo IT's web and mobile service for environmentally friendly commuting,
Commute Greener, has been named the 2011 most environmentally friendly project
by the CIO Magazine in Sweden.

Commute Greener serves as a personal CO2 calculator where you are encouraged to
reduce your environmental impact by commuting to and from work. To increase
motivation, the results can be published on Facebook and you can also form
groups to, in a friendly way, challenge each other.
"By setting targets for reducing the carbon emissions, encouraging each
individual is motivated to choose cleaner transports, such as bus, trains or
bicycle. Those that are depending on the automobile for their transportation,
can still reduce emissions by carpooling," says Magnus Kuschel, one of the
initiators of the service, which is developed by Volvo IT.
It all started as an idea among some employees who wanted to develop an IT
solution that helped to improve the environment. Commute Greener is used in
cities such as Gothenburg, San Francisco and Mexico City. The results in Mexico
City have created the conditions for integration of an environmental management
system that includes 300 000 people.
For urban management in cities Commute Greener is very interesting as changing
travel habits of residents gives a direct effect in terms of better air, less
congestion and higher utilization of public transports. One can also obtain a
statistical basis for improved traffic management. At an individual level, there
are economic benefits and a feeling of being able to contribute in a concrete
way.
"Significant environmental effects can be achieved when economical and
environmental objectives go hand in hand," concludes Magnus Kuschel.
The jury said:
This year's sustainable projects show how smart technology, properly used, can
create changes in behavior. By pairing mobile solutions, social media and
people's natural desire to both compete and do well, Commute Greener succeeds in
affecting individuals' choice of transport modes, which has made an effective
contribution to reducing carbon emissions in both Gothenburg (Sweden) and Mexico
City.
2011-12-09
Web pages:
Commute Greener: www.CommuteGreener.com
Youtube demo om Ride Share: www.youtube.com/CommuteGreener
Volvo IT: www.volvoit.com
Images. Please type Commute Greener in the search box:
http://icp.llr.se/CumulusE_Z/VolvoGroup_ImageGallery/Login2.jsp
For further information, please contact:
Jan Strandhede, Corporate Communications, tel +46 31 323 37 15,
jan.strandhede@volvo.com