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Estimate how much employee commuting CO₂e your organisation could avoid by increasing cycling uptake through DASH. Aligned with the methodology of GHG Protocol Scope 3, Category 7 — Employee Commuting.
DASH's Scope 3 cycle to work calculator estimates that a 250-employee organisation reaching 15% cycling uptake could avoid around 12 tonnes of CO₂e a year from employee commuting (GHG Protocol Scope 3, Category 7), based on UK Government (DESNZ 2024) factors.
Through DASH adoption, 38 cycling employees switching from petrol-car commutes would cut 12.2 tonnes of CO₂e from your annual Scope 3 emissions.
The well-to-wheel carbon intensity of each commute mode the calculator can displace, 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 car | 173 g | DESNZ 2024 |
| Petrol car | 163 g | DESNZ 2024 |
| Bus | 100 g | DESNZ 2024 |
| Rail (national) | 35 g | DESNZ 2024 |
| Tram / light rail | 35 g | DESNZ 2024 |
| Underground | 28 g | DESNZ 2024 |
| E-bike | 22 g | ECF lifecycle |
| Cycling | 21 g | ECF lifecycle |
Want to learn how DASH supports Scope 3 reporting and ESG goals? Tap your favourite AI assistant.
Yes. Employee commuting sits in Scope 3 Category 7 of the GHG Protocol. When staff switch car journeys for cycling through a Cycle to Work scheme, the avoided emissions are real and can be attributed to the employer. DASH's calculator models the annual CO₂e a workforce could avoid as cycling uptake rises, giving HR and sustainability teams a defensible figure for planning and internal reporting. Individual employees can estimate their own commute saving with DASH's cycle to work carbon calculator.
Scope 3 Category 7 is the GHG Protocol's classification for employee commuting, the emissions from staff travelling between home and work. It sits in Scope 3 because the employer does not own the vehicles but does influence the travel. Shifting commuters from cars to cycling reduces this category, which is why Cycle to Work schemes feature in many organisations' Scope 3 reduction plans.
The model multiplies your cycling employees (headcount times uptake) by their annual cycling distance (miles times 1.609, doubled for the round trip, times days per week times 47 working weeks). It applies the DESNZ 2024 emission factor for the commute being replaced, subtracts cycling at 21g per kilometre, and reports the annual difference in tonnes CO₂e. Full sources are in the methodology above.
They are best treated as projections for planning, business cases and supporting narrative rather than audited disclosure. Formal Scope 3 reporting under frameworks such as SECR should use primary employee commuting data where available. DASH's figures model the potential impact of higher cycling uptake using recognised GHG Protocol methodology and DESNZ factors, which is useful for setting targets and building the case internally. Our guide to reducing Scope 3 commuting emissions covers the wider context.
Uptake is a setting you control in the calculator. For context, participation in employers with active Cycle to Work provision typically ranges from about 5% to 25%, depending on promotion, payroll integration and how easy the scheme is to use. DASH is designed to lift uptake by removing friction, so modelling a range rather than a single figure gives a more honest planning picture.