12 Free Mobile Apps for Eco-Entrepreneurs

During a time when iPhone boasts more than 100,000 applications, Droid offers more than 10,000 apps and Blackberry, Windows and Nokia all host their own app stores, where does someone looking for (free) earth-friendly productivity tools start?

Greenerprinter has taken the work out of finding some of the top green mobile applications available today. Start leveraging the power of mobile technology for your triple bottom-line business. Take a quick look at this review of 12 free apps for the tech savvy, eco-conscious business owner or employee.

1. Do you need to set up carpooling for yourself or your staff? Carticipate is a network of participating members interested in carpooling to save gas. Simply input your destination and Carticipate helps you find others in your social network who are headed in the same direction. Currently available for iPhones.
2. Whether it’s a quick trip to the office supply store or a cross-country conference in New York, Clear Standards Carbon Tracker allows you to calculate your carbon footprint. Your phone’s built-in GPS keeps track of your travel, so there is no guessing involved! Currently available for iPhones.
3. Craigsphone connects you to the well-known and much loved Craig’s List. Use Craigsphone to swap gently-used office items, find new office space in green buildings, drum up new clientele and much more. Currently available for iPhones and Droids.
4. Ecofinder helps Bay Area residents recycle and dispose of just about any unwanted materials, including old office machinery and unusable desk furniture. The data feed is provided courtesy of SF Environment. Currently available for iPhones.
5. Are you looking to discover new ways to conserve gas on the company vehicle? After it’s installed, Ecorio runs in the background to track your carbon footprint as you travel. Ecorio then gives you personalized ideas for actions to reduce your overall footprint, including purchasing carbon offsets. Currently available for iPhones.
6. Find Green is a location-based app that helps you find healthy living and sustainable businesses quickly and easily, including organic lunch spots! The reviewers at Treehugger say, “Think of it like a green Yelp on your phone.” Find Green was created by 3rdWhale, the first mobile app developer to join 1% for the Planet. Currently available for iPhones and Droids.
7. Why use fossil fuel to make your next meeting when there is Fuze Meeting? Fuze Meeting extends web-based conferencing capability to your phone. Start, host and attend web conferences, plus view multimedia and chat with colleagues in real time. (The meeting presenter, however, must be on a desktop.) Currently available for iPhones and Blackberries.
8. GreenDrive by Road-Guard helps you increase business car fuel efficiency based on road conditions and real-time driving directions (to provide the shortest route possible). Following GreenDrive’s tips, you could see an average fuel savings of 15-25 percent! Currently available for iPhones.
9. Once you use GreenDrive to reach your business destination, Green Explorer Widget will help you learn and share new tips on eco-friendly travel and lifestyle. Created by Nokia and is currently available in the Ovi Store.
10. Make your mobile device more sustainable! Green Phone by MobiMonster 2.0 aims to increase mobile battery life by monitoring the backlight, WLAN, Bluetooth and charger and will alert the user when a feature is not in use. Currently available for devices running Symbian OS.
11. The Greenpeace Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide, also produced by 3rdWhale, will help you choose the greenest paper products for your business break room or home office. Currently available for iPhones and Droids.
12. Without a doubt, LinkedIn has become the top online business networking site. So although this is not a green app per se, it is a great way to connect with like-minded eco-entrepreneurs, green business employees or Green MBA alumni. Currently available for Palms, Blackberries and iPhones.

It’s clear that there are many mobile applications in the market today and that many more are being added each month. In fact, a 2009 report issued by Juniper Research found that downloads of green mobile applications could exceed 400 million by 2014.

With this level of demand, it’s only a matter of time before you find the perfect new eco-friendly app for your Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Droid or iPhone.