Sustainability in the workplace

Mobility management

The LLB Group is committed to actively managing the environmental impact of the business and commuter traffic caused by its employees. According to the Government’s 2019 transport infrastructure report, road traffic increased by 5 per cent between 2009 and 2017. To keep the increase in road traffic as low as possible, we encourage our staff to use public transport and to not drive to work, but to form car pools or switch to more environmentally friendly alternatives.

In 2013, LLB’s Mobility Commission added new elements to its comprehensive mobility management, which was introduced in 1996 and overhauled in 2010. It considerably increased not only the costs for parking spaces but also the rewards to those employees who switch from using private motorised transport to more environmentally friendly means of transport. The fee system for employee parking spaces comprises four rates. LLB makes graduated payments to employees who forego a parking space.

These measures are having an effect: out of all LLB employees in Liechtenstein, some 277 (2017: 248) now come to work by bus, bike or on foot. Going forward, it will be a challenge to improve on this number since the route to work for many of our employees has, on average, become longer.

Promoting the use of public transport

LLB subsidises 50 per cent of the cost of an annual travel pass with LIECHTENSTEINmobil (LIEmobil), the Liechtenstein bus company, as an incentive to use public transport. Employees commuting to their workplace from outside the area served by LIEmobil buses receive an allowance for using regional public transport. There are a total of six vehicles and two trailers available for work-related trips, errands and building maintenance.

Promoting the use of non-motorised transport

More than half of the distances travelled by car in Liechtenstein are shorter than five kilometres, as are the distances between the individual LLB buildings in Vaduz. Our employees have had the possibility to use company bicycles since 1996; we now have 45 such bicycles.

LLB employees have been taking part in the competition run by the Verkehrs-Club Liechtenstein (VCL) “Radfahren für Ihre Gesundheit” (Cycling for your health) and the one by the Liechtenstein Chamber of Commerce and Industry “Mit dem Rad zur Arbeit” (Cycling to work) for years. We make a contribution of CHF 50 towards the cost of buying a bicycle helmet. Since 2016, this rule has also applied to ski and motorcycle helmets and runs under the motto “Kluge Köpfe schützen sich” (Clever heads protect themselves).

We want to make it as easy as possible for our staff to make the switch to using bicycles for transportation. This is the reason why we have installed showers and changing facilities right next to the bicycle room and offer towel services.

Reducing business kilometres travelled with video technology

Since ecology and the economy are inseparably linked, our aim of promoting energy efficiency also applies to the number of kilometres travelled on business trips. We were able to reduce this number further as a result of having installed over 29 video-conferencing systems Group-wide since 2015. We use state-of-the-art, high-end video technology with the best picture and sound quality so that decision-making processes and optimum knowledge transfer can be accelerated at executive and project team meetings. At the same time, this means travel cost savings and, hence, an improvement in the CO₂ footprint.

Drink tap water – donate drinking water

LLB joined “Drink & Donate” – a drinking water project. Since February 2017, hydration stations that use fresh tap water have been provided in all buildings in Liechtenstein. Laboratory tests attest to its excellent quality. LLB donates CHF 60 per employee per year to “Drink & Donate”, a Zurich-based non-profit organisation. We again donated a total of CHF 39'000 in 2018.

By consuming tap water instead of transporting branded bottled water over long distances, we want to reduce our CO₂ footprint, produce less waste, save energy and protect our environment. In this way, the more than 1'000 LLB employees in Liechtenstein and our clients make a sustainable contribution to supporting people in developing countries who do not have access to clean drinking water.