Cycle to Work · Scope 3 Calculator

Model the carbon impact of cycling at your company.

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.

Your organisation

Total employees

250people

Cycling uptake

15%

Avg one-way distance

5miles

Cycle days per week

3per week

Mode displaced

Petrol car

Diesel car

Bus

Rail

Underground

Tram

Annual organisation saving

12.8

tonnes CO₂e per year

Through DASH adoption, 38 cycling employees switching from petrol-car commutes would cut 12.8 tonnes of CO₂e from your annual Scope 3 emissions.

38cycling employees

86,210 kmcycled per year

612

Mature trees absorbing CO₂ for a year

UK homes' annual electricity

6.3

Average petrol cars off the road for a year

2.6

Return flights London → Sydney

Scope 3 reporting summary

Modelled impact summary for sustainability planning

Estimated shift through DASH adoption: Across a workforce of 250 employees, an assumed 15% cycling uptake (38 cycling employees) commuting an average of 5 miles one-way 3 days per week is projected to avoid 12.8 tonnes CO₂e per year by displacing petrol-car commuting. Modelled using the methodology of GHG Protocol Scope 3, Category 7 — Employee Commuting, with DESNZ 2024 well-to-wheel conversion factors and the European Cyclists' Federation cycling lifecycle figure (21 g CO₂e/km).

Useful for internal sustainability planning, business cases, and supporting narrative. Figures are projections, not a substitute for primary employee commuting data in formal regulatory disclosures.

Turn this projection into a real Scope 3 reduction.

DASH operates the Cycle to Work scheme for HR and sustainability teams — with reporting baked in.

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Methodology & references

Reporting framework. Results align with GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, Category 7 — Employee Commuting (WRI & WBCSD, 2011), and supporting GHG Protocol Scope 3 Calculation Guidance (WRI, 2013). Useful for internal sustainability planning, business cases, and supporting narrative. Figures are projections, not a substitute for primary employee commuting data in formal regulatory disclosures.
Transport emissions factors from the UK Government Greenhouse Gas Reporting Conversion Factors (DESNZ, 2024) on a well-to-wheel basis: petrol car 170g, diesel car 165g, bus 100g, rail 35g, Underground 28g, tram/light rail 35g per passenger-km.
Cycling lifecycle emissions at 21g CO₂e/km — covering bicycle manufacturing amortised over the bike's lifetime and additional food calories burned — per the European Cyclists' Federation (ECF, 2011 — "Cycle More Often 2 Cool Down the Planet"). Supporting guidance: Carbon Trust SME footprint methodology.
Cycling uptake is a user input. For context, scheme participation typically ranges from 5–25% in employers with active Cycle to Work provision (Cycle to Work Alliance / Cyclescheme participation reports). Working weeks assumed at 47 per year (5 weeks off).
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.
UK household electricity based on Ofgem typical domestic consumption values (Ofgem, 2024) at the DESNZ 2024 grid intensity (~0.207 kg CO₂e/kWh), giving approximately 1.6 kg per day / 584 kg per year per household.
"Cars off the road" based on an average UK car driven 7,400 miles per year (DfT National Travel Survey) at the petrol car factor (170 g CO₂e/km) — ~2,025 kg CO₂e per car per year. Tree equivalent assumes a mature tree absorbs approximately 21 kg CO₂ per year (consensus range 20–25 kg).
Calculation. Cycling employees = headcount × uptake %. Annual round-trip distance per cycling employee = miles × 1.609 × 2 × days-per-week × 47 weeks. Total avoided emissions = annual km × (mode factor − cycling factor) / 1000, expressed in tonnes CO₂e.

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