To celebrate Earth Day 2024, Zag has taken a look at how several mobility players are contributing to the day’s overarching goal: environmental protection.
With the transportation industry contributing 21% of global carbon dioxide emissions, one player making a difference is collaborative fleet management platform Papaya which says it has prevented the release of over 631 tons of CO2.
“Earth Day urges us to rethink how things are done,” Papaya’s CEO Santi Ureta told Zag Daily. “The last-mile industry, responsible for 50% of delivery emissions, is highly inefficient. If fleet managers stick to outdated tools and vehicles, they’ll struggle to make big improvements. At Papaya, we recognised early on that reducing fleet emissions requires user-friendly tools that integrate all relevant data and sustainable stakeholders.”
Also in the sustainable last-mile delivery space is UK-based Delivery Mates.
“Today, as we celebrate Earth Day, we’re proud to share some incredible numbers that highlight our electric cargo bikes’ positive impact on the environment,” said the firm’s Marketing and Communications Director Teo Netto.
“By choosing our electric cargo bikes, we reduced CO2 emissions by an astounding 85,162 kg every year and curb NOX emissions by 323,449 mm. This is equivalent to powering 51 homes for a year and protecting 315 acres of precious forest.”
Electric cargo bike courier Pedal Me says that one of its real contributions has been to “cut the path” for cargo bike operations, thereby empowering other operators and manufacturers to gain a foothold.
“We know that Amazon used our data analysis to make the case internally for carrying out their own cargo bike operations,” said the co-founder Ben Knowles. “We’re replacing 200 tons of CO2 worth of van trips a year.”
Shared operators
Shared micromobility operators are another segment of new mobility that are making a huge dent on carbon emissions.
Lime, which saw the equivalent of five trips per second in 2023, said it avoided 15.6 thousand tons of carbon emissions last year.
In the same year, Dott estimates that its service helped avoid more than 2,250 tonnes of CO2. Dott recently merged with German-based TIER to become Europe’s largest micromobility operator. “This Earth Day at TIER-Dott, we’re reminded of our commitment to protect our planet,” the company’s Chief Development Officer Laurent Kennel said. “Studies have shown that living car-free is the most impactful action people can take to reduce their carbon footprint. We have a vision of pollution-free cities built for people, not cars.
“We’re working to change mobility for good, and to do so with as small of a footprint as possible and with the most responsible and sustainable operations which have been in our DNA since day one.”
For Voi, which started operations in the UK in 2020, the firm has replaced nearly 11 million short car journeys and reduced emissions by over 4,400 tonnes of CO2e.
To celebrate Earth Day, Voi is offering 30 minutes free e-scooter use from April 22 to April 28 in all cities and towns where Voi operates.
“We aim to transform how people move in cities, freeing us from car dependency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, working all the time to reduce the environmental impact of our value chain and operations in the process,” Voi UK General Manager James Bolton said.
“This Earth Day we hope to really encourage that shift and that’s why we’re offering free e-scooter use, not only to help the planet, but to encourage new riders to have a go and see how easy and convenient it is to make the switch.”
