We at Cleverciti know this, but the everyday citizen may not: Parking has an enormous impact on traffic congestion and the resulting emissions lead to negative environmental impact. Take this statistic for instance: In many cities, more than 30% of traffic is the result of people searching for a parking spot. Can you imagine how much that affects the environment?

So, what can be done? Quite simply, smart parking is the answer. Earlier this month, the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel wrote a powerful article about the negative impacts of inefficient parking search and found smart parking can make a significant contribution to reducing climate change — saving up to 900,000 tons of CO2.

“This is about half as much CO2 savings as is produced for all flights within Germany,” said FDP member of the Bundestag, Daniela Kluckert, who is in the Tagesspiegel Background. Furthermore, she stated the Federal Government must now stand up for “making smart parking a reality.“

The government in Germany is currently looking for a solution to solve the parking problem, which is an important step forward. Studies find that “Germans currently spend around 41 hours a year looking for a parking space” while the time wasted searching, the fuel required for it and the additional pollution cost Germans more than 40 billion euros per year.

The government is prioritizing the issue but that can take time. In the meantime, we can all work together to solve this problem because what we do every day directly addresses climate change. At Cleverciti, we get excited each time we deploy a parking space management and guidance system because we know we are reducing miles driven, pollution emitted and energy consumed. (And here is a cool fact for you: For every sensor we deploy, the environmental benefit is akin to planting more than 50 trees!)

What can you do today to reduce your impact? Let us know in the comments below. And if you’re ready to make an organizational commitment, contact us to learn more about our solutions.

Today we celebrate World Environment Day, and this year’s theme is air pollution and what can be done to reduce it. This is a goal that Cleverciti strives to accomplish every day, as it is a core part of our mission to make the world a healthier, cleaner place.

While multiple factors are responsible for things like climate change and global warming, transportation is known to be a significant contributor to the greenhouse gases emitted on Earth each year. For example, drivers spend an average of 17 hours each year looking for a parking spot, which adds up to an estimated $345 per driver in wasted time, fuel and emissions, according to a 2017 USA Today article.

But this can be changed with smart parking technology. At Cleverciti, we provide comprehensive technology solutions for clever parking management that enable drivers to spend less time searching for an available space and therefore reduces the impact on the environment.

From overhead sensors monitoring outdoor and on-street parking spaces, to intelligent analysis about driver behavior, to state-of the-art displays, and now, the ClevercitiCard, Cleverciti is the first step in ensuring a sustainable and hassle-free parking experience. Cleverciti is also the only parking solution provider to offer parking operators the ability to augment smart parking by adding capabilities for communications and out-of-home media engagement that generate additional revenue.

This kind of clever parking technology can help create a more sustainable urban life in cities. But municipalities are not the only entities looking to be more green. Organizations of all shapes and sizes, including shopping centers, office spaces and airports, are aiming to incorporate a wide range of intelligent solutions into their infrastructures to reduce emissions and their carbon footprint.

For instance, Cleverciti provides clever parking solutions to Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, a premier European commercial real estate company that specializes in large shopping mall spaces. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, who is known for their customer service experience, installed Cleverciti smart parking technology at their shopping center Ruhr Park to not only improve the entire guest experience for their 12 million annual visitors, but also reduce their impact on the environment.

As companies and cities alike are starting to understand their role in making our world a better place to live, Cleverciti is proud to be a part of the change we can hope to see on World Environment Day on beyond. By providing reliable data to intelligently guide users in the “parking jungle,” we allow drivers to make clever decisions, save time and reduce negative effects on our environment.