FRESH WAYS TO WORK

You've probably guessed by viewing these very pages that we take our environmental responsibilities seriously here at White Space and are always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint. That's why we were keen to get involved with the Fresh Ways to Work travel planning scheme.

Fresh Ways to Work is a regional initiative aimed at cutting pollution and congestion by helping businesses to manage and action specific travel plans. The benefits are many; businesses save money and increase productivity, employees are encouraged to adopt a healthier lifestyle, and the environment gets to take a breather.

Fresh Ways surveyed our travel situation then outlined new opportunities, devising a simple yet effective travel plan for us to implement. As a result, three of our team are now cycling to work, a further six walk and two take the bus. We're still working on the others who have stuck with their cars, but they do live more than 10 miles from the office so we can't be too hard on them!

Our MD, Neil, is one of the cyclists leading by example - selling his car and making full use of the Bike to Work scheme (saving National Insurance and Income Tax on the purchase of a bike for work purposes). Neil has seen savings of £500+ within the first three months of cycling to work and he's looking pretty svelte too!

That's not to say we're resting on our laurels... We're constantly looking for ways to refine and improve our travel plan, so we'll be surveying staff throughout the year to make sure it's still relevant and achieving consistent results. We'll also be widening our sustainable travel plans to encompass travel AT work - whether it's using the free shuttle bus, walking or car sharing to meetings, or using the train.

We've also appointed a travel plan co-ordinator to ensure various measures are implemented. Sounds daunting, but Fresh Ways have been there every step of the way to make the process as straightforward as possible. Why not give the scheme a try at your company?