Mobility
It is our ambition to make our (staff's and student's) mobility carbon neutral by 2050, or if possible even sooner.
Saxion intends to reduce mobility CO2 emissions by 40%, air travel by 25% and private car use for business travel by 30% by 2024. All these reductions are based on figures from 2018.
Our approach: choose green and travel green
In the spring of 2022, Saxion introduced a new mobility policy with sustainability as its central focus: 'I choose green and travel green'. This policy is an important first step by Saxion towards achieving its goals for sustainability and its ambitions for enhanced mobility. Saxion wishes to make responsible choices towards mobility. We choose to use the method of transport with the least impact on CO2 emissions and with the largest contribution to the good health of our staff members. At the moment this means using the bicycle whenever possible, using public transport for longer distances and only travel by car or plane when both the other two options are not practically feasible. The measures included in this mobility policy encourage our green, healthy principle.
In addition to the idea of good health and going green we pay attention to freedom of choice. At Saxion, we consider freedom of choice within defined frameworks to be important, because individual staff members have their own wishes and needs which call for different solutions. This depends for instance on the type of work that an employee does for Saxion and on their home situation.
SAXION MOBILITY POLICY
We travel less frequently because we work partly at home and partly at Saxion on location. The ratio between home and office-based working depends on the type of work that an employee does for Saxion. Many people enjoy working at home as long as it is balanced out with meeting colleagues and working together on location at Saxion. Staff members receive a ‘working from home allowance’ for the days on which they work at home. In view of good health and sustainability, Saxion encourages its staff members to leave their car at home and travel to work by bicycle or public transport on the days that they work on location.
Measures at a glance:
- Working from home allowance
- Facilities for working at home
- Travelling by bicycle is the first choice within a radius of 15 km*
- Bike Scheme makes it easier to purchase e-bikes and speed bikes and offers a tax benefit
- Bicycle mileage allowance is much higher for bicycles than for cars
- Full reimbursement for public transport tickets
*Except for disabled people and other exceptional circumstances of individual staff members
These measures will be introduced gradually between June 2022 and the end of May 2023.
Saxion aims to reduce business travel. During the corona pandemic, the possibilities for holding and attending online meetings increased enormously. This technology makes it easy to keep in touch with a wide range of people, which is something we would like to continue. It is favourable for staff members because of the savings in travel time and it prevents CO2 emissions.
Of course, our staff members will still have to attend some appointments and meetings in person. Staff members should make a conscious decision based on the merits of each appointment or meeting. Travelling by public transport is the first choice if you travel for business. We only travel by car if a destination is difficult to reach by public transport.
Measures at a glance:
- Facilities for online meetings
- Full reimbursement for first class travel by train
- Use of electric shared cars
These measures will be introduced gradually between June 2022 and the end of May 2023.
International travel is and will continue to be important to Saxion. For this very reason Saxion has a worldwide partner network and Saxion’s Strategic Plan includes the strategic line Internationalisation. We offer staff the opportunity to go to various places across the world to gain knowledge and know-how and collaborate with others. However we, as Saxion, look critically at our international travel, particularly when it comes to flying. We are aware that flying has a major impact on climate and the environment. Our approach to this is to travel by train whenever possible, to fly only when necessary, to fly direct if possible, and we offset our emissions.
Measures at a glance:
- Facilities for online meetings
- We travel by train (first class) and this is fully reimbursed
- Flying is not permitted for destinations within a radius of 750 km
- During a business trip, flying is not permitted to secondary destinations within a radius of 750 km. This is also not permissible abroad: for example to destinations in Asia or America
- We minimise CO2 emissions by taking direct flights when that is possible, even if that is more expensive
- We only fly economy class to minimise CO2 emissions.
- We intend to introduce the use of electric shared cars for destinations that are close by
- We use Euro VI buses for group travel
- The amount of CO2 emissions is stated clearly on the quotation by the travel agent
- We offset the CO2 emissions caused by our air travel.
These measures will be introduced gradually between June 2022 and the end of May 2023.
News about mobility at Saxion
Saxion celebrates World Cycling Day
On the 3 of June it was World Cycling Day en we at Saxion celebrated this day! People who came cycling to Saxion were put in the spotlight. They got an apple and had the opportunity to give there bike a checkup. It was a successful morning with lots of happy faces.
On 5 November, Saxion, along with eight other universities and applied universities, signed the Higher Education Cycling Mission. This mission aims to encourage staff to cycle to work more often. This joint effort will help improve the health and vitality of staff, improve access to locations and contribute towards cleaner and more sustainable transport.
By participating in the Cycling Mission we are contributing to Saxion’s sustainable ambitions and we have taken a first real step in our new mobility policy, with sustainability and vitality as spearhead. The signing took place online in the presence of Stientje van Veldhoven (State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management), who is committed to the mission.
Wenda Hans, Sustainability director at Saxion, took second place in the presentation of the Sustainable Business Travel Award 2021 on 10 March 2021. The annual Sustainable Business Travel Award is presented to the Travel Manager who has contributed the most distinctive in the field of Sustainable Business Travel.
The purpose of this award is to bring Sustainable Business Travel to the attention of Travel Managers in the Netherlands and encourage them to stimulate this in their organization.