June 18, 2013

Over 15% of Schneider staff gets to work by bicycle
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*One year ago the writing instrument manufacturer Schneider in Schramberg,
Germany launched an electric bicycle scheme. The company bought 18 electric
bicycles for the employees to use in place of cars to get to work. Now, the
company has more than doubled the investment and numbers 46 active cyclers on
its staff.*

 Schneider’s parking lots were getting increasingly crowded in the Black
Forest valley where the company is located because of the creation of new jobs.
However, CEO Roland Schneider didn’t want to expand the existing parking
space. Many years ago, he remarked that "our nature is too beautiful to fill it
up with parking lots" and as a consequence he arranged a free company bus which
runs during regular working hours. 

As of last year, the employees have another option for getting to work without a
car: Roland Schneider himself is an enthusiastic electric bicycle rider,
therefore he has launched an electric bicycle scheme for his employees which
means that they can sign up for the scheme and get a free electric bicycle (also
known as e-bike). A rental fee is not required; however, every leaser is
obligated to go to work by e-bike at least 80 times a year. The employees may
also use their electric bikes in their free time outside of work, which brings
real joy in the mountainous Black Forest. Last year first 18, then 23 employees
signed up for the scheme. The enthusiasm was great and quickly spread within the
company. 

This year Schneider already has 46 workers participating in the scheme. Even
couch potatoes were infected with the e-bike fever and enjoy getting to work by
bicycle. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Baden-Württemberg, in
cooperation with the German Association of Environmental Management (BAUM),
awarded the scheme second place in the competition called "cyclist friendly
employers in the region of Baden-Württemberg 2012" during a ceremony in
Mannheim on October 26, 2012. 

More than 50.000 km will be covered by bicycle instead of by car, which is far
more than the company originally expected. The long-term environmental
objective, as noted in Schneider’s current environmental statement, was to
avoid at least 30,000 kilometers by car. The objectives are regularly examined
by an independent environmental expert. Thanks to the bicycle rental program,
Schneider employees are actively involved in the implementation of reducing
Schneider’s carbon footprint. Besides, it is not only good for the
environment, but also contributes to the health of its workers. 

Since 1998, Schneider has operated under a professional environmental policy
adhering to the world's strictest environmental management system (EMAS). An
audit takes place every three years by an independent and accredited
environmental auditor and all environmental impacts are published in an
environmental statement. It is accessible to anybody on:Environmental Statement
[http://www.schneiderpen.de/en/we_care/environmental_statement.html]


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[458 words, 2916 characters (including blank spaces) by Martina Schneider]

Schneider Schreibgeräte GmbH • 78144 Schramberg • Germany