Toyota’s glass of water app aims to help drivers reduce emissions

Much the way Ford’s in-car driving coach aims to help drivers maximize their fuel efficiency, so a new iPhone app from Toyota Sweden hopes to help them reduce their emissions. Dubbed A Glass of Water, the free app is based on the idea that if everyone drove with a glass of water on their dashboard — and aimed not to spill it — driving would be both gentler and more economical. Accordingly, the Glass of Water app records the user’s driving distance, time, fuel consumption and “water” spilled. After each drive, the user can analyze the results and see on a map where they could improve their driving for the future. The results are automatically uploaded to Toyota’s website and compared against those of other participants. Developed in partnership with Saatchi & Saatchi Sweden, the Glass of Water app was recently honoured in the 2010 Green Awards. Aggressive acceleration and braking wastes fuel, so if all drivers in Sweden managed to avoid spilling their figurative “water,” carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced by some 2 million tons per year, Toyota points out. What brand butler could *your* company offer to help consumers achieve similar savings at home or on the road…? (Related: Smart devices help households monitor their energy use — Europcar lists CO2 emissions on customer invoices — Smart thermostat is always online — Home energy monitoring, delivered by Google.)