21 April 2023

Earth Day 2023: Using AI to reduce climate impact

Profile image of Liselott Johansson and image of a green landscape

At Greater Than we’re passionate about the environment. That’s why we’re so happy to help raise awareness of Earth Day 2023, taking place on April 22. Our contribution to this discussion is to highlight the value of artificial intelligence (AI) in helping to reduce driver impact on the environment. As part of this, we are sharing five things you might not know about our Climate Impact Score.

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What is Earth Day

Earth Day is an annual event that honors the achievements of the environmental movement and raises awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations. This year’s Earth Day theme is focused on engaging individuals, governments, institutions, and businesses to recognize our collective responsibility in accelerating the transition to an equitable, prosperous green economy for all.

Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, EARTHDAY.ORG is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 150,000 partners in over 192 countries to drive positive action for our planet.

How does driving relate to the environment?

Close to a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. Driving therefore plays a significant role in climate impact. It’s important for us to consider how we can reduce climate change by transport.

Globally, many strategies have been introduced to reduce the amount of damage that transport does to the environment. One example is the push to replace internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with electric vehicles. Another is to reduce speed limits, particularly in urban areas. However, the most powerful action we can take today is to focus on driver attitude.

How can drivers reduce damage to the environment?

Greater Than’s Climate Impact Score identifies the correlation between driver attitude and energy consumption. The AI identifies a driver’s climate impact, just by analyzing GPS data. This empowers drivers to take responsibility for their own climate impact. It also empowers organizations to take a lead in guiding climate action.

To highlight the way that technology can play a significant role in protecting the planet, here are five things you might not know about our Climate Impact Score:

  1. All that’s needed to generate the Climate Impact Score is driver GPS data.
  2. It can be used to measure CO2 savings in grams or %, as well as EV battery savings (helping to reduce battery consumption and charging frequency).
  3. The Climate Impact Score provides a uniform measure of climate impact, regardless of vehicle type or geography.
  4. It helps organizations more accurately report on their sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) initiatives.
  5. The average CO2 reduction for an engaged driver is 10%. For a committed driver this increases to 20%. However, we have seen improvements at 50% and above.

Watch our explainer video to see how the Climate Impact Score works.