Data analysis to decarbonize the commute to work

The mobility decarbonization has become a central topic on environmental conservation, sustainability and companies’ social responsibilities. Measures have been taken on national level by the government to encourage companies to reduce significantly their greenhouse gas emissions from their direct and indirect activities. Neovya supports companies in the adaptation to these changes.

Regulatory and legal framework on the greenhouse gas emission

According to the article 75 of the Law on National Commitment for the Environment of July 12th 2010, companies’ carbon footprint is now mandatory for the direct emissions (scope 1) and the indirect emissions from the electricity consumption, the necessary heat or steam, from companies of over 500 employees and public agencies of over 250 agents. If these expectations are not met, companies and public agencies are subject to a 10 000 € fine, 20 000 € for a repeat offense.

The first carbon footprints were made in France in the early 2000s and open our eyes on the companies’ dependence to fossil fuel. It is a precious tool to target the corrective actions to change the consumer habits, from the private sector as the public one. These footprints are a necessary step towards a more responsible and virtuous energy consumption.

Even though the carbon footprint of scope 1 and 2 from companies’ activities is mandatory today (every four years for the private sector, three for the public one), it is also recommended by the article 75 to make a footprint of the indirect emissions from scope 3, which include those related to the companies’ staff and particularly their commutes to work. Furthermore, the regulatory framework of the carbon footprint will cover the significant direct emissions (which constitutes most of scope 3), starting January 2022.

The car: Today’s main mean of transportation in France

French people usually move around 10 hours per week and cover around 400 kilometers. According to the national survey on Mobility and Ways of Life, an employee spends on average 5 hours a week commuting to and from work, and one person out of five living less than 9 kilometers away from their workplace (which equals to a 30-minute bike ride) only uses their car to go there. As work has a central place in the French people’s mobility, isn’t it time to reflect on how to optimize their commutes on the environmental perspective? And what benefits could we have from the analysis of the mobility data of these commutes?

The data at the service of decarbonization of the commutes to work

The key is to be able to centralize and analyze data gathered from the mobility of a company’s employees in order to produce automatically individual diagnoses of their greenhouse gas emissions from their commutes. The acute knowledge of individual emission rates is the baseline of an objective carbon footprint on the company’s scale. It leads to recommendations for reducing the company’s emission rate on significant indirect emissions.

The geospatial data of each employee (home and workplace, geocoded in latitude and in longitude) combined with their means of transportation (with the type and motorization of the vehicle for the motorized travels) are the first pieces of information collected. It is possible to reconstitute the employees’ commutes to work by injecting these data in a multimodal route engine. The knowledge of the routes travelled with motorized vehicles and the integration of greenhouse gas emission models allow us to make an objective diagnosis of the company’s current situation regarding its carbon footprint.

It is then possible to recommend transitions towards alternative modes (electrical mobility, public transportation) which are still realistic and pragmatical according to the possibilities and availabilities of the means of transportation for each individual. For example, if an employee’s home is less than 6 kilometer-away from their workplace, the engine will suggest using a bike if it is adequate.

Thanks to this knowledge, companies are now able to see their carbon footprints on commutes from objective data. This diagnosis serves as ground for a decarbonization strategy, for alternative scenarios and for supporting the employees’ transition towards a more pragmatical and efficient commute.

A smart data platform combining a geospatial vision, a multimodal route engine and greenhouse gas emissions models, advises the company’s management on the best decarbonization strategy of the commutes to work.

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