Update and adaption of the 2006 UBA mobility survey

 

Background:

The Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA) values an efficient, compatible, and safe flow of operations and its related traffic. In addition, innovative and exemplary approaches may be incentives for emulation in other agencies, institutions, and businesses. The UBA already took a step in that direction when it became the first federal agency to be validated according to the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). Since then, five of the eleven locations have been certified according to EMAS and ISO 14001. The central goal of this concept is to establish a cross-property environmental mission statement in which employees agree to take care of the environment and to reduce negative environmental impacts. This includes e.g. conducting business trips in an environmentally friendly manner.

Aims of the project:

The objective of conducting a new mobility survey was to continue the internal mobility management and to further reduce the negative environmental effects of traffic. In order to do so, the existing questionnaire from the 2006 survey was updated. Against the background of the implementation of a range of mobility management measures and changes in significant structural and traffic-related conditions (e.g. by moving to Dessau-Roßlau), the new survey allowed us to analyse the effectiveness of the measures taken so far and to adapt the concept to the new objectives accordingly.

Project contents and structure:

As a first step, the ISB briefly presented the general options of internal mobility management and explained their effects. In coordination with the UBA, we worked out objectives to achieve by improving the internal mobility management. On this basis, we then identified the mobility management measures suited to achieving these objectives. This also allowed us to ascertain the resulting data requirements from the employee survey. The entire procedure of the mobility survey (conception of the questionnaire, accompanying information, the actual survey and its evaluation) was designed in such a way that it can easily be transferred to other institutions.

Against the background of the objectives, the existing questionnaire (2006 mobility survey), experiences from that survey, and the response rate were analysed. Based on the previous agreements and the analysis of the questionnaire, a new questionnaire was designed and discussed with the UBA.

Experience from other surveys shows that the response rate is vital for the acceptance and validity of the recommendations of action derived from the results. The aim of this mobility survey was therefore to reach all employees equally and to achieve the highest possible response rate. To encourage participation, the employees were given information throughout the entire process (before the survey, during the survey, and after the survey). For one, an information session was held for the employees at the Dessau-Roßlau headquarters, which was streamed to all other locations via video conference. The employees were informed about the project and its goals and were given a chance to ask questions. In addition, all employees were provided with information via the intranet and flyers.

The mobility survey was conducted online, both so the data would be immediately available digitally and so that the employees could be supported in completing the survey by confirmation prompts and corresponding error messages.

The data was evaluated in a two-step process, i.e. both for the entire agency and also for each location individually. This allowed us to make out possible differences between the locations. The results were presented differentiated by the content of the questions (e.g. by distance covered, by travel time needed depending on the transport mode used etc.).

Based on the findings of the survey and the objectives determined at the beginning, we made recommendations of action for the redesign of the internal mobility management. For example, we analysed the reasons against using environmentally friendly transport modes (public transport, walking, cycling) and how to fix them. We investigated the employees’ investment in new potential measures in order to create a ranking of the new measures.

The results of the evaluation and the recommendations of action were summed up in writing and graphics in a report, based on which the ISB created a presentation to inform the employees about the results, the evaluation, and the further procedure.

Commissioned by:

The Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA)

Project duration:

January 2009 – June 2009

Contact at the ISB:

Dipl.-Ing. Katja Johänning