Mobility and Travelling
Travel Devon Toolkit for Businesses
Why?
Transport isn’t just about getting from A to B, it’s an essential part of business. Along with reducing carbon emissions associated with transport, sustainable and active travel have a positive impact on our physical and mental health.
Encouraging sustainable and active travel will not only benefit your employee’s but will also benefit your business.
How?
The Travel Devon Toolkit gives you exclusive access to:
- a travel audit
- travel survey
- guidance
- sustainable travel measures
- templates, resources and more.
Visit www.traveldevontoolkit.info to start your journey to smarter travel.
Choose Low Carbon Travel
Why?
Transport is one of the largest contributors to Devon’s carbon footprint. There are many occasions where travel is necessary, and for these encouraging low carbon, active travel brings with it the opportunity for a happier, healthier, more productive workforce and reduced need for employee parking.
How?
Encourage low carbon commuting
Low carbon travel options include cycling, walking or public transport such as bus and train. Travel Devon has lots of resources on how to easily cycle or walk to work. For longer distances, it also has information on planning trips by public transport. Highlighting these resources to members of your organisation could help them to adopt more sustainable options.
If public transport is not an option, why not facilitate car sharing between employees (when government restrictions allows). Carshare Devon operate a lift share service across the county.
Similarly, if you are running an event (again restriction dependent), encourage attendees to travel sustainability and map out their public transport options.
Cycle to work and walk to work schemes are also great ways to encourage low-carbon commuting. Active Devon run a yearly Let’s Walk campaign, challenging all businesses in Devon to get outside, get their steps up and choose active travel!
For longer business trips:
Hire electric vehicles
For localised travel, Devon based company Co-Cars hire out their electric vehicle fleet to businesses. They can help you manage your fleet, reducing the number of cars needed. You can also integrate this with their shared electric bike offer – an innovative solution to necessary corporate travel. Be sure to opt for electric vehicles in order to minimise the environmental impact of your organisation’s travel.
Switch to an electric fleet
Switch to electric vehicles and reduce your transport footprint. From 2030 sales of petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK – go electric now and get ahead of the game!
The Go Ultra Low campaign has a host of resources to help your organisation make the switch. The Carbon Trust have a handy tool designed to help organisations identify their options in upgrading their leased vehicle fleet.
The Energy Savings Trust offer reviews, analysis and guidance on grants to support you in making the switch.
The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is a voucher-based scheme that provides support towards the up-front costs of the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charge points. Find guidance for applicants, installers and manufacturers here.
Minimise Travel
Why?
Avoiding the need to travel saves considerable time, which can be put to better use in your organisation. Not travelling will often reduce costs and carbon emissions, too.
How?
Ditch the commute
If Covid-19 has taught us anything it’s that we can achieve business-as-usual by working at home. Consider introducing flexible working for colleagues in your organisation. In addition to reducing carbon emissions from commuting, this can help your staff get a better work/life balance.
Invest in information technology
Video meetings can make business travel largely redundant. Minimising the need to travel, especially by plane and single occupancy cars, offers big carbon savings. Investing in software to enable staff to meet virtually and collaborate through shared cloud-based apps can make your organisation more nimble and efficient.
