Transport

For the majority of public sector organisations, transport represents the second biggest impact that they have on climate change. However this may differ if your company has a large fleet or is involved in the logistics or transport industry.

What to do

As with energy there are a number of things that an organistion can do to reduce the impact transport is having on climate change:

• Reduce the number of journeys made by your organistion and your employees
• Change your method of transport to more sustainable methods
• Introduce green transport plans
• Consider implementation of workplace travel plans

How to do it

There are a number of programmes, campaigns and support services in place that can help you better manage the impact that your transport is having on climate change.
 

Smarter Travel Workplaces

This website is part of a project to develop smarter workplace travel plans. The aim is to reduce car use and address the barriers to the use of more sustainable modes of transport to the workplace.

Cycle-to-Work Scheme

The scheme enables an employer to incur the expense of providing an employee with a bicycle and bicycle safety equipment from an approved provider to a limit of €1000, without the employee having to pay benefit-in-kind taxation.

How Clean is your Car?

This site from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland will help consumers to make an informed choice when buying a new car. It lists the fuel consumption, CO₂, and other performance figures of cars that are currently on the market in the Republic of Ireland and the UK . There is also general advice and guidance on ways of reducing the impact of cars on the environment. This information is useful for fleet owners and operators who may want to procure a more sustainable or efficient car fleet.

The Society of Irish Motor Industry

The SIMI is the official voice of the motor industry in Ireland. SIMI plays an important role in representing the views of the industry to the Government, state bodies, the media and the motoring public. Among its publications is a guide on fuel efficiency and information on CO₂ emissions on the purchase of any new passenger car. This information is examined on both an urban and rural travel basis.

Transport Tips

1. Encourage your employees to use public transportation to get to work. If possible, provide incentives or bonuses for people who leave their car at home or travel to work by sustainable transport. These incentives could be flexible working hours, an environmentally-friendly “prize” or other methods of encouragement.
2. Allow your employees to work from home. If you can limit the amount of days they need to travel into the office, their carbon emissions can be reduced significantly. Create roaming access for email and tele-commuting opportunities, where staff can actively participate in meetings and discussions without actually having to go anywhere!
3. If your organisation gives bonuses, why not give a bicycle as part of that package? Encourage your staff to use their bike to travel to work by providing them with support and safe place to park it. 
4. Introduce a carpooling programme in your organisation. Encourage staff who live near each other to drive together, if they cannot take public transport, in order to reduce the number of cars on the road. This will reduce their carbon footprint, as well as create a team spirit within your staff.

   You can also travel to meetings on public transport, rather than using company or personal cars. If the meeting is nearby, encourage your employees to walk there instead!