Environmental Wellness - The Make Cars Green Campaign

The Make Cars Green is an international environmental campaign, initiated by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) aimed at reducing the impact of motoring on our planet. This campaign was launched on World Environment Day on 5 June 2008.

The Make Cars Green Campaign outlines how policy makers, industry players and consumers can all play a constructive role in the future in reducing the impact motoring has on the environment. It encourages drivers to think as well as go green.

It brings together all aspects of the FIA's work:

- from encouraging consumers to go green;

- to representing our members' ecological concerns towards government and manufacturers; and

- the introduction of environmental initiatives into motor sport.

The campaign is aimed at encouraging a radical paradigm shift in the way cars are considered in society by being at the forefront of encouraging considerate and ecologically sound mobility.

A responsible motorist, should help to preserve the environment just by modifying your driving style and adopting a few simple and basic rules.

The current generation of car engines no longer requires warming up at idle. Allowing an engine to idle for a long period unnecessarily wastes fuel. It is better to turn off the engine, even for a short period, as you will save more fuel.

Trivial actions like checking your tire pressure and vehicle alignment are essential to greener motoring. This will not only ensure better fuel consumption but also extend the life of your tires and improve the overall handling and emissions of the vehicle. Car owners are also advised to service their vehicles regularly to ensure that the engine is tuned to perform at its optimum level. This will help to minimize emissions and fuel consumption, plus improve safety and reliability.

Driving at a reduced and constant speed will help conserve fuel. Wind resistance is said to increase quickly at higher speeds. At 110 km/h a driver uses approx. 20% to 25% more fuel than is required at 90 km/h.

Minimizing accelerating and braking also goes a long way in reducing fuel consumption. Hard accelerating increases fuel use dramatically while excessive braking wastes the energy that has been used to get the car up to speed. Always anticipate the flow of the traffic so you can adjust your speed early to reduce the need for heavy braking.

Driving in a lower gear than necessary and revving the engine also wastes fuel. When driving a car with automatic transmission, try to use the economy mode.

While air-conditioning has become a must for today's cars, as far as possible try to minimize its usage. Typically air-conditioners increase fuel consumption by about 10%. However, at speeds above 80 km/h, light use of air-conditioning is better for fuel consumption than unwinding the car window, as this will dramatically increase wind resistance.

Remove roof racks and boxes from vehicle when not in use. Carrying unnecessary weight around increases fuel consumption and these items also increase wind resistance, sometimes increasing fuel consumption by as much as 20%.

THE FIA's 10 POINTS FOR GREENER MOTORING

1. Buy green - Check environmental performance (emission standards/fuel economy) before you buy a new car, fuel and components.

    

2. Plan your journey - Planning your route can avoid delay and diversion. 10 minutes of unnecessary driving in a 1-hour trip results in a 14% decrease in fuel efficiency. For short journeys consider cycling, public transport or walking.

    

3. Check tire pressures frequently - Driving on tires whose air pressure is 50kPA (0.5kg/cm2) lower then it should be decreases fuel efficiency by 2% and 4% respectively in urban and suburban areas.

    

4. Reduce loads and avoid the need for roof racks - Driving with unnecessary onboard weight leads to a significant decrease in fuel efficiency and luggage on the roof will add to aerodynamic drag.

    

5. Don't warm up your engine before staring off - Today’s passenger cars don’t require warming up, except in cold climates and after long periods of non-use. Slow running is enough to warm up the engine.

    

6. Use air-conditioning only when necessary - Avoid setting the AC too low. AC when the outdoor temperature is 250 decreases fuel efficiency by 12%.

    

7. Accelerate gently and keep your speed constant - Start off gently (20km/h in 5 seconds, for an 11% increase in fuel economy) and avoid abrupt, heavy accelerations while driving. Avoid tailgating causing unnecessary acceleration/deceleration which costs 2% and 6% less fuel efficiency respectively in urban and suburban areas. Use higher gears as soon as traffic allows.

    

8. Use engine braking - Releasing the accelerator when recognizing the need to slow down stops the fuel supply leading to a 2% increase in fuel efficiency.

    

9. Don't idle your engine - Ten minutes of engine idling (in neutral, with the AC off) wastes 130cc of fuel. Turn your engine off instead of letting it idle when it is safe to do so.

    

10. Offset your CO2 emissions -.If you are driving economically and can’t reduce your car use then consider buying carbon offsets equivalent to your annual mileage.

For a better understanding of the Make Cars Green campaign, we encourage you to visit http://www.makecarsgreen.org
 

Back to Environmental Wellness