Propel CleanDrive Program Tracks Emission Reductions of Propel Fuel Users

SEATTLE --- Propel Fuels, a leading retailer of renewable fuels, recently launched its latest version of CleanDrive, a fleet carbon emission reduction tracking platform.

The patent pending application supports a host of new features, including multiple fuel types, integration with leading fleet fuel cards, Web widgets and community tabulations.

CleanDrive tracks and displays the carbon emission reductions from the use of alternative fuels purchased at Propel Clean Fuel Points. In doing so, CleanDrive allows users to comply with growing governmental standards for the use of renewable fuels and carbon emissions reduction such as California's 2020 targets. It also provides a platform for eventual monetization of these emissions reductions in carbon trading markets.

"CleanDrive, paired with our station network, provides the platform necessary to track and bank carbon reductions," said Rob Elam, co-founder and president of Propel. "Our next step is to connect to carbon markets, reward our customers, and assist our customers in complying with growing governmental emissions targets."

CleanDrive provides purchasers of Propel fuels with real-time reporting of the volume of carbon emissions reduced by using renewable fuels instead of petroleum. The system differs from simple carbon calculators because it is tied directly to actual fuel purchase and use, rather than user estimates. As states such as California continue to develop carbon emissions reduction targets, CleanDrive can help track and report on emissions reductions.

In particular, Propel's operations and use of CleanDrive in California will assist customers in meeting the state's goals of returning emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and to reduce the carbon intensity of California's transportation fuels by at least 10 percent by 2020 ("2020 Target"), Propel said.

Each time a registered user fills a tank with renewable fuel from any networked Propel Clean Fuel Point, the CleanDrive service calculates emissions savings and reports the results via a personalized online account. CleanDrive graphically displays the positive impacts of renewable fuel use, including reductions in CO2, barrels of oil displaced and reductions in foreign oil consumed.

These steps can be repeated across Propel's network of fueling stations, enabling individual consumers and businesses to easily see the positive environmental impact of their decision to use low-carbon fuels.

For its innovative work on CleanDrive, Propel was recently honored with the 2008 InfoWorld 100 Award. The InfoWorld 100 awards honor companies for IT projects that exemplify intelligent, creative uses of technology to meet business and technical objectives.

With Propel's network of stations, individual CO2 savings connect centrally across all fuel purchases, consolidating individual CO2 reductions into a single carbon "bank." This bank of CO2 savings can ultimately be verified, valued and traded in a carbon market setting.

In addition, Propel customers will soon have the option of trading their carbon credits for discounts or cash incentives with a network of Propel merchant partners. Those merchant partners can then count those credits against their mandated reductions.

"Future carbon markets will reward those who take action to reduce their carbon footprint by engaging in activities proven to reduce CO2," said Elam. "CleanDrive is the first application to instantly track and report on carbon emission reductions, providing those who make responsible choices the ability to demonstrate their impact, whether it is to meet regulatory mandates or to use as currency in a trading market."