How to Encourage Your Staff to Cycle to Work

Julie Starr • November 23, 2020



Cycling to work is a great way to stay fit and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. If your staff are lucky enough to live close enough to cycle to the office then as an employer you should be encouraging this. Commuting actually costs businesses time and money and often cycling is a quicker option than being stuck in traffic or in public transport delays. Offer your team a little incentive to cycle to work instead of driving especially and find new ways to encourage them to get back on their bike.

Don’t forget to look into the right insurance before you send everyone out on bikes in your business. It’s a nice idea, to get everyone cycling to work rather than driving and pumping out more fumes into the environment, but that doesn’t make it simple. You have to make sure that your business consults with the insurers about a potential need for a truck accident lawyer on file. You also want to ensure that you are realistic – not everyone can cycle to work. Not just for the distance away, but their physical health. Make sure that you have some incentives that are similar for those who are physically unable to cycle to work every day!

Organize cycling challenges

For example, you could organize cycling challenges. A little healthy competition between employees is fine now again and it can be really motivating. You can organize cycling challenges to work or outside of work, whichever you decide. This way you’ll create a healthier company culture and more people will jump on the bandwagon. It’s up to you what to offer as a reward for these challenges. You could even get involved yourself and send around your progress as inspiration.

Offer cycling training courses

If some members of your team aren’t quite confident enough cyclists to bike to work then you could offer courses in cycling . You can even do courses for complete beginners, so even for your employees who are new to cycling, they’ll still be able to learn. This might give them the confidence they need to cycle safely. Many people feel they aren’t able to cycle to work because of their fitness level so you could also encourage your colleagues to get into shape as well with various schemes. 

Provide road safety training

If you’re going to push cycling to work you need to ensure you promote safety at all times. Provide road safety training or as a minimum some online resources for your staff to use as guidance. Give them the information they need to know how to prevent any accidents or what to do if they get into any problems on the road. Provide the details for a reliable truck accident lawyer and other important information in the case that they get into an accident.

Offer flexible working hours

In order to encourage your staff to cycle to work offer flexible working hours. If they can begin a little later in the mornings or don’t need to rush to work they’ll be more motivated to cycle. There are also many other benefits of flexible working for both staff and employers. Companies that offer flexible working hours often have more motivated employees. It helps to boost office morale and makes employees feel as though their individual needs are being taken into consideration. 

Provide changing facilities

Another way to encourage more people to cycle to work is by providing the necessary facilities. Commercial properties are required to have bathrooms so ensure these are adequate for your staff to change in. They might want to wash or change their clothes after a long cycling commute. Provide what you can so they feel comfortable. Lockers could also be useful for storing a change of clothes and shoes for cycling.

Install bike racks for staff

If you’re going to provide lockers for your employees’ belongings then you’ll also need to install bike racks for them to lock up their bikes safely. You can buy commercial bike racks online . Ensure you have them positioned somewhere secure and in plain sight, with lights if you’re working during darker hours. If you don’t have anywhere convenient outside to store bikes safely then you could make a space inside. Wall hooks are also a good option if you don’t have enough floor space. If you think outside the box then you should be able to provide the facilities your staff need to cycle to work.

Lead by example

One of the best ways to encourage anyone to do anything is to lead by example. It’s not fair to expect your staff to change their habits of you’re not going to make the effort to yourself. If you want to motivate more people to cycle to work, then you need to get back on your own bike and make a point of cycling to work as often as possible. 

Cycling to work is a great habit for your staff to develop. It’s better for their health and the environment. You’ll also end up with more motivated and energetic employees. Consider a bike scheme or organizing cycling projects and challenges to encourage your staff to cycle to work more often.

5 Simple Ways to Make Your Online Business More Sustainable

By Julie Starr • August 9, 2025
Running an online business can feel like a constant balancing act. You’re trying to grow, keep customers happy, and still have time for yourself. The trick to making it all work long-term is to build habits and systems that last. You don’t need a complicated plan or endless resources to do it either. Here are five straightforward ways to make your business more sustainable without overcomplicating things. Focus on long-term customer relationships If you want your business to last, you need customers who keep coming back. That doesn’t just happen because you’ve got a good product or service. It’s about making people feel valued every time they interact with you. Simple things like remembering their name, following up after a purchase, or sending a quick thank-you email can make a huge difference. People are far more likely to support a business they feel connected to, so keep those relationships personal and genuine rather than purely transactional. Make your marketing work smarter A big part of sustainability is making sure your marketing isn’t draining your time or money. You want it to be efficient and get results. This is where working with seo consultants can help. They know how to make sure people can find your business online without you throwing cash at random ads. Even if you can’t hire someone right now, you can start by focusing on keywords, improving your website’s loading speed, and posting valuable content that answers the questions your customers are already asking. Streamline your products or services It’s tempting to try to offer everything to everyone, but that’s rarely a good idea. The more you offer, the more time, money, and resources you’ll end up using. Instead, focus on the things you do best and make them as good as they can be. When you streamline what you’re selling, you can put all your energy into perfecting it, which makes it easier to maintain quality over time. Customers notice when you consistently deliver something great, and they’ll trust you more for it. Keep an eye on your finances No matter how much you enjoy the creative or customer side of your business, the numbers are what will keep you going long-term. That means knowing what’s coming in, what’s going out, and where you can cut costs without cutting quality. Set yourself a monthly check-in to look at your spending and profits. If you spot something that’s not working financially, don’t leave it for months, hoping it will improve. Tackle it early and you’ll avoid bigger problems down the road. Look after yourself You can’t run a sustainable business if you’re running yourself into the ground. Burnout isn’t just bad for you, it’s bad for your customers and your bottom line. Make sure you’re setting boundaries, taking breaks, and switching off when you can. That might mean scheduling a full day without work every week or turning your phone off after a certain time. The more balanced you are, the better decisions you’ll make, and the easier it will be to keep your business moving forward without constantly feeling like you’re in survival mode. Sustainability in business isn’t about doing one big thing; it’s about making intelligent, consistent choices that build over time. Start small, keep checking in on your progress, and before you know it, your business will feel a lot steadier and more future-proof than it did before.

Sustainable Choices That Heavy Industry Businesses Can Easily Make

By Julie Starr • August 8, 2025
Are you hoping to build a heavy industry business? It’s the kind of company that can have globally sweeping positive and negative effects. On the one hand, you’re contributing to the industry, ensuring there’s enough supply to meet demand, and you can do your best to operate in a sustainable way that prioritizes the environment. But on the other hand, the heavy industry has long been the most significant business polluter in the world. Despite advancements in industry technology and usage, their ranking relative to other sectors, such as food and beverage , and shipping and logistics, has remained unchanged as of 2025. Requiring extensive use of large, heavy, and expensive machinery, the fumes produced by heavy-duty factories in sectors like mining, aerospace, nautical, and metal production regularly cause harm to both human and animal life. It’s why anyone interested in investing or scaling within an industry like this needs to focus on their company’s carbon footprint. There are various ways to ensure you’re limiting your harmful output and waste, and you’ll want to use as many as possible within your operation. Check out our recommendations below. Work with Green Suppliers No matter what stage you sit at in the hypothetical supply chain, you’re likely to source at least part of your overall production material from a supplier. If that’s not the case, you’ll still need to work with companies that provide machinery and equipment, as well as replacement parts for these industrial items. All in all, to make as sustainable a choice as possible, you’ll want to commit to working with a ‘green’ supplier who makes eco-conscious choices at every step. Eco-friendly suppliers will strive to both implement sustainable practices within their production line, as well as provide sustainably made and/or extracted materials. The products and/or parts they send out are likely to be recyclable when they reach their end-of-life period, or they’ll run a scheme where you can send old or broken parts back to them. Offset Your Carbon Emissions Offsetting carbon emissions converts the waste output from your operations into something more positive. If you’re interested in programs like this , you can use official government platforms or climate charity websites to contribute. You’ll be able to find a variety of projects that have been undertaken to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and they’ll be located in various regions across the world. You can choose to patronise as many of them as you wish, but if you want to focus on specific types, you’ll also be able to do so. When approaching a program like this, it’s usually best to offset month by month, as this helps you stay on top of your carbon footprint. Be sure to invest in as much carbon removal per tonne as your business has potentially contributed to the atmosphere in the last month. But before you go any further, there’s one thing you need to keep in mind here: Carbon offsetting is just one sustainable practice you can turn to, but it’s not the only one your business will ever need to use. Yes, it’s one of the most sustainable practices a heavy industry business can invest in. But that’s only true when it’s partnered with real-time carbon-lowering efficiencies within day-to-day operations. Repair, Rather Than Throw Away Repairing is the best option if a repair is possible. This should be the first step when evaluating old or broken-down equipment. If it can be salvaged, it should be. Otherwise, you’ll have to replace the equipment in question. Not only is that expensive, but it also means more waste to manage. And not all heavy industry tech can be recycled. Sometimes it’s potentially hazardous and needs to be disposed of carefully, and this could have harsh impacts on the surrounding environment. Repairing is your best bet, at least 80% of the time. You can get back up and running faster, and you don’t need to account for a large investment at short notice. And more equipment can be repaired than you might think. It’s not just small, singular parts that can be pulled out. Entire internal systems in even large vehicles, such as freighter ships, can be replaced by secondary parts. A marine logistics provider or deep-sea fishing operator would save a lot of money just by ordering a Cummins Rebuild Kit for one of their vessels. Deciding to put the ship out of commission and eventually scrapping it will contribute to the large-scale waste common in companies like this. Aiming to repair and limit environmental damage will get that same boat back onto the waters in seaworthy condition. Operate with Lower Emission Logistics Shipping your products to businesses and markets always generates a carbon footprint. Unless you’re operating only within the local area and you’re able to transport products back and forth on foot, this is an unavoidable issue. And seeing as you’re a heavy industry business, that’s not very likely. But some shipping options are better than others. Indeed, there are low-emission choices to be made, and you’ll want to look into these logistic partners only. You’ll likely find that air travel is a total no-go zone. Alternatives to this are long-haul road transportation or a traditional shipping company that operates via sea. Yes, even trucking your products over land generates a lot less carbon waste that can damage the environment than flying something! Staying Green as a Heavy Industry Player Working sustainably within the heavy industry is a career-long project. You’ll need to continually make moves to consider what could be streamlined into something greener and less consuming next. In the end, this can help your long-term costs decrease and stay low. Fewer risky investments, fewer fees from environmental bodies, and more productive time within your business. So, it’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it