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Cycle to Work Carbon Calculator

Cut your commute's carbon.

See how much CO₂ you'd save by switching your daily commute to a bike and what that saving means in real-world terms. Small changes can make a big difference!

DASH's cycle to work carbon calculator estimates that switching a typical 5-mile petrol-car commute to cycling saves around 530 to 560 kg CO₂e a year, based on UK Government (DESNZ 2024) emission factors.

Your commute
5miles
5per week
Annual saving
537
kg CO₂e per year

Switching a 5-mile petrol-car commute to cycling cuts 537 kg of CO₂e from your annual emissions.

2.28 kgper cycling day
3,781 kmcycled per year
26
Mature trees absorbing CO₂ for a year
3.8
Return flights London → Dublin
336
Days of average UK household electricity
1.6
Laptops
Turn your commute into a measurable Scope 3 reduction.
DASH makes Cycle to Work effortless for HR teams and employees.
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Methodology

  • Transport emissions factors from UK Government Greenhouse Gas Reporting Conversion Factors (DESNZ, 2024) on a well-to-wheel basis: petrol car 163g, diesel car 173g, bus 100g, rail 35g, Underground 28g, tram and light rail 35g per passenger-km.
  • Cycling at 21g CO₂e/km including bike manufacturing amortised over the bike's lifetime and additional food calories burned, per the European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) lifecycle analysis.
  • Flight equivalents use DESNZ 2024 passenger flight factors — domestic 0.244, short-haul 0.155, long-haul 0.146 kg CO₂e per passenger-km — applied to London Heathrow great-circle distances. Excludes radiative forcing uplift.
  • Everyday item equivalents use published lifecycle estimates: hamburger 3 kg (Our World in Data), T-shirt 6 kg (Carbon Trust), pair of jeans 33 kg (Levi Strauss lifecycle study), smartphone 70 kg and laptop 330 kg (manufacturer environmental reports), new car manufacturing 6,000 kg (ICCT).
  • Tree equivalent based on a mature tree absorbing approximately 21 kg of CO₂ per year (UN/forestry consensus range 20–25 kg).
  • UK household electricity based on Ofgem 2024 typical domestic consumption (~7.4 kWh per day) at the DESNZ 2024 grid intensity (~0.21 kg CO₂e/kWh) = approximately 1.6 kg per day.
  • Distance converted at 1.609 km per mile, multiplied by 2 for round-trip and by your number of cycle commutes per year (times per week × 47 working weeks). The displayed equivalent automatically selects the most relatable item from each database based on the user's annual saving.

Methodology last reviewed June 2026.

Emission factors by transport mode

The carbon intensity of each commute option DASH compares, in grams of CO₂e per passenger-kilometre. Cycling is low but not zero once the bike's manufacture and a rider's extra food energy are counted.

Transport mode CO₂e per passenger-km Source
Diesel car173 gDESNZ 2024
Petrol car163 gDESNZ 2024
Bus100 gDESNZ 2024
Rail (national)35 gDESNZ 2024
Tram / light rail35 gDESNZ 2024
Underground28 gDESNZ 2024
E-bike22 gECF lifecycle
Cycling21 gECF lifecycle
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Frequently asked questions

How much CO₂ does cycling to work save?

A typical 5-mile petrol-car commute cycled five days a week saves around 530 to 560 kg CO₂e a year, based on UK Government (DESNZ 2024) emission factors. The exact saving depends on your distance, how often you ride and the transport you replace, so a longer or higher-emitting commute saves more. DASH's calculator works out your personal figure and translates it into real-world equivalents such as trees, flights and household electricity.

Is cycling actually zero carbon?

No, but it is close. DASH counts cycling at 21g CO₂e per kilometre rather than zero. This figure, from the European Cyclists' Federation lifecycle analysis, includes the emissions from manufacturing the bike, spread across its lifetime, plus the extra food energy a rider burns compared with sitting in a car. It is roughly a tenth of a petrol car's per-kilometre emissions, which is where the saving comes from.

How is the saving calculated?

The calculator converts your one-way distance to kilometres (1.609 km per mile), doubles it for the round trip, then multiplies by your commutes per year (times per week by 47 working weeks). It applies the DESNZ 2024 emission factor for your current transport, subtracts cycling at 21g per kilometre, and reports the annual difference as kg CO₂e. The full set of factors and sources is listed in the methodology above.

Does Cycle to Work reduce a company's Scope 3 emissions?

Yes. Employee commuting falls under Scope 3 Category 7 of the GHG Protocol. When staff swap car journeys for cycling through a Cycle to Work scheme, the reduction is measurable and attributable to the employer through scheme records. DASH's company carbon calculator models this across a whole workforce, giving HR and sustainability teams a figure they can use in ESG and Scope 3 commuting disclosures.