Introduction

Today, the Brussels-Capital Region offers employment to about 680,000 people. More than half of these workers live outside the Region and 57% of them travel to work by car (most of them alone!). Improving mobility is essential to maintaining the economic appeal of Brussels.

Objectives and target audience

The WMP obligation aims to involve around 300 to 350 sites and 300.000 workers (44% of total employment in Brussels region).
In terms of CO2 emissions, it has been estimated that this obligation could bring a reduction of about 21,000 tons of CO2 in 2010, which is equivalent to 2.5% of the 2005 total regional transport emissions.

The target audience are the companies employing more than 200 people.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

Total expenses, from 2004 to the end of 2007, for the implementation of the WMP obligation can be estimated at about 1 million Euros, mainly for staff costs, developing software, map and awareness tools, and subsidies to STIB (regional public transport), Taxistop (carpooling) and Cambio (carsharing). Since 2008, the annual budget is around €250 k.
The cost per non-emitted ton of CO2 during the Kyoto period is about €23.80 (Implementation costs as annual budget included). The cost of a ton of CO2 on the European market is presently around 27€ (June 2008) and 2010 forecasts estimate it to rise to €30 per ton. Therefore, this measure is economically efficient.
In addition to the two regional administrations, the partners involved are the regional public transport, the carpooling and carsharing organisms and of course the companies and enterprises which have to develop a WMP.

Process

Brussels Environment and Brussels Mobility work together in the Follow-up Cell on MWPs. The task of this Cell is to support the implementation and evaluation of the WMP’s obligation. These administrations guide businesses through joint advice on individual WMP.
The development of a WMP is a long-term process, characterised by the progressive implementation of concrete measures. The plan is designed based on two initial phases, followed by an annual update.
The first stage of the WMP consists of making the mobility diagnosis of the company and establishing a draft action plan with a first selection of foreseeable measures.
The second phase is the presentation of action plans: describing all the means used to improve mobility and air quality.

Results

The obligation of a Workplace Mobility Plan covers now about 250 sites and 220.000 workers (32% of the number of employments).
The analysis of WMPs – phase 1 allows the Region to have a clear picture of the regional workplace mobility and the factors which encourage or discourage a green mobility.
Companies voluntarily engage themselves to promote modal shift from cars to other modes of transport by 5% within 1 year after the WMP is started. Thanks to the WMP approach and the work of the Follow-up Cell (advice and recommendations), companies commit to implement several measures concerning sustainable mobility as for example: realisation of a multi-modal accessibility data-sheet, creation of a car-sharing database or enrolment to Taxistop, installation or improvement of bicycle parking, designation of a mobility coordinator, booking of parking spaces for car-sharing users…
Numerous on-line-tools (questionnaires, geographical tools…) are in continuous development to facilitate the preparation and the implementation of WMPs.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

Success factors:-

• The individualised advice and recommendations from the Follow-up Cell encourage enterprises to take efficient and concrete measures to foster sustainable mobility;
• Tools developed: online forms, map tools, best examples, practical leaflets, websites;
• Problems encountered;
• Sometimes it is difficult to involve all companies affected by this obligation;
• The Follow-up Cell gives advice and recommendations to the companies once phase 1 (diagnostic) is finished. The deadline for giving those recommendations is 3 months after the submission of the report. At the beginning of 2005, nearly 200 MWP-phase 1 reports arrived were submitted at the same time,  it was impossible to respond on time to all of them, due to the lack of human resources in the Cell and given the willingness to provide individualised good quality advice to each company.