Data were released today from a week-long study of Toyota employees and family members who drove more than 480,000 miles in Eco or EV mode. The results show a CO2 reduction of 45,235,623 g of greenhouse gases compared to the baseline; that 5091 gallons of gasoline were saved for a reduction of $18,304 based on the national average.
“We have the ability to use data to help empower customers so that they can make a difference,” said Brian Kursar, chief technology officer, Toyota Connected North America (TCNA). “While this study focused on Toyota-owned vehicles, we know there are millions of connected Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the US. If everyone drove in Eco mode, it could help greatly reduce our collective CO2 output. Given how successful this internal campaign was, we’d love to see where we can take this initiative, and we hope we inspire other automakers to do the same.”
From 19-25 April 2023, TCNA recorded data in real-time from more than 2000 participating corporate-owned Toyota and Lexus vehicles, recording more than 483,000 miles in Eco or EV mode throughout the week. Data scientists compared data from driving in Eco mode a baseline of daily driving taken before the campaign to measure improvements. The TCNA team sifted through more than 2.5 million miles from all participating and non-participating vehicles. In short, the Eco mode study showed how drivers of different kinds of vehicles can contribute toward carbon reduction.
Methodology
Baseline pre-campaign driving period March 15 – March 31:
- Start from trip level to daily level to historical baseline level for each VIN. Calculated Baseline Total Dynamic Carbon Footprint (g/CO2) when speed > 0, using EPA conversion factor of 1 gallon of gas consumed = 8887 gCO2. *
- Obtain Baseline Total Mileage (Mile)
- Calculate Baseline Normalized Dynamic Carbon Footprint (gCO2/mile). That is value in (2) divided by value in (1)
- For cross referencing with monitor, get historical usages of different driving modes (EV, ECO, and others). Other things being equal, the more EV and ECO modes usage the lower the carbon footprint per mile.
Monitor driving period during Earth Week campaign April 19 – April 25:
- During the campaign, repeat the process in Baseline above for each VIN, and for each day of the campaign, to get equivalent monitor values.
- Take the difference between the Monitor Daily Normalized Dynamic Carbon Footprint and the Baseline Normalized Dynamic Carbon Footprint.
- If the difference in (2) yields a negative gCO2/mile, then multiply the Negative Value -by the Monitor Total Daily Mileage (Miles) to get Daily Reduction in Dynamic Carbon Footprint (gCO2) for each VIN.
- Sum up the Daily Reduction in Dynamic Carbon Footprint (gCO2) for all VINs and all campaign days, to obtain Total Carbon Footprint Savings for the entire campaign period.
- Convert the Total Carbon Footprint Savings to Number of Trees, using the conversion factor provided by the EPA: 60,539 grams of CO2 are required to plant and grow 1 typical urban tree in the US for 10 years.**
- Convert the Total Carbon Footprint Savings to Dollars, using national average price of gas per gallon as of 4/10 = $3.596.***.
References
*https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator#results
**https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gases-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references
*** https:///www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel
Toyota Eco or EV Button Study Shows Greenhouse Gas Cuts
Data were released today from a week-long study of Toyota employees and family members who drove more than 480,000 miles in Eco or EV mode. The results show a CO2 reduction of 45,235,623 g of greenhouse gases compared to the baseline; that 5091 gallons of gasoline were saved for a reduction of $18,304 based on the national average.
“We have the ability to use data to help empower customers so that they can make a difference,” said Brian Kursar, chief technology officer, Toyota Connected North America (TCNA). “While this study focused on Toyota-owned vehicles, we know there are millions of connected Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the US. If everyone drove in Eco mode, it could help greatly reduce our collective CO2 output. Given how successful this internal campaign was, we’d love to see where we can take this initiative, and we hope we inspire other automakers to do the same.”
From 19-25 April 2023, TCNA recorded data in real-time from more than 2000 participating corporate-owned Toyota and Lexus vehicles, recording more than 483,000 miles in Eco or EV mode throughout the week. Data scientists compared data from driving in Eco mode a baseline of daily driving taken before the campaign to measure improvements. The TCNA team sifted through more than 2.5 million miles from all participating and non-participating vehicles. In short, the Eco mode study showed how drivers of different kinds of vehicles can contribute toward carbon reduction.
Methodology
Baseline pre-campaign driving period March 15 – March 31:
Monitor driving period during Earth Week campaign April 19 – April 25:
References
*https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator#results
**https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gases-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references
*** https:///www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel