Encourage employees to look for viable alternative means of travel that are less carbon intensive. Consider creating a business travel 'hierarchy' by asking to staff to first consider public transport, then car sharing, active modes of travel and then driving alone. If you do not already have guidance in place with regard to business travel, you may wish to produce guidance covering your organisation’s business travel policy so all employees are clear.
Encouraging people to book all travel through a central point/person is a good idea, it allows for improved management information and cost and risk management.
Employees should be encouraged to fly only as a last resort and encouraged to travel to and from the airport by public transport. On average, travelling by train results in a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by travelling the same distance by plane.
In trying to discourage excessive business travel some organisations have introduced carbon travel statements. These quarterly carbon travel statements outline the employees’ CO2 emissions and offer a comparison with the previous year. This allows the organisation to monitor business travel levels more effectively. This may not be appropriate for all employees, but would be a useful exercise for those who do a lot of business travel.
Here are some alternative modes of business travel to consider:
In order to encourage employees to use public transport as an alternative, it may be necessary to put in place a policy which states that employees are expected to use public transport where it is available and a viable option. This often requires that you also have in place a central booking service so that it is as easy as possible to book public transport as well as a process of management approval of personal car use for business travel so employees are not tempted just to use their own cars.
An organisation also needs to facilitate public transport usage by making it easy for employees to access public transport information. This is where sites like Traveline Scotland are useful.
Using public transport for business travel also allows employees to make more of the down time by working en route. Many train and buses services now offer Wi-Fi access.
Car sharing on business journeys reduces the overall mileage recorded against the organisation's business travel expenses, benefits the environment and, to a small degree, the organisation, in terms of costs claimed. There is also the communication benefit, with car sharers able to spend some time discussing business issues during their shared journey.
Organisations can also allow car sharers to claim an allowance per mile for business travel, shared across all sharers of a vehicle. The HMRC website gives useful guidance on this.
Allowing car sharers to claim a mileage allowance give a clear statement about your organisation’s commitment to carbon emissions reduction.
Cycling often proves to be the fastest mode to get around town, thereby reducing employees travel time to meetings and appointments.
As well as offering a Cycle to Work scheme, as an organisation you can also encourage cycling as a sustainable mode of business travel by making provision for cyclists in your expenses policy by allowing cyclists to claim an allowance per mile for business travel.
Paying business mileage for cyclists is part of the essential criteria of Cycling Scotland’s nationally recognised ‘Cycle Friendly Employer Award’. Organisations score additional points for a mileage allowance of at least 20p, in line with the approved tax free ‘Approved Mileage Allowance Payment’. This allowance, just half of that commonly paid for motoring, not only reimburses workers for the upkeep and maintenance of the cycle and accessories, but also slashes an organisation’s travel costs. With more than half of UK trips by car less than 5 miles, cycling is a readily achievable alternative.
Of course many business trips will need to take place by car. However, drivers could be asked to undertake a smarter driving course and the organisation should investigate providing 'pool cars'. This could reduce the overall cost of providing vehicles to employees as well as an opportunity to rent or buy low-emission vehicles.
There are a number of driving based options to consider:
There a number of advantages to running a pool car system over paying employees to use their own cars. A pool system can:
• save money.
• remove an incentive for employees to travel by car to profit from mileage reimbursement.
• overcome a common obstacle to using an alternative mode - that staff feel obliged to bring a car to work on the off-chance that it will be needed for a business trip.
• it can provide organisations with an opportunity to rent or buy low-emissions vehicles as pool cars.
However, for smaller organisations the cost of buying a pool vehicle or committing to contract hire agreements along with the administration burden of a booking and maintenance programme for any pool cars can be an issue. For smaller organisations in this position there could be opportunities to work with other local businesses to create a viable pool car option.
An alternative to acquiring pool cars could be a contract with a car hire company, hiring vehicles as and when required. This saves on car parking, running costs of pool cars and administration. An organisation can set up a company account with a car hire company, with one internal contact being responsible making and approving for all bookings.
A car club is a member-based organisation that provides access to pay-as-you-drive vehicles. These vehicles are available for hire for as little as 30 minutes up to several days at a time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Car clubs provide vehicles to members on a pay-as-you-drive basis, providing much of the convenience of owning a car but without the hassle or costs of repairs, depreciation, insurance, servicing or parking. Most car clubs enable members to reserve cars online, over the phone or by smartphone app, unlock the vehicle with their membership card or smartphone app and drive off.
Car Clubs can be useful both for individual members, by providing low cost access to a car or van and for organisations by providing an alternative to pool cars and grey fleet (where employees cars are used for business journeys). Click here for more details on Car Clubs and how they could work for your organisation.
It is worth remembering that the tax system is now very much geared towards lower vehicle emissions.
There have been huge improvements in vehicle efficiency over the last few years. Many vehicles now have emissions of under 110gCO2/km. Manufacturers are committed to improving the fuel efficiency of petrol and diesel engines. As cars become more efficient and cleaner, the cost of driving reduces. Fleet managers and drivers can help to support and drive change by buying low carbon cars.
The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership and Energy Saving Trust are both useful resources for information on low emissions vehicles and alternative fuels.
Energy Saving Trust Scotland has expert advice and free services that can help you to reduce your business transport costs.
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