Mr Gove was referring to the concept of a global system that would allow researchers anywhere to share information which was first proposed by Sir Tim while he was working at the Cern particle physics laboratory in Geneva in the 1980s.

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Of course, the computer system UPS uses to track this information and other data to optimize driver routes isn't cheap, but the concept is as basic as it gets: Using less fuel saves the company money while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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