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Google is among the tech giants that have made pledges and investments to reduce the environmental impact of their operations with moves such as making power-hungry data centres carbon-neutral.
New features unveiled today provide users with ways to help in the effort, whether it be driving routes that result in less exhaust being spewed from cars or shopping online for energy-efficient appliances.
“Our goal is to make the sustainable choice an easier choice,” Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said while briefing journalists on the latest features.
Artificial intelligence was put to work in Google’s free Maps service in the United States to show people the most fuel-efficient routes even if they are not the quickest.
“It defaults to the route that uses less fuel when the estimated time of arrival is similar,” Pichai said.
“We believe it will have the same impact in the next year as taking over 200,000 cars off the road.”
The feature is to be rolled out in Europe next year.
Google has also started work on a project to use AI to optimise the efficiency of traffic in cities to reduce the time vehicles spend idling at intersections.
Carbon-dioxide emission information is being added to a Flights service for booking travel by air.
“We’re putting these numbers in context by labelling flights that have significantly higher emissions, and adding a green badge to flights with significantly lower emissions,” Google said in a post.
The metrics will also show how much more CO2 is attributed to business or first-class seats, which give passengers more room.
In coming months, Google will start adding details about how eco-friendly hotels are so people can opt for lodging that is kinder to the planet.
Moves include weaving environmental-impact information into services for financial investing or shopping for appliances, and providing more insights into cost-benefits of electric vehicles.
“Individually, these choices might feel small but when you multiply them together across our products, they equal big transformations for the planet,” Pichai said.
“It’s going to take all of that to avert the worst consequences of climate change and there’s no time to waste.”
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