Step-by-step sustainable transport

Transport is a difficult area to manage sustainably as every business has to decide where its responsibility for transport stops. There is no right or wrong answer to this and the decision will depend on the personal preferences of the operators of the business.

There are a number of issues in managing transport when deciding where responsibility for transport stops. Does management include;

  • Only business related travel?
  • Transport of goods and services out of the business?
  • Delivery of products into the business?
  • Staff transport to and from work?

When preparing travel plans most businesses incorporate elements of all four options - whilst recognising that in areas such as staff transport and delivery of goods into the business cannot be completely controlled but can be influenced.

Transport Audit

Before a business can manage transport sustainably it is essential to understand how transport is used within the organisation. This will establish how and why staff travel and how much transport costs the organisation.

This should also allow the business to become aware if their transport is regulated by any specific laws. For more information see EiE's transport legislation pages.

A transport audit from EiE can help you understand the impacts and the costs of transport. In many cases, the 'hidden costs' of transport can be even more expensive than the transport itself. The costs of staff time, and 'lost days' can be very expensive. A transport audit can help you identify all the costs associated with transport, before guiding you through methods for reduction and recommending suitable alternatives.

Identifying unnecessary transport use

Some transport use is required by any business, but making transport sustainable is about identifying essential transport and finding alternatives for non-essential transport.

For example, for some businesses flights to meet customers face to face may be unavoidable at the start of business relationships, but follow up meetings could be done online, or via teleconference - particularly if both parties are keen to operate sustainably.

In other cases, it may become obvious that a more sustainable form of transport is suitable in some circumstances. For example flights within the UK may be replaced with train travel when additional time for check-in, travel to airports etc is considered as part of the travelling time.

A business needs to identify areas where the costs (financial, time, difficulties) outweigh the benefits of the journey so that alternatives to these journeys or transportation methods can be put in place.

Identifying alternative forms of transport and alternatives to transport

Once you have areas where transport use can be changed it is necessary to identify alternatives.

EiE can provide advice and planning on a range of transport alternatives, from logistics companies that may be able to provide services to replace fleet vehicles, to information on cycling schemes to provide affordable bicycles for staff.

Implementing a consistent transport management system

Once a decision has been made to manage transport sustainably it is important to implement the system.

Transport can be easier to regulate than other aspects of environmental management as control can be exerted over the purchase of flights and other tickets when purchasing decisions are made through a central point.

When implementing a transport management system it is important to ensure that 'interpretation of the rules' is the same for all members of staff. For example, if some members of staff are allowed to continue flying while others are not, it will quickly undermine the system.

Communication

For any organisation one of the most important steps in making transport sustainable is to ensure that all staff members are aware of the steps that are being taken. It is also important to show staff not just how, but why changes are being made. Making staff aware of savings, and demonstrating how savings are reinvested can be very successful in convincing staff to engage fully in new waste management systems.

For some organisations highlighting the environmental impacts of transport can also help staff understand why reducing non-essential travel is important. For more information visit EiE's environmental impacts of transport pages.

EiE can help you to develop a communication strategy tailored to your staff and requirements. For more advice contact EiE directly.

Monitor

Once a new system is in place it is important to continue monitoring to ensure that the system is working and how staff are responding to the changes.