challenge #4: Mobility

Dear participants,

This week, the focus is on sustainable mobility: a key lever for reducing our emissions and improving our quality of life.

Whether you’re a seasoned cyclist or you’re still reluctant to leave the car in the garage, this week we’ve got some simple and effective challenges for you 🎯

And as always, we have events and resources to help you make the transition.

👉 Do not forget to join us for an afterwork event on Monday 9 December at 6.30pm for the campaign’s closing ceremony! This event will be a great opportunity to discuss attempting sustainable practices, celebrate our efforts, and receive prizes like a second-hand bike.  →  Reserve your spot here!

How do I receive a prize? 🏆 
Answer our feedback form (5 minutes, 10 questions) by clicking here. As a thank you, you could win special prizes that will be awarded at the closing ceremony! 🎁

Events

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Challenge #1: Replace the car with cycling, carpooling or public transport 🚲

Benefits: Less stress 😌 | More freedom 🌿 | Less pollution 😷 

Car journeys are often synonymous with stress and frustration: traffic jams, finding parking, unforeseen events… But there are more peaceful, economical and social alternatives! Your challenge this week? Leave your car behind and try out a more sustainable means of transport: car-sharing, cycling or public transport.

In Geneva, a minority of households use their cars, and it’s becoming increasingly old-fashioned to use them when you don’t have to. Why not join this trend? Studies show that the car can have a psychologically alienating effect, while choosing alternatives can help you regain control of your journeys and your schedule. Not only can you reduce your carbon footprint, but you can also regain a sense of freedom.

“By choosing a mode of transport such as cycling, walking or taking public transport, it allows us to be active and take action on our mobility rather than being subjected to it.”
– Caroline Marti, President ATE Genève 

So, are you ready to take on the challenge for a week and discover all the benefits of these alternatives? 🚲🚌🚗✨

What are the advantages of setting aside the car?

  • 💰 Finances: From purchase to repairs and also insurance… a car can cost you several thousand francs a year; whereas an annual tpg season ticket costs just CHF 500; and in 2025 it will be free for under-24s and half-price for disabled people. 
  • ⚕️ Health: Physically active mobility boosts our mental and physical health, significantly reducing the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 
  • 🤝 Social welfare: Less road traffic means less air pollution, less noise pollution, fewer road accidents and less danger for pedestrians. This makes the city a more pleasant place to live.
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👉 Want to know where you can rent, repair or buy a bike?

Find out about structures like ProVelo, Genèveroule and more in our resources section! 👀

 

Source (image on the right): https://www.vivonsvelo.ag2rlamondiale.fr/velo-en-entreprise/une-pratique-ecologique/

💰 Good to know 

The canton offers subsidies for buying a bike, learning to ride, and trying out an electric bike. Your local commune may also offer vouchers!

👉 I’m trying public transport

The tpg+ application gives you an efficient route, precise details, and a ticket portal for your next journey.

👉 Tired of paying petrol costs for one person? Share the cost by becoming either a passenger or a driver for other people making the same journey as you: I’m trying carpooling.

What about my holiday trips?  →  We talk about it in Challenge #2

Challenge #2: Opt for a plane-free holiday 🚞

Benefits: Local discoveries 🏞️ | Travelling differently 🛤️ | Ecological ☘️

The festive season is here and so are the holidays! 🌲❄️

Come to think of it, why do we travel in the first place?
To be amazed, to recharge our batteries, to experience adventure. But do we have to fly far away to do that? Local landscapes, hidden treasures a stone’s throw from home, and the beauty of every season nearby can meet these needs, without having to get on a plane.

Aviation is increasingly being singled out and with good reason, as it is the most polluting form of transport. With just one return trip from Paris to New York, we already exceed the total annual CO2 budget that we can emit per person to meet our commitments to reduce greenhouse gases 😰

Source: https://bonpote.com/10-chiffres-a-connaitre-sur-lavion-et-le-climat/

Here are our tips 🗒️

 

Make your next holiday an enriching and sustainable experience, already plan now your next destination accessible without a plane 🌇

😞 Having trouble enjoying holidays because of stress?

Then try a slow travel holiday. Slow travel as opposed to mass tourism, is a method of travel that prioritises local discovery and cultural immersion following a more relaxed pace.

By encouraging means of transport such as walking, cycling or public transport, this method invites us to enjoy travel experiences that are both more authentic and more ecological.

Challenge #3: Encourage your company to reduce its mobility carbon footprint 🌱

Benefits: Collective mobilisation 💪 | Ease your ecological journey 😮‍💨 | Multiply your ecological impact 🌍 

Why not make things easier for yourself?

We often find ourselves stuck in habits shaped by norms that, without us even thinking about it, encourage polluting behaviour. The good news is that these norms can change, thanks to you in particular. Indeed, who better than you to initiate this change by proposing concrete solutions for your company? 

Major Challenge 📈 
This Challenge can be the most impactful of all your challenges: multiply the reduction of carbon emissions tonnes across your company (x10, x50, …) to imagine the scope of this change!

How can I encourage my company to commit to sustainable mobility?  

The most important step in convincing your company is also the simplest: getting the idea into people’s heads 🌱. A company can reduce its mobility emissions by reducing airplane business trips, encouraging sustainable commuting, and improving car fleet management.

Where to start?

  • 💑 Step 1: Find colleagues who share your enthusiasm for sustainability. (Bonus Friendship!)
  • 🤔 Step 2: Think together about the easiest and most impactful sustainable mobility solutions for your company. (We’ve prepared a catalogue for you in the resources section 😉)
  • 🗣️ Step 3: Propose these solutions to your colleagues or management by illustrating your arguments with inspiring examples from pioneering companies and by highlighting the benefits for the company and its employees (savings, well-being, reputation).

Are you committed to changing commuting trips? Here are the benefits:

  • 🌱 Biodiversity: Pollution and road infrastructure represent a major threat to biodiversity in Geneva, as they disrupt ecosystems and lead to the gradual disappearance of a multitude of species. 
  • 🌳 Climate: 1 tonne of CO2 is equivalent to 5,000 km by car or 600,000 km by train.
    The average Swiss driver travels around 15,000 km a year, or almost 3 tonnes of CO2 a year. Reducing your car journeys means turning your carbon footprint to dust 💥

Good to know 💡

If your company hasn’t yet adopted green solutions, now’s the time to open up the dialogue! A small change can ripple into large transformations, and it always starts with a simple conversation. 

Bonus Challenge: Organise a carpool outing with friends or colleagues

Benefits: Friendly moments 🤝 | Reduction of cars on the road 🚗 | Immediate impact 🌍

There’s nothing like a social occasion to take action! Organising a carpool for an outing, an activity or even for work helps to reduce the number of cars on the road while strengthening connections with those around you. Getting into the habit of carpooling for events or leisure activities can quickly become a regular practice. It’s good for the planet and good for your morale!

How can I develop my cyclist journey?

  • Rent – I want to rent a bike to try out cycling
  • Repair – I want to repair my bike
  • Buying – I want to buy a bike
  • A road is missing 🚳 
    • If I can’t find a safe route for my daily cycle journeys, I can ask my local authority to invest in cycling infrastructure. Support the ProVelo association in its efforts to promote cycling and make your needs heard by your commune.📣
    • Cycling in Geneva – Ville de Genève: Bikes, Practical information and advice, Safety rules, Cycling in Geneva, Cycle facilities.
    • Locali: This platform doesn’t just offer discounts on local products and services: a new section dedicated to mobility is coming soon! Sign up so you don’t miss out 👀

Need more information?

  • The concept: To learn about car-centric urban planning in an informative and entertaining manner, we strongly recommend the Youtube channel “NotJustBikes“
  • The facts: Did you know that the greatest source of inequality in emissions is the different forms of mobility? The wealthiest 1% of households in the EU emit 22 tonnes of CO2, from air travel alone! To find out more, read the article “10 figures you need to know about air travel and the climate“.

I want to encourage my company towards sustainable mobility, what solutions can I suggest?

Here is our catalogue of ecological measures:

  • Reduce business air travel 
    • 🛑✈️ Do not reimburse air travel when a train journey of less than 10 hours is available: take inspiration from the mobility policies of the University of Neuchâtel 
    • 🖥️ Encourage video conferencing to avoid unnecessary trips 
  • Manage a more ecological and economical fleet 
    • 🚗 Switch company vehicles to low-carbon models (such as electric bicycles or mini-cars) 
    • ⚡ Occasional need for a car at work? Pitch a Mobility parking space to share an electric car 

 

To support these initiatives, the Canton of Geneva offers several services and tools to help companies implement mobility plans: 

  • A guide “Mobility Plans, Guide for Companies and Institutions” to raise awareness and present best practices 
  • A mobility-business help-desk with information, guidance, personalised advice Mobility Manager training 
  • A quarterly “mobility & economy” newsletter 
  • The Ecomobile label for companies that have implemented a mobility plan 

 

Interested? Discover all this information in the Mobility Plan!

Biodiversity Challenge

contact@mon-defi-carbone.ch

Rue Fendt, 1 – 1201 Genève

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