Amazon and Microsoft partner with JCDecaux to improve air quality using new technological innovations
The world is facing the increasing risks and consequences of climate change and major brands are using new technological advancements partnered with our street furniture to do their part in combating these effects. Microsoft and Amazon’s latest innovative sustainability campaigns have been created in partnership with JCDecaux in two of our largest markets.
Air pollution is a major issue in cities, posing serious risks to the environment and to human health. On July 19th, 2021, JCDecaux announced a partnership with Microsoft Research and the Array of Things teams to launch a pilot program of air quality sensors on 100 bus shelters around the city of Chicago. These sensors, designed to measure and record air quality, temperature, and humidity, will provide Chicago with the precise data needed to implement adapted environmental measures and improve quality of life for its inhabitants. Innovations like this pilot program are how JCDecaux works to limit our impact in our markets, develop sustainable practices and better serve our 3,670 partner cities worldwide.
Across the world, air quality measurement programs have launched in other JCDecaux partner cities, including Nice, France and Tokyo, Japan. New-generation bus shelters like the recently launched Filtreo® shelters, with pollutant-absorbing moss roofs are another example of how the group aims for responsible and sustainable innovation.
Amazon, in partnership with The Climate Pledge, is also taking steps to better serve the communities they impact. As a signatory of “The Climate Pledge,” Amazon is part of a movement calling on companies and organizations to be net zero carbon by 2040, 10 years earlier than required by the Paris Agreement. Their campaign by the same name asks companies to accept this challenge and start right away by making changes like planting more trees, using renewable energy, and going electric.
This campaign is not only calling for CEOs to make big changes, it’s also taking actual steps to help combat pollution. The screens displaying this campaign will be sprayed with TiO2 (Titanium Dioxide), a special air purifying coating that will remove up to 70% of all NOx gases (carbon emissions, industrial pollutants, etc) that it encounters. The campaign is currently running on 50 digital city information panels in Chicago and will be launched in August on an additional 55 digital shelters in NYC. This coating will continue to help purify air on our inventory for up to 5 years after application.
JCDecaux is a proud partner of companies making changes towards carbon neutrality, cleaner air, and a more sustainable future. Explore how we make this a fundamental part of our business model by reading about our sustainable solutions and environmental priorities.
More information about the air quality sensor program launched in Chicago is available in our press release. The Climate Pledge’s website can be found here.