Riverside - Staff at Riverside got on their bikes

22 June 2009

Staff at Riverside’s head office in Speke celebrated Bike Week last week by holding a Bike to Work Day on Thursday. To encourage participation, all staff who cycled to work received a voucher for a free lunch at the staff restaurant. There was also a display in the public reception to raise awareness of the benefits of cycling with free giveaways including cycle maps and wheel spoke reflectors. Between them, 12 staff cycled 200 miles (320km), saving 49kg of C02, which is over 27 cubic metres of pure C02. The total energy used by cycling to work was about 5462 kcal, the equivalent of 75 Ferrero Rocher or nine portions of jacket potato with cheese, beans and salad from the staff restaurant. They saved up to £80 in travel costs.

If they keep up their cycling, those who pledged to cycle once a week or more would collectively travel 19,400 miles (31,040 km), saving over five tonnes of CO2 (5,071 kg) - that's over 2.8 million litres, or 2,820 cubic metres of CO2 by volume. They would collectively save £7760 in transport costs and save enough calories to be able to eat about 7,275 Ferrero Rocher.

Mike Boothman, who regularly cycles to work, said: “Our Bike to Work Day was a great way of reminding people that cycling can keep you healthy, save money and help reduce congestion, as well as often being the quickest way to get around.

“Supporting Bike Week is part of our Corporate Social Responsibility Programme, which has a strong environmental focus. We were really pleased with the response from staff and got some really positive feedback but we need to keep up the good work.

“We already have a Cycle 2 Work scheme, which allows staff to buy a bikes at a discounted rate, and we are looking at improving our changing facilities and introducing lockers.”