The hallways of GreenCupboards are often decorated with employee's bikes.
If you haven’t heard yet, May is National Bike Month and this week marks National Bike to Work Week. For this reason, we think it is important to shine light on the importance of commuting in a culture where only .06% of Americans bike to work.
So, why bike to work? Among the many reasons, three stand out to us. First, the health benefit that can be attained from biking to work is undeniable. A 10 mile commute leads to 50 miles a week. With a standard work schedule those 50 miles equate to 2,500 miles each year. Furthermore, people sit for most of the day at their job. Sure, there are meetings to walk to and errands to run but studies show that most Americans sit for an average of 8 hours per day. By commuting to work, the body is given the ability to do what it does best, move! And this movement allows calories to be burnt, stamina to be built and coordination to be improved.
Secondly, commuting to work saves money. A study entitled, “How Bikes Can Save Us” reports that 20% of the average family’s budget goes directly to transportation (i.e. gas or car maintenance). By commuting to work, money is being saved on the ever-rising cost on gas. Additional money can be saved in the amount of medical treatment avoided. The aforesaid study states that the average American that cycles for 30 minutes each day saves $544 on medical costs every year.
And finally, by commuting to work you are positively contributing to something much bigger than yourself, the environment. Although it may seem like a menial reduction, through commuting to work Americans will be rewarded with healthier air and a cleaner, more sustainable environment.
So the question remains, why do we at GreenCupboards care about biking to work? The answer is simple. We take our commitment to positively impacting the environment seriously. For example, we have reduced our carbon footprint by offering carbon neutral shipping on all of our products. Commuting to work acts as one more way that each GreenCupboards employee can personally contribute to the environment as well as the company’s mission.
