Background Information
Within GHG reporting and carbon accounting, indirect emissions related to employee commuting must be accounted for. This category includes emissions linked to the transportation of employees between home and the workplace by motor vehicle, bus, rail or any other carbon-emitting mode of transport.
In recent years, as employee working patterns have become increasingly flexible (both due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing desire for a better work/life balance), homeworking has become more prevalent. Emissions associated with homeworking should also be accounted for within GHG reporting and carbon accounting. These indirect emissions also fall within the employee commuting category as defined by the GHG Protocol.
What can my business do to reduce carbon emissions from this category?
It's a common misconception that homeworking is always the best option for reducing carbon emissions associated with employee commuting. Unfortunately, as a large proportion of the UK’s housing stock is aging and poorly insulated, carbon emissions per employee can actually be higher when working from home than when commuting to the workplace, especially when compared with a low-carbon mode of commuting such as cycling.
Action | Detail |
Cycle to Work scheme | Enable employees to spread the cost of a new bike or e-bike and incentivise cycling to work with this government-backed salary-sacrifice initiative. |
Car sharing | Encourage lift sharing within your business. Incentives for employees taking advantage of such a policy could include access to more convenient parking spaces. Car sharing not only reduces emissions but also fuel and parking costs. |
Public transport subsidies | Offer discounted public travel to staff with public transport subsidies. Subsidies can take different forms, including bulk ordering travel tickets and reselling to staff at a lower rate, or agreeing a reduced ticket rate with transport providers. |
Commuting loans | Allow employees to spread the cost of expensive travel season tickets and encourage public transport use by offering commuting loans to staff. Commuting loans can also be used to cover parking costs. |
Electric vehicle scheme | Promote cleaner commuting with an electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme. Install EV charging points at your workplace to further incentivise staff to ditch petrol and diesel. |
Flexible working hours | Encourage uptake of public transport and reduce emissions related to employee vehicle use by incentivising employees to travel outside peak travel hours. |
Retrofit salary sacrifice scheme | Encourage home-owning employees to improve energy efficiency at home whilst lowering emissions related to homeworking by offering retrofitting loans for home insulation or low carbon heating systems (for example). |
Useful Resources
Source: CBI (Confederation of British Industry)
Sage Earth view: A simple yet effective article detailing practical steps businesses can take to reduce emissions from employee commuting.
Source: Reed
Sage Earth view: Another useful article outlining initiatives businesses can implement to help staff with the rising cost of commuting, whilst reducing their carbon footprint.
Source: Go Travel Solutions
Sage Earth view: An excellent website, home to a national discounted workplace travel scheme, helping employers to incentivise low-carbon travel whilst saving staff money.
Area of GHG Protocol
Scope 3.7. Employee commuting
🌍 Not every action suggested in this article will fit every business. Some can be implemented with relative ease, while others will require more time and investment. It's important to note that it may take some time to see a visible reduction in your reported emissions as a result of taking these actions (and that some will have a greater impact than others).
All additional resources suggested within this article are created and maintained by independent third parties. Sage Earth is not responsible for the content of any third party resources.