As offices seek to go green, it pays to start with the very first activity of the day—the morning commute. American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through traffic. This adds up to 3.7 billion hours and 23 billion gallons of fuel each year. Why not “green up” your employees’ commute?
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Adopting a bicycle-friendly policy is a good start for those who don’t travel long distances to work. Begin by addressing basic concerns of newbie bike commuters: storage for bikes, the ability to “freshen up” after the ride, and route safety. To address the storage issue, work with your facility’s team to set up a safe storage area for bicycles and helmets, or designate a morning elevator just for those who want to park their bikes in their upstairs offices. For those concerned about arriving fresh from their ride, have showers and lockers on-site, making sure they’re accessible in the morning. Or, arrange with a nearby gym to allow employees to use their facilities. As for safety, ask your HR or communications teams to publish maps for safe biking routes. Be sure to include as many of your employees’ neighborhoods as you can.
For those workers who need some help getting started, create a biking group where members can discuss bike routes and other concerns. Host a biking clinic for those who want to get started but need more education on purchasing a bike and equipment. Ask a local bike shop to offer employee discounts. You may also consider a contest for the person who bikes to work most consistently. Make sure one of your key executives is a visible participant in your biking club. The more that people see management biking with them, the more they’ll be inclined to join. Also, feature employee biking stories in your company newsletter.
For those who find biking impractical, encourage use of public transportation. Many companies offer discounts for metro or bus passes, and there are tax benefits for employers that provide transit subsidies to their employees. Similar to the bike groups, some employers also encourage their staff to ride together when taking public transport—it’s an opportunity to socialize and potentially meet new neighbors.
For those who must drive, carpooling incentives are a tried-and-true option. So are preferred parking spots and other perks. But new options such as car-sharing programs like ZipCar, Inc., are also now available. Consider sponsoring your company’s own car-sharing program, and remind people that commutes don’t have to be 100% by car. Many environmentally conscious commuters now prefer a combination of biking, public transportation, and carpooling.
You can also encourage employees to be greener in their vehicle choices. There are a multitude of hybrids on the market that get better mileage, have cleaner emissions, and save gas money. Also, affordable electric cars and plug-in hybrids are an option, but if you do encourage electric cars, make sure you have chargers close by or, at the very least, electrical outlets.
Talk to your employees as well about driving techniques that enhance fuel economy. There are simple actions they can take, such as avoiding sudden stops and starts and going the speed limit. Parking in shaded areas avoids the over-use of air conditioning, and keeping tires properly inflated improves driving efficiency.
And finally, reduce travel costs and minimize your company’s carbon footprint by holding more video and teleconference meetings. Investing in good videoconferencing equipment is still cheaper and more earth-friendly than extensive airline travel. Make a point of announcing how much you have minimized your carbon footprint each time you call to order a virtual meeting.
Of course, the ultimate way to minimize the impact of employee commutes is to have them work at home. The telecommute debate, however, has strong advocates and detractors in today’s workplace. Tomorrow we’ll look at how to implement a successful telecommute program.