Organizing & Incentivizing around Green Mobility
Green Mobility focuses on transportation options that reduce emissions, such as public transportation, carpooling, cycling, walking, driving hybrid or electric vehicles, and telework.
How can businesses commit to green mobility and make it successful?
Americans are largely in the habit of using single occupancy vehicles to get to work and changing habits can be difficult. Employers can influence the travel behavior of their staff by providing transportation benefits and incentive programs that echo the environmental values of the company and also improve employee recruitment and retention. Awareness of green commuting options can influence personal driving habits outside of work including increased cycling, and the use of e-bikes, electric vehicles and transit alternatives.
According to the EPA, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation are the largest contributor to U.S. emissions. Between 1990 and 2018, emissions in the transportation sector increased more in absolute terms than any other sector.
Best Practices for organizing and incentivizing around green mobility
Make other modes of transport competitive with driving alone.
Get started by helping employees analyze the full cost of their driving choices.
Ask employees to measure their environmental impact by comparing current commuting patterns to options like transit, vanpooling or carpooling. Surveys with measurement tools can generate awareness and inspire change. Options include:
Implement incentive programs and participate in local events recognizing employees who bike, walk, carpool or take public transit.
In the Denver region, the Way to Go team oversees Bike to Work Day each June and The Go-Tober Challenge in October. Competitions and measuring employee impact can be inspirational and encourage employees to try new commuting options.
Avoid subsidizing parking and consider giving employees the monetary equivalent of parking as a bonus. This allows employees to choose to keep the cash by using alternative modes of travel such as public transit.
Executive leadership and employee volunteers can make a big difference. Executive leadership can be pivotal in setting the vision and goals for green commuting and a staff-led committee of volunteers who are passionate about sustainability and green commuting can provide enthusiasm to spur employee engagement.
Think about timing. Employees are more likely to change their commuting behavior when they move or start a new job, or when there is a substantial change in business policies that forces them to temporarily abandon their habits.
Link commute behavior to healthy lifestyles and work/life balance through programs that encourage cycling, walking, and flex time.
“Transitioning
to greener mobility
will be crucial to the overall success of the
climate agenda.” - World Bank
TNC has an annual competition among state chapters, the Green Commuter Challenge (GCC), to determine which chapter is making the most progress toward green mobility.
For one week each year, employees log their commute into a carbon calculator and document how they commuted to and from work that week. Each employee then creates a plan to creatively cut carbon miles by choosing another route to work. TNC awards prizes to the offices that demonstrate the greatest change in employee commuting. The hope is that people will see how easy, and often enjoyable, green commuting can be and will be inspired to make green commuting part of their normal work schedule.