Reporting obligation work-bound person mobility (‘WPM’) postponed from 1 January 2024 to 1 July 2024

As from 1 July 2024 (and not 1 January 2024) large employers will be required to provide data on the commutes and business traffic of their employees. The purpose is to help employers make a conscious choice in favour of sustainable mobility and reduce CO2 emissions in traffic. This initiative arises from the Climate Agreement and has been detailed in the decree on ‘CO2 reduction work-bound person mobility’ (‘Decree’). What does this reporting obligation entail and what does it mean for employers?

Climate Agreement
One of the objectives of the Climate Agreement is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Employers can make a contribution, for instance by allowing employees to work from home or by letting them commute by public transportation, bicycle or electric car. That is where the reporting obligation comes in.

What is the reporting obligation?
The reporting obligation means that every year large employers must report on the total number of kilometres travelled by their employers for the organization. In other words: work-bound kilometres. The Dutch Enterprise Agency (‘RVO’) has developed a digital form that employers must fill out. The data to be gathered and registered include: commutes and business traffic, kilometres travelled, type of transportation and type of fuel. A distinction should be made between trips by car, motorcycle, moped/scooter, bicycle/on foot, and public transportation. Only trips starting and/or ending in the Netherlands should be considered. Employers need not report trips by air or by boat.

Based on the information provided the RVO’s digital platform automatically computes the CO2 emissions. After filing the form, employers will receive a report showing how they rank in making work-bound person mobility more sustainable. The report will also include practical tips on how to make commutes and business mobility (even more) sustainable.

In May 2023 the government issued a guideline (in Dutch) for employers, on how to prepare for the reporting obligation. The guideline contains practical tips and advice on gathering the required information.

Organisations with 100 or more employees
The reporting obligation applies to organisations (companies or legal entities) with 100 or more employees who offer their employees mobility provisions (like a financial allowance, public transportation tickets, bicycle, moped, car, motorcycle or other provisions for commuting or business mobility). Employers who do not make any mobility provisions available to their employees are not under a reporting obligation.

The reference date for determining the number of employees is 1 January of the year under reporting. It does not make a difference if the number of employees changes in the course of the year. To determine the total number of employees of an organisation, the employees at all locations listed under the same number with the Chamber of Commerce must be added up. ‘Employee’ is defined as ‘the individual who on 1 January of the year on which the employer reports, is required by employment contract or public-law appointment to perform at least twenty hours of paid work a month for a company or legal entity’. The term ‘employee’, does e.g. not cover secondees, temporary workers and volunteers.   

Effective date
The Council of Ministers recently decided that the Decree will not take effect on 1 January 2024, as announced earlier, but on 1 July 2024. Large employers are advised to get their records in order, as they must file the requested information for 2024 by 30 June 2025 at the latest. All organisations, including those with fewer than 100 employees, may already submit information on a voluntary basis.

Standard
In 2026 the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management will evaluate the CO2 reduction achieved in 2024 and 2025. If organisations are on track, the reporting obligation will not be extended. If not, it is possible that a legal standard will be introduced to enforce smarter and more sustainable travel.

This article is written with the assistance of our colleague, Emma Daramaja.