Mobility

As the motto says: “you are not stuck in traffic, you are traffic”. For most of you, the excessive use of cars is a hassle. This is not only because of traffic jams, but also as a strong contributing factor to climate change, air pollution and noise pollution.

To walk its talk and drive positive change, CEMR is sharing a few of the things we’re doing, at our workplace. This comes right on time as we celebrate European Mobility Week.

How do we get to work?

First of all, how does our staff get to work in the morning? We ran a quick survey, and the results are striking. More than half of all CEMR staff use public transport. And the rest are not stuck in their cars: about one third (30%) cycle to work, 13% walk, and 5% take the train. That means an overwhelming majority of 97% of our staff come to work with a city-friendly means of transport.

Promoting “soft” mobility

We use several ways to motivate people to not drive to work. We have financial incentives in place for people who decide to cycle or use public transport, and we’ve dedicated the equivalent of three parking spaces to bicycle racks (just added the last one this month!). Moreover, our staff can work from home one day a week, which also removes traffic from our streets.

That was about what we do locally at our office here in Brussels. But on a European level, CEMR is active with its expert group on mobility, which is made up of mobility experts from our member associations. Access, inclusion, sustainability, gender equality: mobility affects us in more ways than meets the eye. Our expert group strives to find ways to improve mobility, with its many implications, in all of Europe’s towns and regions. And our 15 expert groups don’t need to use transport for our meetings, as they are also accessible online.

How do you progress towards more sustainable mobility? Just let us know by contacting our colleague Axelle.