Pledge Utrecht-East seventeen organizations sign for a sustainably accessible Utrecht-East

Utrecht-Oost is growing. More and more organizations and companies are settling in the area. And traffic is growing along with it, of course. To deal with this as well as possible, many organizations are now working together.

This cooperation began in the corona era. “Then we saw that mobility worked better because not everyone traveled at the same time,” says Robert Strijk, deputy of the province of Utrecht. “We want to keep those benefits. With good agreements, we gain mobility.”

Real cooperation and courage

According to Anton Pijpers, board chairman of Utrecht University, that cooperation is crucial for Utrecht-East. “With each on their own we won’t get there. Then we would all just go back to driving at 8. By coordinating, we can spread and reduce the traffic pressure. Everyone sees the benefit of that.”

Yet this also requires courage, stresses Utrecht Alderman for Mobility Lot van Hooijdonk. “Especially for employers, this is an exciting topic. Employees would prefer as much freedom as possible. And with a subject like paid parking, you don’t always win the popularity pr

Toch is daar ook moed voor nodig, benadrukt de Utrechtse wethouder Mobiliteit Lot van Hooijdonk. “Met name voor werkgevers is dit een spannend onderwerp. Medewerkers willen het liefst zo veel mogelijk vrijheid. En met een onderwerp als betaald parkeren win je niet altijd de populariteitsprijs.”

Smart and playful way

The pledge still gives the organizations a lot of freedom to decide for themselves how to approach sustainable mobility. After all, they all have their own characteristics. A hospital is not an accounting firm. And transport around Utrecht University is of course different from transport around insurance company a.s.r.

Take the example of UMC Utrecht. They recently signed the Green Deal Sustainable Care, which includes agreements on reducing CO2 emissions. “With a bicycle plan, for example, we encourage people to leave their cars at home a little more often. But on a voluntary basis,” explains Josefien Kursten, member of the Executive Board. “In a hospital this is also necessary. When your night shift starts at 11 o’clock in the evening, public transportation can be a bump in the road. That’s why we are looking for customization. And together with other organizations in Utrecht Science Park, we are looking for innovative ways to promote sustainability. For example, shared scooters or electric bicycles. By doing it in a playful way, you also make it more fun for people.”

Tineke Zweed, member of the Board of Governors of Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, adds: “we have developed several sustainable initiatives in recent years, such as a more flexible annual schedule for education, which creates staggered travel movements. And we continue to encourage students and staff to come by bike. For example, our bicycle scheme can also be used to purchase e-bikes, allowing greater distances to be traveled by bicycle. Together with other USP partners, we are also currently investigating how we can further encourage public transport use for employees.”

“Turning our ambitions into clear choices”

Marco Meetz of insurance company a.s.r., one of the signatories, explains that they are already doing a lot to make their mobility more sustainable. For example, a.s.r. offers employees a public transport card, they have a bicycle plan and the office has an extensive bicycle basement with showers. “With good facilities, we entice people to take the bike or ov,” he says. “In addition, our parking policy stipulates that people who live within 12 kilometers of the office cannot park with us. You also have to dare to make hard choices.”

Signatory PwC also has far-reaching ambitions. So says Richard Kraan, partner and regional leader within the firm. “We have been on the road for a long time to be fully circular by 2030. So this pledge fits perfectly with that,” says Kraan. “The good thing about the pledge is that we are aligning all these different dynamics in Utrecht-East. Governments, healthcare institutions, companies: they all have their own dynamics. Through this cooperation we learn a lot from each other. And the fact that we have now arrived at this ambition is something I really like.”