IN AN unusual move for a company that relies on mass car travel, the map publisher UBD has begun selling what it calls Australia's first green street directory - and has reported strong sales.
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In the 2009 Sydney directory, the standard road maps are printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink, which has a reduced carbon footprint. The covers have biodegradable laminate coating.
Motorists can read energy-saving tips developed with the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change.
For example, they can cut fuel costs by 10 per cent by taking out superfluous baggage to reduce a car's weight and making sure tyres are properly inflated. Another tip: idling the engine for 30 seconds burns more petrol than turning it off and on again.
The directory, with a 30,000 print run, also includes a "no excuse zone" covering central Sydney outlining cycling times to the CBD. In stern terms, the directory tells people living in Artarmon or Mosman on the lower North Shore, Vaucluse, Bondi or Eastgardens in the east, or Marrickville, Burwood or Five Dock in the inner west they have no excuse not to ride a bike to work. Its test rides calculated the time a healthy person takes to cycle in traffic to the city.
The company admits that selling street directories depends on people sticking to cars, but says the new directory is simply a response to consumer uneasiness about carbon footprints.
"People are driving as much as ever, even if they're not buying as many new cars," said a Universal Publishing spokesman, Andrew Ford. "The directory encourages people to get from A to B more efficiently, and there's always going to be a need for navigation."
For those less concerned about greenhouse gas emissions and saving fuel, the standard "brown" directory is available at the same price, $39.95.
The idea has cautious support from some green groups, based on their belief that some information about carbon emissions is better than none.
"It's a simple fact that people are going to keep driving cars in Australia," said Jon Dee, chairman of consumer environment group Do Something.
"Anything that encourages them to reconsider driving and make small, incremental changes, has got to be a good thing. A street directory is probably a good place to have this sort of information."
Road transport accounts for about 12 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas output, with passenger cars the sector's biggest culprits. Car exhausts pumped out about 43 million tonnes of greenhouse gas last year, an increase of nearly a quarter on 1990 levels due to a higher ratio of cars to people, say Federal Government data.
