A few important facts:
- According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a gallon of gasoline produces 19.4 pounds of CO2.
- Idling is believed to consume one cup of fuel every five minutes and the cumulative effect of idling is estimated to result in the burning of 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline, emitting 13 million tons of CO2.
- Rapid acceleration and hard braking can lower gas mileage by as much as 20 percent.
What they asked us to do...
Driving Change™ is a unique program that deploys on-board telemetry and Internet-based monitoring and management technology to measure the impact of driving behavior on the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted by vehicles. It helps individual and fleet drivers see how their behavior affects the level of emissions for which they are responsible.
Conceived by two start-ups, San Diego-based, Enviance, and Denver-based Cartasite, the program was pitched to the City of Denver, whose mayor, John W. Hickenlooper, is a major advocate for environmental sustainability. The program is underwritten by Denver-based EnCana Oil & Gas (USA), Inc. As the communications partner, Cohn & Wolfe’s job was to drive visibility for the program and its goals.
What we did...
Cohn & Wolfe created national and local media interest in Driving Change™ through a series of media exclusives and pre-briefings while providing counsel and messaging for all press event participants. One particularly fun (and effective) event included the installation of the Driving Change device on the Denver Mayor’s vehicle which was turned into b-roll footage and offered to, and embraced by, broadcast media.
Our results...
The program was officially launched on March 12, 2008. Cohn & Wolfe led the public relations efforts with major print and broadcast coverage in local and national media including the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, XM Radio, San Diego Union Tribune, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, AOL News, Rocky Mountain News, Denver Post, Oilweek, Boston Globe, MSN Money, Conde Nast Portfolio and Houston Chronicle and local television coverage from FOX, NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates as well as NPR. Colorado Public Radio ran a six minute segment.