For businesses and other organisations, developing a walk-if-you-can culture can help:

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1 Walking Walking is by far the most sustainable way for us to get around our planet. It's free, enjoyable and can be part of an active, healthy lifestyle. In this guide, read about the benefits of encouraging walking and how you can promote walking among your staff and visitors. Why encourage Walking? With 34%* of car journeys in Scotland being less than 2 miles in length, there are huge potential benefits in promoting walking as an alternative means of transport. Also, people who walk or cycle to work are more likely to be more active throughout the day, with benefits for productivity, reduced sick leave and levels of job stress. The benefits to business of walking For businesses and other organisations, developing a walk-if-you-can culture can help: lower organisational and commuter transport costs reduce the need for expensive parking lots increase productivity through improved staff well-being demonstrate commitment to protecting the environment meet criteria for accreditation schemes such as the Healthy Working Lives Award Improving access to your premises for walkers can also help enlarge the pool of available labour and could get more customers through your doors. *33.9% of journeys by car in the survey are under 2 miles, 26.2% of journeys to work by car are under 2 miles. Source: National Travel Survey The health and environmental benefits of walking If more people walk, we can: ease congestion reduce noise pollution cut exhaust emissions improve our health Walking is also a great way to relax, giving us more time to enjoy our urban spaces and improving our work-life balance. Walking is free, doesn't need any special equipment and there are fewer barriers to starting out compared to other forms of transport.

2 Walking and your Travel Plan Tailored to the specific needs of your organisation, staff, clients and visitors, Travel Plans are integrated packages of measures that you design to promote more sustainable transport choices for your staff, visitors and suppliers. Formalising a Travel Plan for your organisation will help you get the maximum benefit from encouraging alternative ways to travel. Most measures that encourage walking among staff are inexpensive, easily implemented, and many have ancillary benefits for health and productivity, as well as the environment. Easy ways to encourage Walking Many people only need a little nudge to get them to put one foot in front of another. Ready-made advice on promoting walking at work Visit the Paths to Health website» Raise awareness of the benefits of walking A brisk, mile-long walk burns the same number of calories as running over the same distance. There is no need to change clothing or footwear, or to take a shower afterwards. Provide maps of walking routes with journey times Produce a map showing safer walking routes, indicating distances (and times) to the most common destinations near your workplace. Include handy details like shops, places of interest and local amenities as well as nearby bus stops and railway stations. People may be surprised to find out how far they can get on foot in ten minutes. Mark on places of interest, more scenic and quieter routes and lunchtime eateries as well as transport links for greatest effect. Identifying safe walking routes of 15, 30 or 45 minutes starting from your office will encourage lunchtime exercise. Producing a map may also be a good way to highlight to staff how accessible some business destinations are on foot. Keep some umbrellas by the door Keeping some umbrellas handy will encourage fair-weather walkers not to be put off by a bit of rain. Add a company logo and get some free advertising into the bargain. Directions to your office for visitors Make sure that directions start with how to get to your office on foot. Give journey times as well as distance - a 20 minute walk makes more sense than a distance of one mile to someone who is not used to walking.

3 Directions to events you are organising If you are planning an event, make sure you give directions for participants to get there without a car. This could involve walking and cycling directions from a train station showing times in minutes. Perhaps you could choose a venue that is conducive to travelling by public transport, walking or cycling, rather than one which is best suited to car drivers. Maintain good walking routes Difficult and poorly marked walking routes can be a major disincentive to walking. A number of measures can be implemented to help ensure walking routes both on and off-site meet the needs of the people who use them. You may need to work with your local council to get some of these measures in place. Footpaths Footpaths to and on your site should be direct, well-lit and well-maintained. This includes footpath links to and from bus stops and railway stations. Badly parked vehicles Parking on pavements and at dropped kerbs should be prevented and standard parking rules enforced effectively. Signposting Signs for pedestrians should be clear. Routes should avoid the need to cross busy main roads or congested areas of your site. Improving walking routes Talk to your local planning authority about improving the routes that your staff use, and to the local authority access officer. Local police safety officers and your own staff could also provide ideas as to how pedestrian routes to your site could be improved. Awareness raising steps that promote Walking Raising awareness of walking can go a long way to creating a culture of walking in the workplace. Highlight the health benefits Raise awareness of the health benefits of walking for all or part of the journey to work through promotional material. Paths to Health provide information packs on how to promote walking within the workplace, including the health benefits. Visit the Paths to Health website»

4 Walk-in days Designated walk-in days can help to raise awareness, stimulate discussion and get more people walking. Ask your staff about walking Canvassing staff as to what would encourage them to walk and what barriers they face can also prompt debate and conversation about walking, as well as being a valuable source of ideas. Facilities & provisions for walkers Facilities for walkers can also encourage people to cycle and use public transport more and make your site a more attractive place to work for all staff. Cloakrooms Consider the provision of cloakroom facilities with storage lockers and places to hang clothes up to dry and to dry hair. Pedometers Issuing pedometers to staff can help them see how much extra walking they are doing as they switch from other methods of travel. Personal alarms For staff who may have concerns with issues of personal security, consider making personal alarms available. Convenient on-site facilities On larger sites, consider bringing facilities (such as a hairdresser or dry-cleaners) on-site to reduce the need for people to drive into town at lunchtime. Car park management & flexible working arrangements Limiting how easy it is to bring a car to work and allowing greater flexibility over arrival and finish times are effective ways to encourage staff to walk. Flexible working arrangements Flexi-time could encourage more people to walk to work, particularly if staff have time constraints at either end of their working day, such as getting children ready for school or childcare, or accompanying them on the walk to school. Introducing flexi-time can enable staff to plan their day more effectively, making positive impact on their life both at home and at work.

5 Car parking management Introduce disincentives for driving to work. This could include providing parking spaces on only some days of the week - or not at all - to people who live within a certain distance of your site, and who have the opportunity to walk, or use other more sustainable forms of transport.