A new Transnet app will enable customers and other users to calculate their carbon emission saving through its carbon calculator app. The app will allow users to calculate their carbon emissions savings and provide corporate reporting on transport carbon emissions.

South Africa is set to introduce a carbon tax in 2016, in an attempt to account for the environmental cost of greenhouse gas emissions and incentivise the use of cleaner energy sources. The proposed carbon tax rate is currently R120 a metric ton of Co2 equivalent, to be levied by the government on the use of fossil fuels.

Transnet says rail is three to four times more energy efficient than road – per tonne of cargo transported.

The App was developed by Transnet in collaboration with the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE), based at Wits University. The calculator applies the relevant rail tractive power (electric or diesel) of each route to calculate the carbon footprint of tonnage.

Users can select a specific origin and destination, the commodity type and its weight to calculate the emission savings when transporting cargo by rail. It is available to download on Apple, Windows and Android devices – free – in the relevant app stores.