#DoYourShare campaign aims at reducing carbon emissions by over 1200 tones

• Ola introduces one-of-its-kind ‘Billboard’ to track real time carbon emission levels saved in the city
• The 15 day campaign powered by WRI, aims at encouraging sustainable mobility

New Delhi, August 3rd, 2016: Ola, India’s most popular mobile app for transportation, with the introduction of a first-of-its kind “#DoYourShare” campaign, has taken shared mobility to a new level. Ola plans to install a unique ‘Billboard’ at prominent junctions in the three cities to display and track carbon emission levels saved in real-time by commuters using ‘Ola Share’ rides in the respective cities. The campaign will encourage citizens to adopt shared mobility and help reduce negative impact on the environment, by helping reduce carbon emissions in the city. The initiative goes live from the first week of August, across three Indian cities: Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

The entire campaign has been gamified for the three cities to compete against each other to achieve a set target of reduction in carbon emissions during this period. The ‘Billboard’ and live digital counters on social media will track the carbon emission levels real-time and act as a reference point for commuters to ‘do their share’ towards building a green, sustainable and congestion-free city. This initiative by Ola is powered by The World Resource Institute (WRI), a global research organization working towards a creating low carbon economy. Together with WRI’s expertise and the support of millions of users, Ola aims at reducing carbon emission by 1200 tonnes – 400 tonnes respectively in each city – Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, contributing to 1200 tonnes of emissions reduced nationally in the fortnight.

Raghuvesh Sarup, Head of Categories & CMO at Ola said, “Shared mobility is the new paradigm for sustainable transportation. With Ola’s ‘#DoYourShare’ campaign, our goal is to help cities reduce on-road congestion and unhealthy traffic jams, by encouraging more and more commuters to opt for Ola Share. It will be interesting to see the three cities race for clean air, as their citizens compete to contribute towards reduced emissions, responsibly.” He further added, “We intend to take this campaign to other cities as well and relentlessly work towards building sustainable mobility solutions for the country, as we advance on our mission of building mobility for a billion Indians.”

Vivek P. Adhia, Head Business Engagement at WRI India said “Initiatives promoting sustainable transportation, such as Ola’s ride-sharing offering have the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint on the environment. While gaps have existed in measuring the impact – internationally consistent and locally relevant approaches being adopted by major players, would help in better planning and engagement in this space. We believe the proliferation of such initiatives would help support ambitious climate action at the ground level and play a key role in accelerating progress towards India’s national commitments on 33-35% intensity reductions made at Paris COP21 last year. We are thrilled that Ola is using our toolkit to measure their emissions impact on the environment. This is the first step in contributing towards environment-friendly cities in the country.”

Since launch in October 2015, Ola’s shared mobility solutions have effectively saved over 20 lakh litres of fuel, reduced CO2 emissions of close to 48 lakh kilograms and helped 37 lakh vehicles to stay off the road.  Running successfully across 7 cities, Ola Share is the most preferred choice of shared mobility in India.

About Ola:

Founded in Jan 2011 by IIT Bombay alumni Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola (formerly Olacabs), is India’s most popular mobile app for personal transportation. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent and quick service fulfilment. Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 102 cities can book from over 4,50,000 vehicles across cabs, auto-rickshaws and taxis.  Ola has also introduced a range of shared mobility services on its platform like Ola Shuttle and Ola Share for commute and ride-sharing respectively. The app is available on Windows, Android and iOS platforms. In early 2015, Ola acquired TaxiForSure, India’s second largest cab aggregator, which continues to operate as an independent brand. Please visit www.olacabs.com and https://www.olacabs.com/media for more information.

About WRI India:

WRI India provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. Our work focuses on building sustainable and liveable cities and working towards a low carbon economy. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being.

We are inspired by and associated with World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organisation with more than 400 experts and other staff around the world. World Resources Institute began in Washington, DC, in 1982 to provide cutting edge analysis to address global environment and development challenges. WRI spans more than 50 countries, with offices in Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, and the United States. In all of these locations, WRI works with government, business, and civil society to drive ambitious action based on high-quality data and objective analysis.

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Varnika Gupta (Ola) | media@olacabs.com | +91 9999004643

Anuj Bakshi (Adfactors PR) |anuj.bakshi@adfactorspr.com |+91-97 11 306879