One of the greatest sources of emissions associated with a workplace is the employees' daily commute to and from work, and for attending meetings. How you travel to work and back home can have a large impact on the amount of emissions that you produce.

Many options for travelling to and from work are in line with the principles of sustainable transportation. Try to take public transit, car pool, bike, walk, or telecommute (work from home), and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Encourage everyone in your office to participate in Clean Air Day and the Commuter Challenge. You may be surprised to find that it is just as easy to get to work using alternative forms of transport as it is with your own private car.

Tips

•Increase your use of public transit to get to work. Quick Fact:1,2
•Try walking, biking or in-line skating to work. You will get exercise and improve your health.
•Join a car pool to reduce single occupancy travel to work. Quick Fact:1
•Try an online ride-matching service to help you find someone to car pool with in your area. Quick Fact:1
•Talk to your manager about setting up a car pooling schedule at your workplace. Quick Fact:1
•Find out if your workplace offers any rebates or incentives for carpooling, such as free parking. Quick Fact:1
•Find out what you workplace's policy is on telecommuting (working from home). Try to work from home one day a week. Quick Fact:1
•If you are an employer or manager, promote the option of telecommuting for employees. E-mail and video conferencing technology now make it possible to communicate with co-workers and clients from home. Quick Fact:1
•Encourage your workplace to install bike racks and a changing room with showers so that you can clean up after walking or biking to work.
•Ask you manager about the possibility of setting up a “guaranteed ride back home” program (such as paid taxi rides) in case of an emergency.
•Find out if your company can register for subsidized passes for public transit.
•If your company has a fleet of vehicles, research ways to introduce greener operation and maintenance practices, such as greater use of biodiesel fuel or ethanol blended gasoline, the introduction of an anti-idling policy, and the installation of engine idling limiting devices to shut off engines automatically after a certain amount of time.