Guidance & Best Practice
Sustainable Travel Policies
An organisation's travel policy has a key role to play in enabling more sustainable travel. As part of the Travel Collaborative Pilot, Buying Solutions is leading work to help public sector organisations make their travel policies more sustainable. This includes guidance on good practice and a model travel policy. Buying Solutions customers are free to download these documents for use, and any comments are welcomed
Guidance on sustainable travel policies
Sustainable travel policy checklist
Sustainable travel decision tree
‘Grey Fleet' Management
Grey fleet travel refers to mileage in employee-owned vehicles - a grey area, where millions of hidden miles are travelled each year and often overlooked by employers and employees alike. For public sector organisations looking to make cost savings, reduce environmental impact, or better manage travel risks, grey fleet is an important area to focus attention.
The Fleet Collaborative Pilot has produced a Grey Fleet Toolkit** for public sector organisations to learn more about the impacts of grey fleet and the steps that can be taken to better manage this form of travel.
Public sector bodies can make use of the free DfT sponsored Green Fleet Reviews**, offered by the Energy Savings Trust.
Travel Planning
Sustainable travel at work is very much complemented by sustainable travel to and from work. Many organisations have adopted "green travel plans" to encourage their staff to change their commuting habits - such as car-sharing, using public transport, or walking or cycling to work. Such travel plans can also include visitors, such as by making information available on the organisations' web-sites about public transport links to office.
Guidance** on developing and implementing workplace travel plans can be found on the Department for Transport's website.
Health and Safety of Travellers
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all employees at work. This obligation includes the welfare of staff travelling for work purposes. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 introduced the new offence of Corporate Manslaughter. Organisations which disregard the safety of others at work, with fatal consequences, are more vulnerable to very serious criminal charges.
Departments will want to ensure that they undertake a careful assessment of the health and safety risks facing their travelling staff; and ensure that there are adequate systems in place to manage and monitor these risks effectively. This assessment should extend to all modes of transport - be it walking, cycling or by motorised vehicle.
Specific guidance** on work-related road safety is available from the Health and Safety Executive.
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