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65. Incentives are provided for employees to choose public transit, alternative transportation or carpooling.
Incentivizing public transit, alternative transportation (biking, walking, etc.) and carpooling can sometimes be just what’s needed to get employees to break the habit of driving to and from work alone. Where public transit or alternative transportation is not readily available, facilitate ways for employees to connect with others to carpool. Contributing towards a monthly TriMet pass program, providing basic safety equipment and designating parking spots for carpools are some examples of how to help reduce employees’ commuting carbon footprint.
The Sierra Club provides some examples that may spur ideas, and the League of American Bicyclists offers helpful information on bicycle commuter benefits and payroll tax savings when offering cash incentives.
Some additional local resources for interested employees include:
For riding the bus:
For biking to work:
- Metro Area Bike Maps – including Clackamas County’s, City of Milwaukie and Sandy .
- Wilsonville Bike and Walk Map
- Bike and Walk Maps
For Ride sharing:
66. Teleconference and videoconference technologies are used.
Use Google Hangouts, WebEx, GoToMeeting, Zoom, Skype or similar programs and equip conference rooms with necessary equipment like a large-enough screen, a projector and/or a conference call phone.
67. Employees can telecommute (work from home) with supervisor approval.
Allowing employees to work from home cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions from their typical commutes. Telecommuting may not be for every workplace or every employee, but providing the flexibility to occasionally work from home can be great for employee satisfaction, can reduce operating costs and can even boost productivity by giving employees a chance to concentrate on a project in a quiet environment that is comfortable to them.
68. Employees participate in a commute challenge annually, such as the Bike More Challenge or the Oregon Get There Challenge.
Not every change is full of fun and adventure, but this one is! Sign up as an individual or, better yet, as an organization to participate in local commute events. Competitions can be very effective in enticing employees to try alternative commute methods and they’re a great way to recognize employees who often get to work by means other than solo trips in their cars.
The Street Trust (formerly Bicycle Transportation Alliance) hosts the Bike More Challenge in May of every year. This is a fun competition to support people to get on their bikes. The Oregon Get There Challenge (previously known as the Drive Less Challenge) is a 15-day statewide challenge to encourage Oregon residents and employees to make trips by carpool, vanpool, walk, bike, ride transit and telework, and is typically in October.
69. Alternative travel options (TriMet Trip Planner, bike parking, EV charging station locations, etc.) are displayed for visitors on our website.
There is no one-size-fits-all method of transportation, and the same is true for the way your customers travel to get to your business. By sharing a variety of travel options on your website, such as helping people plan their trip through Trimet, you are helping customers think about ways they can save gas and reduce air pollution in your community. Other customers may simply not be able to drive to your business and must rely on other means to reach your location. And if you have an EV charging station, you may even find yourself attracting new clientele who would have otherwise just needed a place to charge up!
70. Bike parking or lockers are available.
Does your business have space to install a bike rack or lockers for employees or customers? The City of Portland maintains a list of bicycle rack manufacturers and distributors. Best practices also include having secured space that provides cover from rain, and locker rooms for employees to be able to change and store items. For more tips on how to make your workplace bike friendly, check out Bike League’s list of best practices .
71. Alternative transportation or alternative fuels are used, including bikes, electric or hybrid vehicles, biodiesel-powered or natural gas-powered vehicles, etc.
Consider whether your employees’ work-related trips are as fuel-efficient as possible. Make it a policy to take advantage of Tri-Met or other public transit, company bikes, electric cars, carpools or hourly car rentals. Besides reducing your business’s greenhouse gas emissions, this can be a fun and healthy way for your employees to get around, and it can appeal to sustainability-minded customers.
There are many funding opportunities available to fleet managers, developers and the public to aid in the transition to alternative-fuel vehicles and infrastructure. An updated list of current financial opportunities is available from Clean Cities, including state and federal incentive programs. Another valuable resource is the federal grants website, which is the central resource to locate and apply for federal grants. The page is updated often, so check regularly.
Oregon Department of Energy provides assistance to vehicle fleet managers who want to expand their use of alternative fuels.
72. Electric vehicle (EV) charging is available to customers and employees.
Is there an EV station within one block of your workplace? If it’s on-site, do you make it available to the public when employees are not using it? You can learn more about EVs from Forth .
73. Drivers and vehicle operators are trained on driving practices that minimize fuel consumption.
Good driving directly impacts costs and emissions. By changing driving habits to improve smooth driving performance, lower speeds and reduce unnecessary idling, fleets committed to eco-driving can realize significant improvement in fuel mileage, reducing operating expenses and reducing emissions of hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide. For more information, read about SmartDrive’s fuel efficiency study .
74. A “no idling” policy is promoted for our motor fleet and vendors who deliver goods and services.
Did you know that if a vehicle is stopped for more than 10 seconds, it’s more fuel-efficient to turn off the engine rather than to idle? Also, idling for more than 30 seconds wastes more fuel than restarting the engine, and trucks and autos emit the same pollutants into the environment when idling as they do when they are moving. Stop idling to minimize your impact on both human health and the planet .
Ask your delivery people not to idle at their destination and post a “NO IDLING” sign to ask your suppliers to turn off their vehicles, reducing the amount of diesel particulate and CO2 emissions. Idle-reduction equipment can power and cool the cab while the truck is not in motion, allowing the engine to be shut off. Drivers will save money while they help the environment.
Avoiding idling time has a multitude of benefits, including savings in fuel and maintenance costs, extending vehicle life, and reducing damaging emissions. An idling engine consumes only enough power to keep itself and its accessories running, producing no usable power to the drivetrain. Each year, long-duration idling of truck and locomotive engines cumulatively emits over 11 million tons of CO2, 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and 5,000 tons of particulate into the air. (Source: EPA Transportation and Air Quality.)
75. Distribution and shipping vehicles are used at full capacity, and transportation routes are optimized to reduce fuel consumption.
If your business delivers materials, consider using websites or software to find solutions that cut transportation costs, improve efficiency and raise customer service levels. Sending out delivery vehicles when they are only half-full, or not taking the time to plan the most fuel-efficient route, will contribute to higher fuel costs and increase your business’s carbon footprint.
The same goes for vehicles that employees drive to offsite meetings and events. Plan your workday or meetings around where you need to drive, and combine trips in order to reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled.
