bike to work – 433 days on two wheels

bike to work is a health-promotion campaign for companies throughout Switzerland. Every year in May and June, over 70’000 commuters pedal for the daily commute to work. Certas is one of around 2’400 companies that made use of bike to work to boost the team spirit and fitness of their employees as well as underline their commitment to sustainable mobility. As the market leader, it is important to us that we do our bit to protect the environment and minimise our environmental footprint. Biking to work is not just better for health, it’s also one part of our mobility project that aims to protect the climate and environment.

This year, there were 16 participants from Certas, divided into four teams. All in all, our employees have saved 595 kg of CO2 and covered 4’134 km, an achievement of which they all can be extremely proud of.

Some of them took part for the first time, but it’s unlikely to be the last one. When asked about what has changed since the bike to work challenge, Marco Elmer says: “It’s resulted in a more conscious deliberation of when I can take the bike instead of the car”. Not so much has changed for Claudia Schmid, except: “Now I pretty much always take the bike, even if the weather isn’t playing along. Before, I would have allowed the tram to chauffeur me". Per person taking part, the number of kilometres covered each day actually varies greatly; the furthest is 70 km, the shortest around 6 km, although it’s not the distance that counts but the thought.

We also wanted to find out the motivation of the participants to take part in bike to work, especially because it was still compulsory to work from home in Switzerland when the challenge began. The “green mile team” primarily used the bikes to get from their homes to the train station, Javier Encina says: “I use my bike every day for the stretch from my home to the train station, so I think it’s a good idea to take part”; for Kim Zehntner, Claudia Schmid, Claudia Masur, Enrique Diez and Fabrizio Arman, the bikes are their daily companions on their way to work. Thomas Fankhauser used the challenge to prepare for his several-week cycle tour in the summer, while Sasa Ostojic saw it as an opportunity to do sport more regularly and to once again integrate movement into his everyday routine.

And all have experienced some magic moments, Thomas Fankhauser says: 

Sasa Ostojic has likewise experienced a few unforgettable moments: “There’s an unbelievable sense of achievement when you manage to conquer your first mountain pass”. Kim Zehntner especially enjoys the views from the rear-view mirror of his electric bike: “I always miss the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets because I’m heading in the wrong direction. Thanks to my mirror, I nevertheless manage to catch the occasional glimpse”. For Enrique Diez, one memory in particular stands out as special: “In the winter, I fell from my bike and landed on snow that was as soft as my bed”.

We offer our congratulations to all of the participants for their fantastic efforts, to the A-Team for a total of 1’431 kilometres cycled, and to Juliette Junod, who covered the most kilometres! As for next year, we hope to see many motivated Certas employees get on their saddles once again and take part in the bike to work challenge.