Debbie van der Poel on behalf of the BMW Group with the Alphabet Carbon Tracker
We spoke in depth with Debbie van der Poel, HR Manager Center of Competence BMW Group. She has been closely involved in the development of the Carbon Tracker, a so-called “white label version” of Fynch.
Tell us something about yourself? About your role at BMW Group Netherlands and what you think is important?
In the 20 years I have been working in the HR field in different branches (Sales, Education, Automotive, Technical Wholesale), I have seen beautiful developments. Such as the growth of the HR business partnership in which more and more the organizational strategy became leading in the HRM policy. For several years, in addition to diversity, sustainability has been gaining prominence in the daily HR work field. If we can reduce our ecological footprint as employers and employees, we will get so much in return. I like to think about this and turn these ideas into concrete plans.
How does BMW Group view sustainability?
Sustainability is firmly embedded in BMW Group’s strategy. The goal is a comprehensive approach on three fronts for the entire value chain: ecological, social, economic, and with a focus on recycling. Our models and our production demonstrate how BMW Group recognizes and recognizes its responsibility. With the use of renewable raw materials and natural fibers, recycled plastics, vegan alternatives to leather, and recycled textiles, BMW Group aims to sharpen the general awareness of sustainable materials and be transparent about the circular route to a sustainable future.
How did you find Fynch Mobility?
Alphabet (part of BMW Group) has introduced the Alphabet Carbon Tracker in cooperation with Fynch. BMW Group Netherlands naturally uses this product to record company mobility and make travel behavior more sustainable and we are extremely proud of this!
The app has three pillars:
- (Automatic) Trip registration for the upcoming CO2 requirement
- Easy and automatic reading of travel and work-from-home declarations
- Behavioral change program leading to more sustainable travel
Which of these pillars is most important to BMW Group and why?
In order to shape behavior change to sustainable travel, it is important to first give employees insight into their travel behavior. The Alphabet Carbon Tracker App is an excellent tool to record travel behavior and raise awareness for sustainable travel. We also deployed the app to visualize work-from-home days with the possibility of declaring the work-from-home reimbursement. Trip registration and declaration of business and commuting trips is also done entirely through the app. Our ambition is to translate sustainable travel even more concretely into our mobility policy in the coming years.
When desired, the app automatically records all your travel movements. These trips remain on the employee’s phone and are not shared. When the employee declares they share the number of kilometers traveled, private movements cannot be seen by us or the employer. Yet most of the questions we get from potential users are privacy-related. What would you say to these people?
At BMW Group privacy and compliance have a very high priority. A large number of specialized departments within BMW Group were part of our implementation team. We went live with full confidence and in compliance with all laws and regulations and are extremely satisfied with the first period. This allows us to answer questions from our employees about privacy in full transparency.
What changes do you expect within the organization thanks to the application of the app?
More sustainable travel is becoming an increasingly prominent topic. Carpooling because it brings a nice conversation and you share a means of transport as well as taking the bike more often because it is often faster, but also contributes to vitality and reduction of Co2 emissions!
What do you like most about using the app?
The app with automatic trip registration works incredibly well. The app is easy and quick to use for registering and declaring trips and work-from-home days. This makes it easy for employees to access and a convenient tool. The employer receives reliable data so that mobility reimbursements can be paid out and there is insight into the Co2 emissions of work-related mobility.
What are you still missing?
We are extremely satisfied with the many features the app offers us. Perhaps another idea is to develop a chat feature in the app so that employees can ask their questions even faster.
Finally, what question should we really have asked you but didn’t in this interview and what would be your answer to that question?
In what ways did communication and information about the app contribute to a successful implementation? A project cannot succeed without timely and complete information and communication in all layers of the organization. The use of HR communication, the exemplary behavior of our managers and the deployment of super users led to a very high number of app users immediately in the first month!