Sustainable mobility: what it is and what are its benefits
In recent years, due to the growing concern about climate change, phenomena such as sustainability, environmentalism and social responsibility have grown exponentially. In this sense, the transport sector has been one of the most affected by the emergence of the so-called "sustainable mobility". But what exactly is sustainable mobility?
Don't worry, because throughout this article we will explain all of them in detail characteristics of this new way of understanding mobility. What are their majors? benefits? What future prospects are presented to you in the coming years? Carry on reading to find out everything you need about sustainable mobility.
The most important
- With the reduction of CO2 emissions as a primary objective to slow down climate change, sustainable mobility is presented as one of the best options to fight against global warming.
- Knowing the details of this new way of moving around cities will be key to reducing our environmental impact and taking advantage of all the benefits.
- The great reception of this movement and the strong public and private bets have generated exponential growth estimates for the coming years.
What is sustainable mobility?
Despite being a very fashionable concept in recent years, there is still a great deal of ignorance surrounding it and its most important features. In this section we present to you what is the exact definition, the origin of this movement and the most important examples to date.
Sustainable mobility: definition
Due to the importance that this concept has taken in recent years, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) decided to coin this term as:
"Sustainable mobility consists of allowing society to move freely, to have easy access to transport and communicate different populations with each other without putting at risk ecological or human values neither of the present nor of the future".
However, this definition goes beyond simply reducing the amount of CO2 emitted. According to the WBCSD, sustainable mobility must meet 4 key points:
- Protect vulnerable groups: in addition to avoiding pollution, this concept also defends the importance of pedestrians, cyclists and people with reduced mobility. For this reason, it is important to take into account aspects such as accessibility, safety and space to move around.
- Valuing time: in a society where everything happens more and more quickly, the optimization of time is fundamental. In this sense, sustainable mobility must offer a structure that allows people to make the most of the time they spend travelling.
- Fostering a sustainable transition : this new way of understanding transport also involves rewarding positive attitudes or penalizing negative ones. A clear example is the discount in the tax rate when buying an electric vehicle or the limitation of combustion vehicles in the urban center of a city.
- Offer a universal public service: finally, it is vitally important to ensure universal access to a means of public transport to avoid the isolation of certain geographical points. Although cities are the main focus of transport, sustainable mobility advocates efficient connectivity with other less central locations.
The origin of sustainable mobility
Historical context
Despite numerous warnings from experts and scientists, awareness and action on climate change did not come until the signing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. With this treaty, the international community sought to establish the foundations for reducing the negative impact of people on both the climate and the environment.
However, it would not be until 1997, the year in which the well-known Kyoto Protocol was signed, when a binding international legal instrument was established for the first time in history to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses. However, the non-inclusion of countries such as the United States, South Korea or Saudi Arabia meant that this agreement only affected 12% of total emissions.
Finally, in 2015 the last international climate agreement was signed the date: the Paris Agreement. In addition to the increase in measures to reduce global warming to 2ºC and as a target point 1.5ºC, this treaty includes in 55 countries representing 55% of total emissions. Likewise, this agreement international meant a considerable advance in terms of transparency and publication data on the negative effects of economic activities. A clear example is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), organization independent in charge of controlling and helping companies comply with standards of sustainability and transparency.
EVOLUTION OF TREATIES AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
| United Nations Macro Convention on Climate Change (1992) | Kyoto Protocol (1997) | Treaty of Paris (2015) |
|---|---|---|
| Very ambiguous and unambitious objectives | Marked general objectives | Clear goals marked |
| Very little international participation | Insufficient international involvement | Considerable international commitment |
| Few sizes and with little transparency | Little transparency | Initiatives to publish results and increase transparency |
With this historical context in mind, we can observe how in the last 30 years, awareness around climate change has been increasing in both visibility and demand. In the table above we can easily appreciate the evolution and the differences between the 3 treated.
First steps of sustainable mobility
Although right now we are in a time of expansion of sustainable mobility, the first steps of this movement were born years ago with the appearance of large and small companies in this sector. These are 4 of the examples with the most international impact and which have revolutionized the mobility sector with different means of transport:
Tesla
The American company founded by the well-known Elon Musk in 2003 was born with the aim of proving that a new way of manufacturing cars was possible without lose speed, design or autonomy. As we can see from the year of its creation, Tesla was a project ahead of its time and highly questioned by a large part of society at the time. However, and despite going through great difficulties in the period from 2008 to 2010, based on research and development in the field of aerodynamics and electric batteries today Tesla is [among the 10 most important companies in the world](https:/ /www .statista.com/chart/23537/top-10-companies-in-the-sp-500-index/).
Uber
Born in 2009 with the aim of revolutionizing the concept of "ride-hailing" Uber is one of the most important mobility operators in all the world today. The reservation and payment system from the mobile meant a giant step towards the digitization of intelligent mobility and the reduction of the number of private cars circulating in the cities. Today, in search of continuing to revolutionize the way we move, Uber has already made agreements with autonomous vehicle companies such as the British Arrival betting on the concept of robatori-taxis.
Lime
Starting with bike sharing in 2017, Lime is one of the most well-known startups in the world of sustainable micro-mobility at an international level. As its success grew with its core idea, the American company diversified its services with an expansion of the fleet to electric bicycles and electric scooters. It is currently still in the process of global expansion with such important collaborations as its appearance on Google Maps to calculate the route with vehicles.
Yego
With a commitment to sustainable mobility, the Catalan 'scooter sharing' company was born in Barcelona in 2015 as one of the startups of the moment. As part of a new generation of mobility companies, Yego is one of the leading exponents of micromobility options in cities such as Paris, Barcelona or Valencia. Currently, the Spanish startup continues with its expansion plans both geographically and in terms of services, offering bike sharing in more and more cities.
Benefits of sustainable mobility
Although, like any expanding market, sustainable mobility still has to face major challenges for its full implementation, today this new way of moving offers numerous benefits:
Benefits of sustainable mobility for people
- Greater security: one of the fundamental pillars of sustainable mobility is to increase the safety of both drivers and pedestrians. In this way, the risk of both collisions and accidents is reduced and people are committed to a greater importance in public space.
- Greater autonomy: thanks to the emergence of new ways of moving around cities, people have a greater range to choose which option interests us the most. From digitized public transport to the use of private electric vehicles, our ability to make decisions is much greater with sustainable mobility.
- Reduction of noise pollution: another of the great benefits for the people is the reduction of noise in cities. Guilty of increasing the stress levels, aggression or headaches, noise pollution is voice decimated with the arrival of sustainable mobility. Less noisy vehicles or more space for non-noisy options such as cycling or walking are some of the examples.
Benefits of sustainable mobility for the environment
- Reduction of CO2 emissions: the main objective of sustainable mobility is to reduce the number of emissions emitted by vehicles into the atmosphere. Thanks to the commitment to electric options, shared means of transport or the promotion of active mobility, this goal is perfectly met
- Reuse of resources: sustainable mobility is not only committed to reducing emissions but also to the responsible use of vehicles. For this reason, this movement promotes the reuse of the largest possible number of elements of used vehicles (batteries, chassis, lights...). In this way, pollution is not only reduced in direct emissions but also indirectly in the manufacture of parts for each new vehicle.
Benefits of sustainable mobility with Miivo
Having reviewed all the benefits of sustainable mobility for both people and the environment, what benefits does Miivo bring? Very simple:
Unification: if each sustainable mobility option has countless benefits, imagine them all together. A faster comparison that saves money, an agile and digital purchase and top-up process and a system of geolocation and live traffic are some of these advantages.
Reward: at Miivo we don't just believe that mobility sustainable is the best option if not we will make it a reality. With ours app, our users may receive rewards, discounts or promotions for
- Awareness : thanks to our project, sustainable mobility will be a more efficient, cheaper and more fun option every time. With this in mind, society will have more incentives to start the transition towards green and people-centred mobility.
Conclusion
As we have seen throughout this article, sustainable mobility has a large number of characteristics that make it one upward movement due to its sustainable and people-oriented nature. That is why the research and development of this sector will be an aspect key in the fight against climate change since transport alone is responsible for 30% of global CO2 emissions.
With this in mind, from Miivo we aim to encourage the use of sustainable mobility options showing that it not only pollutes less but that it can be just as or more efficient, cheap and useful than using a private vehicle.