Taking the technology route to greener solutions

Technology may just be the answer to making the transport sector more “green”. According to Dr Andrew Hutchison of T-Systems International, there are many opportunities for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to ensure companies are more environmentally friendly. “By using technology to calculate the smartest route, one will cause less pollution to the environment immediately. Pilots using GPS are able to fly more direct routes to their destinations, reducing fuel consumption and time of flight,” he said. “Besides route calculation, car fuel consumption can also be reduced using smart fleet tracking systems.” According to Hutchison, reduced fuel consumption – be it for vehicles or aircraft – is just one of many ways in which, by allowing us to find our way more efficiently, technology (in the form of GPS in this instance) helps companies to achieve greater efficiency. “Through efficient route planning one can minimise congestion – less congestion, less carbon,” he said. According to a study commissioned by the Federation of German Industries, traffic jams cost the country’s economy Є102 billion annually – in addition to damaging the environment. “High carbon emissions drive up the cost,” said Hutchison. “Stateof- the-art ICT-based solutions, for example, are able to prevent around 20% of congestion.” He said by optimising fleet management, improving capacity utilisation and minimising empty runs, greener solutions were being found using technology. According to Hutchison Toll Collect, the German road-charging system operated by T-Systems, has through pricing incentives significantly increased the number of low-emission trucks on the road in Germany. High performance simulation technology for the development of vehicles, from cars to jumbo jets, can save hundreds of thousands of kilometres in terms of test drives and flights – it all comes down to embracing and implementing technology.