GECO - Sustainability virtual italian fair
One of the first and most obvious consequences of people working from home during the pandemic has been an improvement in air quality in many urban areas.This should hardly be surprising, given that around 15% of global automotive emissions are produced by people travelling to work. Looking at the problem from an inter-sectional and global perspective, it is clear that a systematic policy of sustainable mobility incentives for commuting to work can contribute significantly towards reducing the environmental impact of human activities. In Europe, some countries are already investing in this regard, creating incentive programmes for the sustainable mobility of workers and supporting them through specific professionals and consultants whose aim is to help companies find the most suitable "green" solutions for their employees.
From a global perspective, the emissions generated by employees commuting to work are part of the company's share of global emissions. In the US, for instance, it is still very common to encourage employees to drive to work by offering them parking spaces. It follows that, in order to reduce its environmental impact, every company should take these aspects into consideration, for instance by incentivising hybrid working arrangements, granting home-office hours wherever possible and, above all, providing sustainable options for employees to get to work.
Obviously, for a company to be able to offer a range of sustainable mobility solutions to its employees, these must be feasible and there must be some basic infrastructure in place, such as cycle lanes and an efficient public transport network. This is why the role of mobility managers has become widespread in Europe. They often act as a connector between companies and public institutions and indicate which needs of commuters can be met by public mobility policies.
The measures that a company can implement are manifold and, of course, directly related to the size of the company itself. A large enterprise with multiple locations, for instance, can consider optimising employee routes when designing or acquiring new buildings, making sure to select areas that are easily reached by public transport, but also favouring the creation of bicycle parking spaces and electric car charging stations over traditional parking spaces.
In addition to infrastructural measures, it is also possible to establish partnerships with existing services, e.g. by striking deals with local car-sharing and bike-sharing companies offering special rates for employees. The latter option is also easily implemented by smaller companies that do not have the resources to intervene in the surrounding infrastructure by building parking spaces or charging stations.
As always, sustainability is a collective effort and it depends on all parties involved: the willingness of the company to promote sustainable mobility must be matched by a willingness of the employees to use it and an effort of the institutions to make it possible, safe and convenient.
If you are interested in sustainable mobility, we recommend that you attend GECO EXPO. You will be able to listen to many distinguished experts and meet companies that have innovated this industry.
If you want to learn more about sustainable corporate mobility, we recommend that you participate in our round table on the Home-Work Travel Plan, which will take place on 2 March starting at 14.15. Sign up at this link!
Published on 09-02-2022
