Case Study: Pfizer
Pfizer is spending more than £800,000 a year at its Walton Oaks site on trying to encourage the 1,000 working population to opt for a green commute.When planning permission was granted for the site in Tadworth, Surrey the company agreed to a transport plan setting out stringent green transport goals, including single occupancy vehicle, public transport and car sharing targets.
The company is allowed just 475 car parking spaces. As an incentive for employees to travel green, Pfizer pays £5 a day to those who travel to the site by any method other than single occupancy vehicles. In addition, it runs seven buses a day through its transport contractors RPS Transport. These are used to service shuttle buses from surrounding towns; a demand-response scheme, whereby staff ring to be picked-up for work the next day, and an express service ferrying commuters and visitors to the site from nearby stations.
Maria Hazard, purchasing and facilities manager at Walton Oaks, says: "We also have a car share database which we don't share with other companies. As a pharmaceutical company, we aren't comfortable with putting our staff names and addresses out into the public domain." Pfizer also provides bicycle storage areas and showers and is considering putting bicycle racks on the back of the buses so staff can cycle for part of the journey. But despite its hard work, the company has still to reach its single occupancy vehicle target of 40%. It is currently at 59%.
†
