Tesco, BBC and Jaguar Land Rover are doing it, but why are businesses investing time and money in encouraging their employees to car-share? We’ve listed our top 10 business benefits below:
- Reduce demand for parking
We know that parking is a big problem for many businesses and that the demand for a parking space can cause great issues. Corporate car-sharing can be a solution to solve this headache.
Great Western Hospitals have seen on average 250 extra parking spaces freed up for patients daily by introducing a corporate car-sharing scheme for staff.
Great Western Hospital case Study
- Sustainability
Many responsible businesses want to make sure their impact on society is a positive one by preventing pollution and emissions wherever possible. Corporate car-sharing is not only a great way to reduce the carbon footprint for workplace commuting, but it also embeds green thinking amongst the workforce.
Diageo introduced a corporate car-sharing scheme as a solution to reduce their CO2 emissions. Diageo is able to report on this information, which contributes towards their environmental and sustainability objectives.
- Recruitment and retention
Businesses need to maintain a competitive advantage over other employers to attract the best talent.
Ocado are doing just that. By introducing car-sharing at its Warwick site, they are able to widen the search for new staff – without employees being impacted by additional transport costs. Ocado also hopes the financial cost savings for staff will retain employees longer.
- Financial savings
Many businesses rent additional parking spaces from land owners to keep up with demand for parking. This of course comes at a cost.
Jaguar Land Rover uses car-sharing as a way to keep down costs from renting additional parking spaces, saving their Warwick site alone over £1million per annum.
- Health and wellbeing
We all know the frustrations of travelling through rush hour traffic. Several studies show that congestion not only makes people late for work but also has negative consequences on health.
Many Liftsharers have claimed that sharing their journey or taking it in turns to drive to work has reduced the stress of their daily commute. Faye Collinge, a car-sharer from Sainsbury’s, says just that.
- ISO14001 environmental management standard
The ISO14001 accreditation is a popular and effective framework for organisations to manage their impacts on the environment.
Seagate Technology have used car-sharing to form part of its ISO14001 standard.
- Employee engagement
Car-sharing is a great way for employees to interact with colleagues from different areas of the business. With studies showing that engaged staff perform higher and take less time off sick, car-sharing is a simple way staff can connect with one another.
Joan Wayland an employee from Peterborough Regional College says car sharing with colleagues has engendered a team spirit in her workplace.
- Reduces congestion
Traffic congestion impacts everything from how long it takes us to get to work, the amount of fuel we use in our vehicles, and the price of consumer goods.
Traffic jams cost the UK economy £5 billion every year in lost productivity; but if half of UK motorists received a lift one day a week, congestion and pollution would be reduced by 10% and traffic jams by 20%.
- Employee benefit
The average car-sharer saves £1,000 a year through journey sharing. Corporate car-sharing can act as a pay-rise to staff which an employer may otherwise not be in a position to offer.
Saving money is one of the reasons Jen Morton an employee from SSE car-shares with colleagues.
- Improves air quality
It has been estimated that the lives of between 40,000 to 50,000 people in the UK are ended prematurely every year because of the air we breathe. Businesses can play a part in improving poor air quality by reducing the number of vehicles travelling to their workplace – corporate car-sharing is a solution.
Author Sarah Roberts
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