The Cycle-Friendly Workplace Your step-by-step guide ✔ Increase staff productivity ✔ Reduce pressure on parking ✔ Reduce absenteeism ✔ Reduce greenhouse gas emissions urturing a happy, healthy and productive workplace is good for business and great for staff. Right now, members of your organisation are likely to be concerned Nabout – and affected by – a range of issues like climate change, rising fuel prices, air pollution, traffic congestion and health matters. By encouraging your staff to cycle to and from work, you can make a positive contribution towards tackling all of these issues. The integration of cycle-friendly facilities and practices within your organisation can increase your attractiveness as an employer, boosting your corporate environmental performance and triple bottom line reporting. It can also achieve financial savings through reduced costs of car parking, taxis, car fleets and petrol. This booklet on cycle-friendly workplaces can help you create a workplace that promotes and practises cycling as a normal part of the working day. It provides information on the incentives and on-site facilities that will encourage staff to ride to work and even to meetings. It gives you ideas and contacts for developing riders’ cycling skills and providing a support network. The many examples within this booklet are inspirational, demonstrating that cycling is a rapidly evolving form of commuting. I am pleased that my own Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts is setting a strong example with a corporate fleet of seven bikes and extensive bicycle parking and changing facilities in its Canberra office. I recommend this publication to all managers who want to promote cycling as an effective transport option within their organisation. The Hon Peter Garrett AM MP Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts Media Partner Acknowledgements Bicycle Network would like to thank their program partners for their support. Many organisations and individuals read and commented on the original manuscript 2007, including John Voyage and Danielle Leo, Maurice Blackburn Cashman Lawyers, and Peter Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Thanks also go to the six organisations featured in the case studies and others quoted throughout the publication. © Bicycle Victoria Updated July 2009 ABN 41 026 835 903 www.ridetowork.com.au Contents The Cycle-Friendly 2 Benefits for your organisation D Reduce absenteeism and increase Workplace morale and productivity D Reduce parking and fleet costs The environmental, health and D Reduce greenhouse gas emissions productivity benefits of riding to work 3 Profile: CSL are well documented. Margaret Shilling, Health, Safety and Environment Manager Your staff make their own decision whether to ride to work, but you 4 Step 1: Build the culture can make that decision a lot easier. D Take part in Ride To Work Day Form a workplace BUG (Bicycle User Group) Whether your organisation employs D D Encourage managers to give the thumbs-up two people or 2000, you can take 5 Profile: Hawker de Havilland three easy and cost-effective steps Tony Carolan, General Manager to make your workplace cycle-friendly. for Business Development The important thing is for 6 Profile: Aviva Investors Craig Bingham, Managing Director management and staff to work together. It’s as much about attitudes and people as 7 Step 2: Improve facilities D Bike parking it is about facilities. D Showers and change rooms D Clothes lockers 8 Profile: Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, SA Jim Hallion, CEO 9 Step 3: Consolidate and innovate D Cycle training and maintenance workshops D Incentives for riding to work D Bicycle fleets 10 Profile: Arup Andrew Wisdom, Principal 11 Profile: Lend Lease Greg Clarke, Managing Director and CEO 12 FAQs 13 Resources and contacts Benefits for your organisation Cycle-friendly workplaces boast higher morale, lower absenteeism and greater productivity. They also enjoy reduced operating costs and demonstrate environmental responsibility. What are the costs of poor health? to the University of Wollongong’s Professor Don A November 2005 report: 'The health of Australia’s Iverson, “Presenteeism is three to five times more workforce' found that healthy workers are almost costly to companies in Australia than absenteeism.” 3 three times more effective at work than unhealthy How can riding to work help? workers: D Cycling is a low-impact physical activity 160 D Riding to work builds exercise into daily Effective hours worked behaviours and is a time-efficient way to fit regular exercise into a busy lifestyle. Within 15km of a 143 busy CBD, riding to work is likely to take you less hrs/mth time than other forms of transport D Regular physical activity reduces the likelihood of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer4 D Cycling also helps control stress, anxiety and 49 depression.5 hrs/mth 0 What financial benefits can you expect? D Reduced car park overheads and more economic Healthy workers Unhealthy workers use of land The study revealed the following facts: > Cost of a single space in an A-Grade CBD D 10% of workers surveyed were completely inactive office building is between $8000 and $10,000 D 40% engaged in only minimal exercise per annum. D 62% of workers surveyed were overweight, > 10 bicycles can be parked in one car space. including 28% clinically obese as defined by D Reduced car fleet, taxi and petrol card costs World Health Organisation D No congestion charges: car parking levies are now D 53% felt overwhelmed with stress and pressure in place in Melbourne and Sydney with annual fees a significant proportion of the time.1 of around $800 per space Absenteeism & “presenteeism” D Healthier and happier staff are more productive at work and less likely to take sick days Watson Wyatt Worldwide warned in 2000 that Increased connectivity in the workplace through “absenteeism and associated lost productivity is D strong cycle-friendly culture. approximately 17% of total payroll.” 2 There is also the hidden cost of “presenteeism” What about your environmental rating? whereby employees attend work despite being too Road transport is responsible for nearly 12% of sick, tired or stressed to be productive. According Australia's greenhouse gas emissions, with cars alone responsible for 8%.6 According to the Department of Bike commuting is good exercise and staff Climate Change, cycling just 10km each way to work health is a key component in our health instead of driving saves 1.3 tonnes of greenhouse gas and wellbeing strategy, whilst improving emissions each year.7 Reports have stated that air pollution causes more “productivity, it is fun. deaths among Australians than road accidents: each Colin Macdonanld year, on average, 2400 deaths are linked to air quality Corporate Manager HSE CSIRO and health issues – compared with 1700 people killed ” in road accidents.8 2 | The Cycle-Friendly Workplace www.ridetowork.com.au PROFILE: CSL Limited Type of organisation: Private pharmaceutical company with annual turnover of $400 million Riding to work has a key Number of employees: role in our health and 1000 (Parkville site); 1500 at wellbeing program seven sites around Australia “Margaret Shilling, Health Safety and Environment Manager ” A healthier workplace doesn’t cost”. With Ian’s enthusiasm for riding, he Pharmaceutical company CSL Limited is a workplace has also taken up the role of CSL BUG coordinator. that is reaping the benefits of encouraging cycling Kim Wicks’ first ride was the CSL Ride to Work among its 1000 employees at its Parkville site, in Day. She’s now a regular cyclist who claims to get to inner Melbourne. work quicker and in a better mood, and remains more CSL was forced to think ‘outside the box’ in alert and awake during the day. “I don’t get that three order to ease traffic congestion in the months around o’clock lag anymore”. the Commonwealth Games with the Games Village Sam Staniero keeps an Excel spreadsheet being situated opposite. The company created a tracking the dollars he has saved in fuel by cycling. At BUG (Bicycle User Group) to support and encourage last count it was running at $580.00 savings per year. people to ride to work as an alternate to driving. CSL continues to promote bicycle use as an alternate method of transport through its ‘travel smart’ initiatives. The broader wellbeing story CSL views cycling as one part of a wider, holistic wellbeing program where they try to get people healthier both mentally and physically, making CSL a better place to work. CSL has a Mind, Body and Environment (MBE) Committee which organises activities such as the ‘Parkville Pacers’ – a popular lunchtime 3 km walk around the perimeter of the Parkville site. Through the CSL intranet site, the MBE Committee also organise on-site yoga classes, seated massage and environmental awareness campaigns. The MBE Committee also coordinate the annual Ride to Work Space-effective bike parking facilities Day, promoting cycling as one of the key activities of the CSL health and welling program. Some personal stories CSL employees have experienced a range of benefits from cycling to work: Ian Liddle rides the most direct route to work via the main roads in the morning. But on the way home, he follows the Moonee Ponds and Ring Road bike paths. “It’s twice as long, but I love every minute of it”. Ian says regular cycling has helped him to manage his weight, and improve his breathing and overall fitness. In addition, “It’s safer, easier and www.ridetowork.com.au The Cycle-Friendly Workplace | 3 Step 1: Build the culture Supporting the creation of a cycle-friendly culture will help to encourage riding to work, and build a more connected, healthier workplace. Your best resource in, from serious cyclists through to novices.