SMART

The University of Michigan Eco-Driving Index (EDI) is a national index that estimates the average monthly amount of greenhouse gasses produced by an individual U.S. driver who has purchased a new vehicle that month. The amount of greenhouse gasses emitted when using internal-combustion engines depends on the amount of fuel used. The EDI estimates the amount of fuel used (and thus the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted) by taking into account two primary variables: the fuel economy of the vehicle and the distance driven.

The EDI is developed and updated by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle.

View the Eco-Driving Index at http://www.umich.edu/~umtriswt/ecodriving.html

The Global Alliance for EcoMobility will officially launch the EcoMobility SHIFT project on 19 May – a project which started in June 2010 and aims to recognize local governments’ achievements in promoting sustainable and diversified mobility.

EcoMobility SHIFT will create an innovative certification scheme awarding an ‘EcoMobility Label’ to cities. The scheme will reward achievements, but also support local governments in reaching further improvements through a quality management system for enabling processes, products and services, tangible results and long term impacts. EcoMobility is thought to be the future corner stone for sustainable urban mobility and transport.

One of the first steps in launching this project is the workshop ‘Improving cities sustainable transport policies by benchmarking and quality management’, at the 15th European Conference on Mobility Management (ECOMM) in Toulouse, France. During this workshop participants will both discuss other reward schemes in order to draw lessons from their experience, and encourage debate on how a scheme like this could be most effective.

Today cities are often planned around the car rather than the needs of their residents. The Global Alliance for EcoMobility aims to promote sustainable and diverse transport options while focusing the planning process on the people and not the mode of transport. The concept of EcoMobility refers to mobility without dependency on the private fossil-fueled motorized vehicle, such as a car or a motorcycle, but covers both public transport and active means of transport such as cycling and walking. EcoMobility can provide real solutions to the challenges cities are facing in sustainable urban transport.

Read the full article at http://www.ecomobility.org/fileadmin/template/project_templates/ecomobility/files/SHIFT/WP7/2011-05-12_-_Press_release_-_Getting_EcoMobile.pdf

E-idea is an innovative competition that funds, supports and mentors young eco-entrepreneurs, aged 18-35, from seven Asia-Pacific countries.

The E-idea competition launched in Japan on April 26th, 2011, and will also run in Australia, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. In each country, the competition will be open to start-up ventures as well as “step-up” expansions of existing projects. The winners will be those that focus on real-life sustainability challenges.

To win, projects have to clearly address some of the biggest environmental challenges facing local urban communities. These include waste reduction and efficiency, environmental transport and travel, energy reduction, water efficiency and sustainable design.

E-idea is a unique alliance between the British Council and Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA). The competition will engage, empower and encourage the winners as they bring their ideas to fruition by providing the successful eco-entrepreneurs project funding as well as expert technical, business, marketing and networking support.

The regional competition was formally announced at the Sydney Opera House in January, 2011 by William Hague, UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who “applauded all involved, particularly the British Council and LRQA for their involvement,” and described E-idea as ”addressing one of the central problems in world affairs and calls for people’s ingenuity and entrepreneurship in doing so… I hope many, many people are going to take part.”

For more information about E-idea go to www.e-idea.org

Cross-border cooperation to improve environmental performance of the North American freight system is urgently needed—not just to enhance environmental sustainability, but to safeguard regional economic competitiveness—according to a new report from the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).

Entitled Destination Sustainability: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Freight Transportation in North America, “This report is something of a roadmap to both sustainability and prosperity,” said CEC Advisory Group Chair Bruce Agnew. “It turns out that, in the freight transportation sector, the best policies and investments for reducing freight-related greenhouse gas emissions are also some of the most effective measures for driving improvements to efficiency and competitiveness.”

The Secretariat of the CEC—a trinational commission established as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—examines environmental matters arising as part of continental trade and makes occasional recommendations to the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States through the CEC Council of cabinet-level (or equivalent) environmental authorities.

The CEC Secretariat’s latest report looks at the continental freight transportation network, a key component of the transportation sector, which is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in North America, after electricity generation. The report, which focuses on road and rail transport, finds that while emissions from light-duty vehicles are expected to drop by 12 percent by 2030, freight truck emissions are projected to increase by 20 percent. The report also considers the efficiency (and inefficiencies) in the current system, as well as considering the aggressive investments that other trade blocs are making in new infrastructure and lower-carbon transportation—investments that may be outpacing efforts in North America.

Read the full article at http://www.cec.org/Page.asp?PageID=122&ContentID=17673&SiteNodeID=655

Read the report at http://www.cec.org/Page.asp?PageID=749&SiteNodeID=539&BL_ExpandID=&AA_SiteLanguageID=1