On 5 January 2023, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) entered into force. The directive includes new rules on obligating the reporting of employee commuting data.
In Europe, the CSRD is a game-changer in how businesses need to report sustainability data. Similar legislation is on its way for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The CSRD raises the status of sustainability reporting, requiring it to be on par with financial reporting. This means it will be scrutinised for its accuracy, reliability, and origin (transparency), making it crucial to be able to trust the data.
Employee commute travel is an often-overlooked component of corporate sustainability. Effective management of employee transport can lead to substantial reductions in GhG emissions. Acting Innovation Director Dr. Adriana Diaz explains, “commuting contributes approximately 0.5 tonnes of CO2 per employee per year, most of which come from cars. We see solutions, such as Travalytics, as playing a key role in supporting organisations to significantly reduce direct and indirect emissions that occur within the company’s value chain”.
Travalytics was created to address these issues by providing a automated solution for collecting precise commute data. Designed to help companies in sustainability reporting, Travalytics can help businesses to improve their sustainability footprint. The tool empowers companies to make more informed and impactful sustainability decisions.
Travalytics is developed in partnership between two Swedish companies, Trivector Traffic and Backtick Technologies.
Why Travalytics?
Anna Clark, project lead, explains, “Travalytics was born out of the recognition that traditional methods of collecting commute data were inefficient and often inaccurate. We wanted to create a tool that not only simplifies the data collection process but also ensures the accuracy and reliability of the information gathered. Our goal is to help companies reduce their carbon footprint and promote healthier lifestyles for their employees.”
The tool leverages advanced technology to automatically gather data on how employees travel to work. Thus eliminating the need for manual surveys and estimations. “We are in a unique position to be able to automatically identify commuting trips because of our experience working with the TravelVu app, and the millions of corrected trips we can use as training data for Travalytics,” continues Anna.
Empowering Companies with Actionable Insights
However, Travalytics goes beyond data collection. The solution provides actionable insights that drive real change. “We automatically identify how people travel using advanced algorithms. From this, we calculate the environmental and health impacts of employee commutes. We then provide the right analytics so companies can implement targeted actions to reduce their carbon footprint and encourage sustainable commuting practices” says Michal Stypa, tech and design lead of Travalytics. Thus the solution allows companies to focus on using the data to implement meaningful changes, rather than getting bogged down in the data collection process.
The reports generated by Travalytics offer comprehensive insights into emissions, trip lengths, transport modes, and physical activity. Accordingly, these insights are crucial for companies aiming to meet their ESG goals and contribute to a more sustainable future.
The first version of Travalytics will be tested with companies in Lund in collaboration with the CoAction Lund project in October 2024.
For more information visit the Travalytics website: https://travalytics.io/
