Ecomode, the app that thanks (and rewards) those who do good for the planet
In Toulouse, a simple car journey between Place Esquirol and the Airbus site in Blagnac takes about fifteen minutes if the traffic is really fluid, but often it takes twice that time due to traffic jams. Alone in his car, a motorist will generate 1.145 grams of CO2 emissions, when a cyclist will do about 25 minutes without having produced the slightest pollution. If the inhabitants of the Pink City are more and more numerous to use a two-wheeler, a majority of them continue to prefer the comfort of their car, even for very few kilometers. An observation that the managers of the airport platform were able to make since 71% of their employees are still soloists.
After developing carpooling or encouraging the use of bicycles, those at Airbus have thus decided to move up a gear by setting up Eco-friendly fashion, in partnership with Toulouse Métropole or Tisséo. This free application rewards employees who favor “low carbon” travel. Between November and May, more than 1,600 employees of the European group imported it and used it to calculate the carbon footprint of their trips and earn points. Points, which are accumulated, have turned into reduction or purchase vouchers in dozens of partner brands, whether sports or cinema stores. During challenges between different volunteers from the same company, some can also win prizes such as this electric bike won by one of the “greenest” employees of Airbus Defense & Space Toulouse.
Nearly 19.2 tonnes of CO2 avoided
But by promoting their car in the garage, whether they are young converts to “low carbon” or long-time followers, they have above all avoided producing 19.2 tonnes of CO2. Following the results of this first phase of experimentation, also initiated by Sopra Steria employees over the past six months, Ecomode has just been extended to all inhabitants of the Toulouse metropolitan area.
“We need to be in a paradigm shift to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and road traffic. On each trip, over half an hour, we add twenty minutes. It’s more pollution and a loss of earnings of 11 working days per employee each year stuck in traffic jams,” recalls Bruno Costes, Airbus’ Environment and Public Affairs Director, who plans to reduce by 2030 63% of its emissions.
If a transfer of employees from the Toulouse sites of the aircraft manufacturer were done on soft modes, this could also make road traffic more fluid around the airport platform, the source of two thirds of air pollution in the sector. On the scale of the 37 municipalities of the metropolis, this project aimed to save by the end of 2023, nearly 2,600 tonnes of CO2.
Ecomode Exporter
By the end of the year, Ecomode officials hope to have 15,000 users. And convince new companies to start. “Because we must not forget that 60% of journeys are within the framework of home-work journeys, employers therefore have a role to play. Beyond the rewards, some employees also have an interest in the application by being able to measure the emissions savings they make on a daily basis”, assures Geoffrey Labaume, head of the low-carbon mobility project at Airbus.
Eventually, everyone hopes that this incentive application will leave the Toulouse perimeter to be adopted almost everywhere in France, but also why not on Airbus sites elsewhere in Europe.