10 Years "Going to Work Environmentally Friendly" (R 0201)
Micronas works council's initiative honoured with the ´Eco Traffic Award´
Freiburg - March 22, 2002 - Together with representatives of 13 other members of the initiative "Going to Work Environmentally Friendly", Micronas Managing Director, Nikolaus Kaeppeler, received the ´Eco Traffic Award´ from the Mayor, Dr. Matthias Schmelas. Through this award the city of Freiburg acknowledges the commitment of the initiative to an environmentally friendly rushhour traffic, launched in 1991, by the works council of the semiconductor company.
Even in 1990, the works council of the company, located in the Freiburg industrial area North, and at that time known under the company name Intermetall, considered what company offers could encourage the personnel to use environmentally friendly means of transport instead of their own car. Based on a staff opinion survey an extensive corporate environmental traffic program was developed, which was joined, gradually, by further companies and local authorities in Freiburg.
"We are particularly glad that the start of this very successful initiative came from our company", emphasised Nikolaus Kaeppeler. "Environmental protection has always played an important role for us." Walter Baireuther, member of the works council, adds, "Right from the beginning the company actively supported our campaigns in material as well as non-material ways. Only the joint commitment of the management and the works council has made the success of our traffic program possible."
Today, the ´big sellers´ within the Micronas traffic program are the pre-financed ´Regio ticket´ and the timetables of the association of transport companies. The pre-financing concept allows employees to purchase an ´annual Regio ticket´ with monthly installments. The advantage of this measure has three positive effects: Firstly, the annual ticket only costs as much as ten monthly tickets, i.e. two months are free of charge; secondly, there is no hurdle with having to pay the 360 € immediately for the annual ticket. And thirdly, in addition to that, Micronas provides another 51 € as a bonus!
The timetables of the association of transport companies invalidate the (formerly often heard) pretext that it would not be possible to reach one's workplace in the Industrial Area North within a justifiable time without using a car. Three times per year the Micronas works council compiles the fastest traffic links for 30 different directions of travel. For this purpose, all means of transport are considered, i.e. train, SBG (SüdbadenBus GmbH), VAG (Freiburger Verkehrs-AG) and private companies. Other measures, such as sharing a car to work, covered bicycle parking areas and shuttle busses complete the Micronas traffic program.
"Despite the relatively poor connection of the Industrial Area North we were able to persuade a large number of our personnel to change since the start of our initiative", Walter Baireuther happily remarks. "Today more than 300 use the public short-distance traffic service, more than 150 use the bicycle and more than 100 employees share their car to work - altogether, almost half of the 1250 employees come to work without cars."
From the Breisgau suburban train, which will have a stop at Tullastrasse in a few years, Baireuther hopes for a further push for the public short-distance traffic service: "With that a long cherished wish will come true!"