Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin is a bicycle-friendly employer
Am HZB können Mitarbeitende ihre Fahrräder regelmäßig auf Verkehrssicherheit überprüfen lassen. © HZB
Since 2017, the German Cyclists' Federation (ADFC) has been awarding the EU-wide "Bicycle-Friendly Employer" certification. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has now been awarded the coveted silver seal. With this, the HZB wants to be even more attractive as an employer, especially for international applicants.
Those who encourage employees to cycle benefit in several ways. Bicycle-friendly employers save resources, as bicycle parking is ultimately cheaper and requires less space than car parking spaces. Regular cycling improves health and increases motivation. Attractive cycling offers also count in the competition for skilled labour.
Sara Tsudome, Project Manager at the ADFC Association, says: "The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin supports employees who cycle to work with many different measures. This brings many advantages: The employer can score points in terms of company health, environmental and mobility management."
The certification also contributes to an important goal. HZB wants to become greenhouse gas neutral by 2035. Commuting to work causes high emissions, as the recently published greenhouse gas balance sheet of the HZB shows. Promoting cycling and improving the cycling infrastructure is therefore an important factor.
HZB was awarded the "Bicycle-Friendly Employer" certificate based on on-site inspections at the Berlin-Adlershof and Berlin-Wannsee sites and the documents submitted in advance. "The initial idea came from our Sustainability Officer, Dr Karin Haas. It took more than two years to receive the certificate," says Roswitha Schabardin, who was appointed as the bicycle coordinator. A large project team at HZB has initiated various measures in recent months (see below).
These endeavours by the HZB will continue in the coming years. "In three years' time, we will be re-certified by the ADFC. Perhaps we will then achieve gold status. But there's still some work to do. We received a number of recommendations in the audit report, including further roofing for the new bicycle racks," says Roswitha Schabardin.
Measures implemented at HZB (selection):
- regular bike checks in late summer / autumn
- new bicycle racks at the Adlershof site
- Bicycle repair stations
- Directions for cyclists to both campsites on the Internet
- Bike safety presentations followed by training rides
- new company bicycles at both locations
- Acquisition of cargo bikes at the Adlershof site
- regular participation of the HZB in STADTRADELN
- Test days for e-bikes
- regular health checks and health management
- Postdocs at HZB: Crucial for research, innovation and diversityAt HZB, 117 postdocs from 29 countries are employed. They play a crucial role in driving the main research activities, fostering creativity and innovation. To honor them, the Postdoc Appreciation Week was first organised in the USA in 2009 and has in the meantime become a regular event in Germany as well in the third week of September every year.
- Green hydrogen: MXenes shows talent as catalyst for oxygen evolutionThe MXene class of materials has many talents. An international team led by HZB chemist Michelle Browne has now demonstrated that MXenes, properly functionalised, are excellent catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in electrolytic water splitting. They are more stable and efficient than the best metal oxide catalysts currently available. The team is now extensively characterising these MXene catalysts for water splitting at the Berlin X-ray source BESSY II and Soleil Synchrotron in France.
- Green hydrogen: ‘Artificial leaf’ becomes better under pressureHydrogen can be produced via the electrolytic splitting of water. One option here is the use of photoelectrodes that convert sunlight into voltage for electrolysis in so called photoelectrochemical cells (PEC cells). A research team at HZB has now shown that the efficiency of PEC cells can be significantly increased under pressure.