Tech giant Google is famous for its tools which help millions of users each day. One of the most commonly used apps is Google Maps. In last weeks it developed a new feature which is described in this article.
Google highlights the importance of reducing gas emissions. The company has purchased renewable energy through direct contracts to reduce its carbon footprint. Moreover, it invested to look for other sources of clean energy. The newest feature of Google Maps is consist of Google policy of taking responsibility for our planet and contributing to creating more sustainable solutions.
The eco-friendly ride feature was launched last week in Google Maps. Google Maps was launched in 2005. During 16 years one of the first internet maps has grown into an advanced map with thousands of features such as Street View which gives a panoramic view, traffic monitoring, road planning and many more. While searching for a road between two places users see different route propositions – the shortest ones and the fastest ones. The new feature enables people to see which road is eco-friendly. The algorithm advises based on data about the fuel consumption, speed limits, traffics and many more information which route will emit the smallest gas quantity into the atmosphere.
This innovative approach to everyday life decision making of millions of users may seem irrelevant from the perspective of an individual but looking globally each month more than 150 million people use Google Maps (according to Statista 2018). If each of them would reduce its gas emission by 5-10% it creates a huge difference for the environment.
Bibliography:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapy_Google
https://www.wearestillin.com/success/google-maps-path-sustainability
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56585877
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/google-maps-eco-friendly-routes/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/865413/most-popular-us-mapping-apps-ranked-by-audience/