We’ve joined the world’s largest sustainability initiative
1 year ago
1 year ago
We want to use our business as a force for good, and we’ve been working hard to ensure that the wheels for positive change keep turning. From day one, we’ve had a mission to build a more sustainable world where cities are free from pollution and designed for people, not petrol. To get there, we’ve continuously implemented environmental and socially sustainable practices throughout our international operations.
With that in mind, we’re now proud to say that we’ve been accepted as part of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) – the world’s largest sustainability initiative for public and private sector organizations, across more than 170 countries. The UNGC is a worldwide strategy to accelerate and scale the collective impact of business through accountable companies and change-enabling ecosystems.
We applied and were accepted into the UNGC in March 2022. Our application was based on our existing sustainability framework, our history of decisive actions to meet sustainable development goals, and our commitment to uphold the Compact and its Ten Principles covering human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. We’ve also vowed to deliver annual communication around our progress toward sustainability goals.
In every city we operate, we take care to create a virtuous cycle of micromobility, making us a natural fit for the UNGC. Here’s how we’ve kept people and the planet at the heart of our business, and how we’re contributing to global sustainability.
We know that the people behind our e-scooters and e-bikes are just as important as the people on them. That’s why we’ve always rejected the gig economy in favor of in-house employment, complete with high-quality training and development pathways.
Our fully subsidized ‘Ride Your Future’ program offers entry-level warehouse and ground teams a seven-week training course to advance their technical and soft skills. Participation is voluntary, and sessions take place during working hours, with employees receiving their full usual pay.
We’ve created an average of 35 jobs with long-term contracts in every city that we’re located in too. Our employees have access to social support like health insurance for them and their families, free and subsidized transport, visa sponsorship, meal vouchers, and more. They also have sophisticated equipment—such as the f90 fireproof charging cabinets—which enables them to carry out their work efficiently and safely. Our dedication to our people is, in part, why there’s been no employee turnover in our Paris warehouse since August 2020.
This high employee retention has had a positive effect on Dott vehicles and cities. Our engaged and motivated teams conduct regular, in-depth maintenance, and they are conscious to manage the public domain in a respectful, responsible manner.
At the same time, we work closely with disability advocacy groups like UK based Transport for All to keep our operational codes of conduct accommodating the needs of everyone.
We’re striving for our operations centers to use 100% renewable energy, and for our logistics vehicles like cargo bikes to be fully electric.
For us, sustainability starts on two wheels. Our first generation e-scooters are still in use after three years on the road because of the high maintenance standards we keep to – and we plan to keep those same scooters in our cities until at least 2023. We’re also hoping to exceed the five-year expected lifespan of our latest scooter model with thorough checks and recycled repairs.
Elsewhere, we’ve implemented micromobility’s first circularity project with end-of-life batteries. Collaborating with battery experts Gouach, our fleets are fitted with batteries that have different components and cells can be reused over and over again. The result? Less waste, contamination, and energy consumption.
In the bigger picture, we don’t just strive to be carbon neutral. We’ve already offset our emissions since Dott first hit the streets, but we believe that offsetting alone doesn’t go far enough to be wholly sustainable. We’re striving for our operations centers to use 100% renewable energy, and for our logistics vehicles like cargo bikes to be fully electric. These steps have reduced our carbon footprint by 65% between 2019 and 2020 – plus a further 40% drop for every kilometer ridden in 2021.
And we keep ourselves accountable to our sustainable goals. Our reduction targets are registered with the Science Based Targets initiative, in line with the Business Ambition for 1.5 C, meaning we have to lower certain emissions by 50% by 2030 – something we’re confident that we can achieve.
We’re a responsible city partner. We make it a priority to invest in social programs and community services that shape cities for everyone, and for the future.
Being sustainable isn’t just the right thing to do for our planet, it also creates an economically viable service that allows us to back local efforts, bring more people into sustainability projects, and build meaningful social impact programs. We know that ultimately, sustainability and inclusion go hand-in-hand.
We work for and with the people who call our cities home. We’re regularly expanding our offering to include more form factors like e-bikes, wheelchair accessible scooters, and cargo bikes. On top of that, we ensure that our fleet availability mirrors that of public transport, so people have multiple sustainable ways to get around. Our fares average €2 and we place an emphasis on connecting suburbs and underserved areas, giving the most people possible access to affordable, sustainable transport.
Elsewhere, our Helping to Help umbrella program supports our employees around volunteer and donation opportunities with on-the-ground organizations like NGOs, schools and local governments. These locally focused initiatives make communities safer, more equitable and more resilient. In France, we gave job-seekers free e-scooter rides to interviews. In the UK, we offered discounts to essential workers, people with disabilities, and students. And during the fuel shortage, we launched unlimited free trips on e-scooter for Londoners.
We’ve been on the path to sustainability for a while now, and we’re proud to join the UNGC and others undertaking the journey. As a member of the UNGC, we hope to collectively lay the foundations for others to follow in sustainable footsteps, reporting our progress and communicating results to the United Nations as we go.
It’s time for business to be a force for good, for good.
