SAP this week introduced a new cloud-based carpool app to help companies reduce costs by encouraging employees to ride-share to work rather than commute solo.
SAP this week introduced a new cloud-based carpool app to help companies reduce costs by encouraging employees to ride-share to work rather than commute solo.
TwoGo by SAP allows employees to be matched into carpools automatically and according to their individual preferences, SAP says. This helps facilitate better-networked and more productive employees and can reduce costs for corporate fleets, parking infrastructure and travel expenses.
“We’ve combined our mobile and cloud technologies into a carpooling solution to help provide immediate economic, environmental and social benefits to companies and their employees,” said Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer at SAP. “As such, we expect TwoGo to not only help people and businesses save money and greenhouse gas emissions, but to also connect people more closely with each other and with the company they work for.”
For companies with corporate fleets, the solution offers cost-efficiency opportunities such as how to minimize maintenance costs and preserve vehicle resale value. It also supports companies looking for a way to make vanpooling more affordable and effective by seeking riders to regularly fill the van.
For individuals, SAP claims there also are significant benefits. In large U.S. urban areas, the average commuter spends $16 and 52 minutes going 32 miles round trip to work each day. By carpooling, employees can save money and time, while recouping lost productivity through networking and brainstorming on the road, which may create a more networked culture and help employees to feel better informed and involved with their peers.
TwoGo can be used on various mobile devices, the Internet and calendar applications. Once a company licenses the solution, employees can sign up online and enter ride-sharing preferences such as proximity, timing to and from work and willingness to leave the highway to pick up passengers. The app also employs sophisticated algorithms designed to ensure that employees do not get stranded at work.
Since deploying the app internally in July 2011, SAP estimates TwoGo has helped save the company more than $5 million.
In March, SAP released its first SAP Integrated Report, which brings together the information usually shared in an annual report with the information normally contained in a sustainability report. By combining the reports into a single online document, the software giant highlighted the connections between its financial and non-financial performance.
Published Apr 30, 2013 2am EDT / 11pm PDT / 7am BST / 8am CEST
Managing Director, Sustainability & Social Impact
Deutsche Bank
Mike Hower is a sustainability communicator and connector committed to helping purpose-driven businesses and people unlock their full potential for positive impact. As founder and principal consultant at Hower Impact, he works with companies to translate sustainability strategy into stories that inform, engage and inspire investors, customers, employees, regulators and other stakeholders in the service of social, environmental and business goals. Through his Impact Hired initiative, he works to connect and engage corporate sustainability professionals at all stages of their careers.
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