Reduce Environmental Impacts

In the United States, 73 percent of all commute trips are made by people driving alone. With so many drivers on the road, motor vehicles now account for about 50 percent of the nation's total air pollution. No city or town is immune—increased traffic congestion is causing smog and pollution across the country, from major cities to small rural towns.

Cars burn a significant amount of gasoline, which produces a number of harmful air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates. In addition, sunlight reacts with some of these pollutants to form ground-level ozone (smog), which leads to respiratory and other health problems for nearly one-third of the U.S. population. Driving alone also contributes heavily to global warming pollution (CO2), which scientists believe cause dramatic changes in the global climate. In addition, increased use of gasoline puts a strain on our country's depleting energy resources and increases our dependence on foreign sources of oil.

Offering commuter benefits demonstrates to your employees and the community that your organization is an environmental leader and is committed to a more sustainable future. For example, an organization with 1,000 employees that meets the National Standard of Excellence can take credit for removing 175 cars from the road, saving nearly 44,000 gallons of gasoline, and reducing global warming pollution (CO2) by 460 tons every year.