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Bicycle to work for sustainable business
Beside its capability to save money in various ways such as, for example, renting space in parking lots, cycling-to-work enables business owners to indirectly cut emissions and help ease traffic congestion.
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Cyclists pass in the bike lane at Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta on June 6, 2021. (Antara/Aprillio Akbar)
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owadays, as the most pressing issue globally is the future of Earth, sustainability is the key word in almost all areas of life, including business. Whether it is a self-initiative or a choice imposed by some policies, efforts to ensure sustainable business practice are difficult to ignore.
Sustainability, in general, is the ability to exist and develop without depleting natural resources for the future. In business, specifically, it encompasses how to produce and sell goods and services in ways that do not harm natural resources.
Corporations have an interest in making the idea of sustainability a reality, for their own existence and the environment where they operate as part of their contribution to the national goal. In a limited scope, the goal is to meet the target of emission reduction agreed in the Paris Agreement, which is legally binding. In a broader framework there are the targets stipulated in the Sustainable Development Goals.
In practice, several options can be implemented to realize sustainability. There are guidelines in the Global Standards for Sustainability in place, but not every company has considerable latitude to follow them and fulfill all the requirements.
Regardless of the factors that cause the impediment, one option that can be chosen is environment-related measures. And the strategic choice, which is cost-effective while at the same time having wide and significant implications, is a bicycle. Companies can utilize it to start a cycling-to-work habit among their employees.
The mention of the bicycle is by no means to tease, much less to joke. At present the benefits of cycling-to-work have been widely acknowledged around the world from Europe to the United States, a country that is usually so allied with car culture.
In many cities, with a few exceptions, cars or motorized vehicles are still dominating, admittedly. However, there are more and more people who choose to commute from homes to workplaces by bike. They take heart and make daily trips actively -- without private motorized vehicles -- by a combination of infrastructure improvements, better public transportation services, financial incentives and bike-share schemes.
