Bolt unveils green plan to make rides in Europe carbon neutral

Bolt, the leading European on-demand transportation platform, will make passenger journeys in Europe carbon neutral by offsetting the emissions from trips taken on the platform. This is a part of Bolt’s wider environmental strategy called ‘Green Plan’.

The carbon neutral initiative is expected to involve a multi-million Euro investment which will continue to grow with the company. It will also make Bolt the largest ride-hailing platform in Europe to voluntarily commit to making its journeys carbon neutral.

Bolt will offset the emissions from ride-hailing trips to and with all passengers in Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

The initiative is part of Bolt’s ‘Green Plan’ that lays out a number of environmental goals:

• To offset Bolt’s contribution to the CO₂ emissions of the European transportation sector by at least 5 million tonnes by 2025.
• To reduce European CO₂ emissions by adding more green ride-types for passengers to choose from and offset emissions of Bolt’s offices globally in 2020.
• To create greener cities by bringing electric scooters to more cities and allowing Bolt riders to donate and contribute to green initiatives inside the app.

Alongside a number of Estonian tech companies that are committing to a Tech Green Pledge today at Tallinn Digital Summit – a gathering of government leaders and ministers from digital-minded countries – Bolt is pledging to reduce its environmental footprint and contribute more broadly to solving environmental challenges. This includes educating and engaging their customers on topics related to the environmental impact of human activity.

Markus Villig, CEO and founder of Bolt commented:

“Let’s start with the facts – climate change is real and greenhouse gas emissions are the biggest cause of it.

Today, road transportation makes up about 20% of Europe’s total greenhouse gas emissions. As Bolt is a part of that ecosystem, we need to hold ourselves responsible for being part of the solution.

We are working every day to accelerate the shift to shared and efficiently-used vehicles – electric cars, bikes, scooters and other types of vehicles that are yet to be invented. But we need to face the reality that our current transition is not fast enough. So, while we look to reduce emissions by adding more shared and electric vehicles to our fleets across cities, carbon offsetting takes immediate action to reduce emissions today and acts as a driver across the company to speed up the transition.

We’re in the unique and fortunate position of being able to act as a driving force for change both in and outside our industry and we hope that this action sets an example for other companies to follow, so we can all share the responsibility moving forward.”

Bolt is working with Natural Capital Partners, experts in the delivery of solutions for positive impact on carbon and renewable energy, to deliver its carbon neutrality. Natural Capital Partners manages the CarbonNeutral Protocol which provides businesses all over the world with the assurance that carbon neutral action for their business, operations and products is clear, transparent and of the highest quality.

Jonathan Shopley, Managing Director, External Affairs at Natural Capital Partners said:

“Carbon neutral action is increasingly important across all sectors to rapidly deliver the emissions reductions required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. We are delighted to work with such a disruptive company which is making this commitment to an immediate, positive impact on our climate.”

Bolt currently serves 25 million customers in over 30 countries globally and has grown to be an on-demand transportation leader in Europe and Africa. Last year, it became the first company to bring ride-hailing and scooter-sharing together in a single app, enabling ride-hailing customers to opt for quicker and greener rides in congested city centres.

About Bolt

Bolt is the leading European on-demand transportation platform that’s focused on making urban travel easier, quicker and more reliable.

Founded by Markus Villig, Bolt launched in 2013. It’s one of the fastest-growing transportation platforms in Europe and Africa with investors including Daimler, Didi Chuxing, Korelya Capital and TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus.

Bolt has more than 25 million users in over 30 countries globally. www.bolt.eu