People across the world in digital marketing agencies, financial institutions, council offices and a wide range of other businesses are becoming more and more aware of their carbon footprint and environmental impact. Eco-friendly commuting is becoming increasingly popular and represents a great way for people to reduce their environmental impact.
Unfortunately, a lot of offices just don’t have the infrastructure or know-how to support eco-friendly commuting. For example, things like cycling or running to work can be quite difficult if you don’t have a space to shower at the end.
In the rest of this article, I’ve outlined a few things that you, the office manager or owner, can do to encourage eco-friendly commuting.
Provide Access to Showers and Change Rooms
There’s nothing worse than running or cycling to the office and having to sit in your sweaty clothes for the rest of the day. Even a short jog or cycle can leave you smelly in summer, and your colleagues certainly won’t appreciate the stink.
Solve this problem and encourage more “people-powered” commuting by ensuring all employees have access to showers and change rooms where they can freshen up when they arrive at work.
Install Secure Bike Storage
The main thing that discourages a lot of people from cycling to work is a lack of appropriate bike storage. If possible, try to provide some sort of secure bike room or other storage space where employees can leave their bicycles, skateboards, scooters and other people-powered machines without risk of them being stolen or damaged.
Allow Flexible Work Hours
A huge number of people drive to work every day because of the hassles of catching public transport. It can be extremely uncomfortable to have to squash into a packed train or bus during peak hour, especially if you have to travel for a significant amount of time to get to work.
Instead of forcing people to work 9-5, consider offering flexible work hours. This will allow people to come into the office earlier or later, making public transport more comfortable and increasing the chances of people using it.
Increase Parking Costs
Some people will continue to drive to work, but you can discourage it by decreasing the number of available parking spaces and increasing costs. This will also encourage carpooling and car-share, further improving eco-friendly transport.
If you do decide to increase parking costs, make sure that you’re transparent about what you’re doing with the money. I’d highly recommend using it to improve things like bicycle facilities or to provide discounts to employees who use public transport regularly. This will reduce the risk of people becoming angry at higher parking prices.
Eco-Friendly Commuting Isn’t Difficult
Ultimately, eco-friendly commuting doesn’t have to be difficult. Driving to work is polluting, unhealthy and unproductive. If you take public transport, you will be able to read or finish work while travelling to and from the office. Cycling or running to work will improve your fitness and overall health, while things like carpooling are great for networking with your colleagues.