Mobility

Reduce congestion

In Belgium, we are facing an urgent traffic crisis. Every year, workers spend a full week sitting in traffic jams. It is clear that we must act fast to improve mobility. To add to this, Belgium’s business environment has a significant environmental impact. As a tax incentive for companies, many businesses give their employees company cars in place of fiscal renumeration. Employees also benefit from this favourable tax scheme. As a result, many practitioners drive to work instead of using the country’s vast public transport network. Even when no concrete regulations were proposed, Deloitte took a pioneering stance in addressing our role to mitigate congestion on the roads.

Reduce our company cars’ CO2 emissions

Agile means of transportation

To meet our goal of reducing car use by 10%, our firm launched the Mobility@Deloitte programme in June 2018 to offer our people with multimodal options for their commute. This included alternatives to a conventional petrol vehicle such as electric cars, public transportation, cycling, shared cars and carpooling. Behind this our goal is to inspire our people to make more thoughtful choices by increasing the amount of versatile modes of transportation and encouraging more flexible work arrangements, like homeworking or working from one of our local offices.

The impact of COVID-19
Of course, the coronavirus has impacted the way we work and travel by placing a spotlight on the things that need to change. While the pandemic has restricted our movement, results have shown that our people consistently reduced their mileage in the months outside of the country-wide lockdown. While it is hard to predict what will happen post-pandemic, we will continuously track and further adjust our aims to reflect evolving conditions.

Steering principles

Five core principles steer the development of the Mobility@Deloitte programme:

Inspired by these principles, we developed a truly pioneering, multimodal approach to mobility, with sustainability and flexibility in equal measure.

• Simplify our offering
• Electrify our fleet
• Invest in electric infrastructure
• Offer flexible mobility packages
• Incentivise public transport use
• Change behaviours
• Drive down emissions
• Steer smarter parking
  
• Boost (e-)biking

Simplify our offering

Cars remain an important part of mobility programme at Deloitte. Why? In short, they offer our people a reliable way to visit clients. Serving clients at close proximity is key to providing personal attention and maintaining close collaborations. We are evolving in the way that we think about cars, and how we utilise them to commute from one point to the next.

Previously, we offered our people 132 different car configurations to choose from, yet 90% of Deloitters chose the same 12 cars. We have streamlined that list to a dozen preferred options and review our car list and CO2 limitations every year. By streamlining our fleet and incorporating more eco-friendly options, we are offering our people greener choices that are better for the planet.

Back to multimodal approach ∧

Electrify our fleet

Empowering our people to power-up

By 2021, electrical (EV) or plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) cars will make up 5% of our fleet. Our future targets, dependent upon available market offerings, are to increase that number to 10% by 2023 and to 100% by 2030. As from 2026, every new ordered car will be an electric one. By investing in electric and hybrid cars (EV), and the infrastructure to support them, we now have a more environmentally-friendly fleet with better equipped options. And our efforts have attracted headlines; Deloitte Belgium was named “FLEET Mobility Manager of the Year 2019” by FLEET magazine. We are heading in the right direction towards curtailing emissions and will continue to adopt EVs and PHEVs and encourage our people to choose low-emission company cars.

Increase number of electric or hybrid vehicles

Back to multimodal approach ∧

Invest in electric infrastructure

While electric and hybrid cars are gaining traction, they’re far from being adopted on a mass scale.

At this point in our sustainability journey, we are determining ways to make it easier for our people to transition from conventional petrol models to electric cars. This calls for an investment in the electrification of our fleet and the infrastructure to support them.

We have outfitted our Gateway facility with 179 e-charging spaces and offer 24 power source stations split over our regional offices to make it easy to charge cars throughout the workday. To make it simple and convenient for our people to charge their cars at home, we offer a smart cable that immediately calculates electricity consumption which is then reimbursed by the firm. Plus, we contribute financially to the installation of home wallboxes. Beyond this, we offer other advantages like unlimited mileage and the possibility to swap to a conventional car if there is a need to travel longer distances, to provide tempting greener alternatives.

Back to multimodal approach ∧

Offer flexible mobility packages

Where we work and the way we get there is changing. Adapting to today’s business reality, our multimodal solutions provide our people the flexibility to choose whichever mode of transportation fits them best on any given day. Helping our workforce make the most sustainable choice is the key to a successful Mobility@Deloitte programme.

Back to multimodal approach ∧

Incentivise public transport use

We live in a car-centric culture, despite trends that are evolving for the better. People routinely choose to drive even though other convenient and cost-effective alternatives exist.

To encourage public transit use, we have introduced a multi-layer commuter offer that includes free or subsidised transit passes on trains, subways, trams and buses. Plus, easy point-to-point access between offices and transit hubs with station parking are included. Our people can also request access to a Deloitte bike to take to and from the station.

Incentivise public transport use

Back to multimodal approach ∧

Change behaviours

Behaviour changes begin when people start to see the benefits of change. Case in point, we give our people the choice to determine where they work and how they get there, and the flexibility to make choices that suit their lifestyle.

Through the compelling advantages of public transport and cycling, we empower our people to make environmentally-sound and responsible choices that both engage them in our firm’s sustainability journey while fulfilling their personal needs.

Mobility package: employees opting for a non-traditional mobility package

Back to multimodal approach ∧

Drive down emissions

On 1 September 2019, we launched our “Responsible Mileage programme” to decrease traffic, cut congestion, and reduce the pollution caused by motor vehicle fuel combustion. Simply stated, this programme places a cap on the total annual mileage allotted for a company car, differentiating between professional and personal mileage.

The Responsible Mileage programme aims to reduce the mileage by 10% per car by FY21.

Back to multimodal approach ∧

Steer smarter parking

Parking contributes to traffic congestion in a major way and it is imperative that our country further rethink its parking strategy. How can parking enable sustainability? By aligning it with smart mobility options, facilitating parking at offices and train stations, and incentivising the use of alternative transport methods.

Starting 1 June 2019, we activated “Smart Parking” for all Deloitters. Within the Deloitte Get2Work App, our people can view their parking activity and, depending on their assigned parking days, receive notifications based on parking usage.

Part of our broader sustainability programme, we are empowering our people to explore alternate options together. For instance, colleagues can carpool when coming to work from the same area by using a dedicated carpooling app.

Back to multimodal approach ∧

Boost (e-)biking

Car-oriented cities have a high cost on wellbeing and on the welfare of the planet. By contrast, cycling is proven to be good for the body and brain. The real benefit is no traffic jams and easy parking. Commuting by bike also helps society in a number of ways. It is less wear and tear on public roads, less pollution in the air, less traffic and congestion, less noisy, and allows for more parking spots.

As part of our sustainability goals, we envision a 20% increase in kilometres by those who come to the office by bike by 2023 and a 35% growth by 2030. That is why we encourage and incentivise our people to get in the saddle.

Increase our bike mileage

To start with, Mobility@Deloitte offers a bike allowance of €0.24 per kilometre. Those who do not own a bike can borrow one of our pool bikes for up to five days. We even assist our people with the purchase process of a bike. On top of this, we created an interactive platform for our eco-friendly colleagues to locate the best bike routes to and from the office, or find a biking buddy. Depending on the mobility package, they can choose paid station parking or a city bike.

Back to multimodal approach ∧