Attention drivers everywhere! The SHiFT Carbon Calculator helps its users make environmentally friendly transportation decisions based on their uses and needs. This tool, brought to you by the SHiFT Vehicle Retirement Initiative, seeks to help individuals strategize ways to reduce their personal transportation-related emissions and make more informed decisions at the point of purchase. Compare vehicle emissions and so much more with the SHiFT Decision Engine.
Does an EV make sense based on your lifestyle and driving habits? Which option would result in less carbon emissions: keeping your current gas-powered car for an additional year or switching into driving an Electric Vehicle (EV) immediately?
For car-shoppers concerned with the impact of their transportation, there are a myriad of factors to weigh into their decisions. While much of vehicle emissions are produced from one’s everyday use of a vehicle, a significant portion of emissions are born out of the initial production of these vehicles, including the sourcing and processing of raw materials. It is often challenging for drivers to obtain a clear answer to the question, “Is it time for me to get a new car?”.
This tool helps evaluate the many environmental impact factors of the potential new and owner’s current vehicle and provides an easy to digest summary of the research to make an informed decision.
While it is true that car-buying is highly dependent on one’s financial situation and life-stage, this tool offers a perspective that isn’t offered elsewhere and is so crucial to car-buying in modern times.
The primary purpose of the SHiFT Carbon Calculator is to help consumers make transportation decisions by comparing the environmental impact of different vehicle choices. The tool is set up to compare one’s current vehicle to a vehicle one is considering purchasing or to compare two considered alternatives. The tool considers some or all of the following factors:
The tool’s precision depends on how much data the user is willing to provide. One can choose to compare two vehicles on a more surface-level, sticking to fuel efficiency and emissions ratings, or they can provide the tool with more information about the vehicle and their transportation needs and have the tool perform a deeper, more individualized analysis comparing vehicles.
While a one vs. one vehicle comparison is the primary use-case for this tool, the tool is highly customizable to the user. If one does not have a vehicle they are considering purchasing they can leave this open and simply elect to explore a new transportation mix.
If the user is certain they do not wish to purchase a vehicle in the future, they can elect to compare their current vehicle to a future where one relies solely on alternative transportation methods. The tool will indicate whether your current vehicle is ready to be retired. It will also give the user a sense of how their transportation decisions impact their personal carbon footprint.
The nuanced perspective offered by the SHiFT Decision Engine helps you understand if your vehicle’s age warrants additional production-related emissions necessary for a new vehicle. It can also be used to weigh the benefits of adopting an EV over continuing to drive your current vehicle for additional years.
The tool delivers insight on the choices, explaining how it arrived at the decision to retire, sell, recycle, or keep your current vehicle. Easy to understand and full of insight, the SHiFT Decision Engine is a car buyer’s intelligent best friend.
The SHiFT Carbon Calculator is powered by data. The primary data source that this calculator pulls on is the EPA’s dataset of vehicle mileage per gallon (MPG). This data, combined with information on vehicles’ average retirement age and estimated levels of production-related emissions, per data made available by vehicle manufacturers’, allows the tool to produce a personalized response to each inquiry. The tool can weigh different factors according to their significance, further improving the accuracy and reliability of its responses.
So, let the SHiFT Carbon Calculator help you make an informed decision about what is the next best step for you, your vehicle, and the planet. This tool is for anyone that cares about how their personal transportation decisions affect the bigger picture.
Together you can help ensure your next car is better for the planet than your last.
