Happy 2024 everyone! New year, new feature.

One of the hardest parts about climate change is the feeling that the issue is just too “abstract” for us to grapple with.

Today, we’re excited to release a concrete way for everyone to understand their climate impact a bit better: Commute Tracking.

Ah yes, commuting. That thing that most of us do every weekday, pretty much on autopilot. But carbon emissions from commuting is a big deal.

There’s a few reasons why we’ve decided to zoom in on commuting…

First, our commuting emissions really do add up. According to the EPA, “in 2021, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation accounted for 28% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest contributor of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions”.

Also, how workers get to work is often a major component of an organization’s sustainability program. And we want Decarbon to help out here! We’ve been co-developing this feature with a corporate pilot partner who needs to effectively track and reduce the commuting emissions of their employees to better comply with a regional air quality regulation.

Finally, if tracking your spending and diving into carbon budgeting feels too daunting, commute tracking might be a simpler entry point to the world of carbon tracking and climate action. Here’s to meeting people where they are in their climate journeys!

Decarbon’s Commute Tracker is pretty simple. Once you set your typical commute schedule and some basic modifiers like the fuel efficiency of your vehicle, the app will automatically log your commutes into the tracker on a daily basis. These commutes also get automatically assigned to the work team you specify.

If your commute ever falls out of the norm (say you decided to work from home to care for a sick child), you can modify your commute for that particular day. You can also update your commute schedule at any time, like when you organize a new carpool into work with some coworkers on Tuesdays and Fridays.

We’re really excited for you to give this new feature a try! It’s available for everyone on both mobile and desktop. I hope it sheds some light into this tangible facet of your climate impact.