Taking the train usually takes longer than flying. But when vacation days are limited, should you opt for the plane and get to your destination quickly, or choose the train, even if the journey is longer, to reduce your environmental footprint? More and more French people are faced with this dilemma when planning their holidays.
To encourage its employees to opt for greener modes of transport, Ubiq, a French company specialising in the inventory of offices and coworking spaces in France, is offering two days off per year from January 2023. This initiative aims to encourage employees to choose train, bus or car sharing for their personal trips in Europe, where flying can seem faster.
An interesting commitment for employees and companies
TTR for “responsible travel time” is not like any other leave. In particular, the employee is invited to work if possible and when he or she has access to a connection. He or she can answer emails, read documents or think about an important topic, before taking full advantage of his or her leave. In a press release from the company Ubiq we learn that an employee benefits from one day of TTR every six months, or two days per year at most.
“Two days are equivalent to two weekends, if we take two half-days of TTR each time: one on the way there and one on the way back. We found it to be a good compromise, interesting for employees and understandable in the context of the leave policy,” explains Mehdi Dziri, CEO of Ubiq, quoted by Le Figaro. Two and a half years after the introduction of this special leave, 50% of employees used it to travel to Italy, Spain or Corsica.
An initiative that attracts more and more companies
Ubiq’s initiative is now being emulated. Employees of the social start-up Lundi have also benefited from this system since the summer of 2023. To be eligible, the latter’s managers ask their employees to prove a journey of more than six hours, by train or bus, carpooling or even by bicycle. Another unique feature is that this leave can be divided into two half-days. HomeExchange, the platform specialising in peer-to-peer home exchange, also reached the milestone in December 2023, although its employees are strongly encouraged to work as soon as they have access to a Wi-Fi connection.
Other French companies also appear to be attracted by TTR and could soon adopt this arrangement, including Baywa Re in Bordeaux, iAdvize, Railee, Atos, RIVP, Leyton and La Fresque du Climat.
A saving of 444 kilos of CO2 per trip
In Europe, Britain was a pioneer when the 10:10 Foundation launched the Climate Perks programme in 2020, which harks back to the days of responsible transport. To date, 128 organisations, including law firms, architectural firms, consultancy groups and associations, have adopted this licence worldwide. According to figures from the organisation, each trip made with Climate Perks saves 444 kilos of CO2.
At Ubiq, this initiative has reduced the number of air journeys by fifty, a figure which, although modest, demonstrates a commitment to more sustainable mobility. Take the example of a 1,000-kilometre journey, which represents the distance between Paris and Barcelona: the plane, which covers this distance in 1 hour 40 minutes, emits 178 kg of CO2 per passenger, while the TGV, which takes 6 hours 30 minutes, emits only 2.4 kg. A gap which, according to the director of the French company, highlights the considerable environmental impact of the different modes of transport. And fuels the hope that this approach will serve as inspiration for new organisations.
Source: BFM TV
