Travel
Canada’s reliance on motorized transportation has a variety of impacts on human health and the environment. Transportation and road transportation in particular, rely heavily on the consumption of fossil fuels, and contributes to reductions in air quality and rising levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Source: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada).
By committing to one or more of these tips your business can have a significant effect on its environmental impact.
- Beginner
Just Getting Started - Intermediate
Going a Little Deeper - Advanced
Transforming Your Organization
- Encourage carpooling to company events and offsite meetings
- Share ride-matching service to form carpools
- Hold events along the frequent transit network
- Provide staff with transit fares for travel locally to business meetings
- Provide secure bicycle parking facilities for employees
- Provide casual bicycle parking on-site for clients
- Provide one washroom facility where the door can be locked for cyclist/runners to freshen up
- Share trip planning tools – TransLink trip planner, Next Bus, Mobile Site/Apps, cycling route planner
- Engage employees in regional campaigns like Bike to Work Week, Carpool Hero, etc.
- Use webinars, video and teleconferencing
- Provide free or preferred parking for carpools and hybrid/electric vehicles
- Subsidize transit fares for employee commuting
- Educate driving staff (fleet management) on efficient driving techniques
- Create a work from home (teleworking) option
- Reduce air travel
- Schedule condensed work week to work five days in four and reduce vehicle traffic by 20%
- Purchase fleet optimization software
- Purchase carbon offsets to minimize effects of business travel
- Avoid in-vehicle air conditioning because it increases the fuel consumption of the car
- Offer start and end times that avoid peak periods of travel
- Create 5-year or 10-year ambitious sustainability vision, goals and targets of success
- Set and implement bold goals to reduce waste, emissions, water and resource use
- Engage employees at all levels in greening the workplace, their homes and communities
- Embed your green goals into your products and services – help your customers “go green”!
- Engage suppliers and business customers in collaborative projects to help achieve your mutual green goals
- Champion green initiatives to your industry association and solve eco-problems together
- Measure and report your progress, share your efforts with others