Strava offers new tool to calculate carbon savings on platform

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Aug 03, 2023, 15:26 ET

As people return to offices around the world, Strava leverages data to encourage more environmentally friendly transportation usage

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Strava, the subscription platform at the center of connected fitness, announced a new tool that focuses on carbon savings. Starting today, users who tag their activities as commutes on the Strava mobile app and on web can see their estimated carbon savings when commuting by running, walking, cycling or e-biking instead of traveling by car^¹.

Strava offers new tool to calculate carbon savings on platform

This new feature aims to help advance carbon savings and encourage more environmentally friendly modes of transportation. A recent study revealed that 72% of companies have mandated office returns, and commuting by bike and foot around the world has been further influenced by the global fuel and cost of living crisis. Through the update, which displays the carbon saved figure on user activities labeled as "commute," Strava hopes to influence more of its global community of over 100 million users to choose less carbon-intensive means of commuting.

Brian Bell, Strava's Vice President of Global Communications and Social Impact, said, "At Strava we are proud to consistently provide our community with product features and updates that motivate them to be more active. The new feature unlocks a universal action that anyone on Strava can be part of, and our hope is that when armed with the power to choose between a less eco-friendly form of commuting versus a more human powered approach - they bias towards the more sustainable option. By providing more visibility on carbon savings, we look to inspire individual action towards a common goal of reducing carbon emissions globally."

The new feature supports Strava's ongoing efforts to improve infrastructure investment for greater active transportation access. Since 2020, Strava has been providing de-identified, aggregated, activity data insights on commuting trends for free to city planners, advocacy groups and researchers via Metro, a Strava proprietary web platform available to qualifying partner organizations. Community members who have opted-in and track their trips on Strava are anonymously feeding into the Metro dataset and in turn, helping urban planners and transportation experts in their communities to understand mobility patterns, identify opportunities for investment and evaluate the impact of infrastructure changes, giving more opportunity through improved transportation access.

On a global scale, Strava data shows that there has been a higher adoption of cycling commutes in the past year, with Paris leading the way with 97% growth^² as a result of subsequent investment into cycling infrastructure:

Paris (+97%)
Rio de Janeiro (+62%)
Berlin (+57%)
Tokyo (+46%)
Munich (+41%)

Jérôme Sorrel, Author & Cycle Commute Commentator said, "Regardless of your motivation to choose active commuting, whether it's walking, cycling, running rather than riding a motorbike or driving a car, one motivation which can bring people together is finding a way to reduce our carbon footprint. It is great to see this product update from Strava to monitor all the carbon savings I've made by choosing to cycle everyday."

Learn more about Metro here. Please visit our community hub to learn how to tag your commutes.

You can now embed Strava activities into articles by following these steps.

About Strava
Strava is the leading subscription platform at the center of connected fitness, with more than 100 million active people in more than 190 countries. The platform offers a holistic view of your active lifestyle, no matter where you live, which sport you love and/or what device you use. Everyone belongs on Strava when they are pursuing an active life. Join the community, find motivation and discover new experiences with a Strava subscription.

Our favorite stats:

More than 8 billion activities shared on Strava
Community members in over 190 countries
40 million activities uploaded per week
Over 30 million Segments
Over 3,000 professional athletes on Strava
Almost 10 billion Kudos given last year
Over 10 million photos and videos shared per week
Over 2,000 partner organizations making their communities better with Strava Metro

^¹ Carbon savings calculated by; activity mileage divided average MPG (from the 2021 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report) = number of gallons saved, then multiplied by the standard figure for pounds of carbon emitted per gallon of gas, then converted to kg of carbon.
^² Highest growth in cycling commutes 2022 vs. 2019 (Jan - Aug)

Press Contact
press@strava.com

SOURCE STRAVA, INC.