Sustainable Mobility Scorecard gives insight into how to reduce CO2 emissions

Mobility attributes to one fourth of the total CO2 emissions in the Netherlands. The Paris Climate Agreement, the Dutch Climate Law, and the European ‘Fit for 55’-package provide a clear direction for CO2 reduction targets: CO2 emissions within the Dutch mobility sector need to be reduced by more than 7 million tons. One of the key CO2 reduction categories is passenger car traffic, and within this category about half of the kilometres travelled are work-related. As a result, the modes of transportation used for commuting to work contribute significantly to CO2 emissions from mobility.

Companies with >100 employees are required to report work-related mobility

In the Netherlands, from 1 July 2024 the reporting obligation for work-related mobility of persons came into force. Companies with 100 employees or more are now required to report on the business traffic and commuting of their employees. The reporting is used to determine the CO2 emissions of the organisation’s work-related mobility of persons. Employers have a major role in making work-related mobility of persons more sustainable. The ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund, as an owner of office buildings and as a landlord, wants to help its tenants with this.

Sustainable Mobility Scorecard provides insight into measures to encourage sustainable mobility

The ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund invests in office buildings near the largest public transport hubs in the five largest cities of the Netherlands. The Fund has developed an impact investment strategy focused on encouraging sustainable mobility practices to and from the office buildings. Increasing these practices will result in a reduction in CO2 emissions from the mobility of the tenants’ employees. To implement the impact investment strategy, the Fund commissioned mobility specialist Goudappel to develop a Sustainable Mobility Scorecard. The Scorecard computes the maximum potential CO2 emission reductions related to mobility to/from an office building and determines actionable measures to achieve this potential.

Car use decreases by nearly 40% for offices on hub locations

Goudappel’s research shows that when offices are located near large-scale public transport hubs, employees are more likely to replace car trips with a more sustainable means of transportation such as public transportation, biking, or walking. For example, the research on the cities of Utrecht, Rotterdam and Eindhoven revealed that, on average, only 43% of employees at hub locations use a car, compared to 69% of employees at non-hub locations.  This is a decrease of car use by nearly 40%. Thereafter, Goudappel was able to provide kwantitative insight into the different behaviours per city and per office location.  Travelling to the office by bike or by train with the Dutch Railways (NS), instead of by car, is CO2 neutral.

Next, the Fund wanted to know what could be done within the office building, to ensure that employees at hub office locations are encouraged to use sustainable means of transportation. The answer was to develop a Sustainable Mobility Scorecard.

How does the Sustainable Mobility Scorecard work?

The Sustainable Mobility Scorecard is a tool, accessible to both landlords and tenants, that provides an overview of an office building and its mobility facilities and supports decision making for further CO2 reduction.

The Scorecard adds value by providing insight on the CO2 reduction which can already be achieved through the building location and existing facilities, as well as the potential for further reduction. This provides a framework for stakeholders to determine future targets. It also calculates which measures on sustainable mobility contribute most to a further CO2 reduction. It shows the potential and which stakeholders are able to influence this CO2 reduction. Therefore users are able to select measures and adjust sizing based on their situation.

For example, the Scorecard calculations may suggest that 100 parking places can be transformed into charging points. However, due to electricity net constraints, only 50 additional charging points are feasible. The scorecard will compute the contribution of these measures to the CO2 reduction potential. All these calculations are presented as an overview of KPIs, which forms the basis for a building action plan and supports monitoring.

This way, the Sustainable Mobility Scorecard can be an iterative exercise, repeated annually to steadily increase the potential reduction of CO2 emissions related to mobility to and from office buildings.

Data and mobility insights as foundations

The Sustainable Mobility Scorecard is based on a strong foundation of data and mobility analysis. The scorecard analysed over 1,500 trips to determine the impact of sustainable mobility measures. Based on the results of those trips, the scorecard calculates the potential CO2 reduction. Additionally, it identifies potential measures to take, providing decision making data for both landlord and tenants. This approach is exemplary for how Goudappel approaches mobility projects: with the belief that integrated mobility planning should be evidence-based and purpose-driven.

Shared goal of landlord and tenant

The ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund has as a goal to encourage sustainable mobility to and from the Fund’s office buildings and therefore facilitate a potential reduction in CO2 emissions. Encouraging employees to use sustainable means of transportation is part of the Green Lease the Fund is currently signing with its tenants, which makes it a shared goal of landlord and tenant. The Fund will use the Sustainable Mobility Scorecard as a tool to work towards this goal, through an action plan per building, made together with the tenants.

Authors:

Alexandra Rosian
senior fund manager ASR Dutch Mobility Office Fund

Nick Juffermans
strategic advisor at Goudappel