Case Study CentrePort

So how does Chief Executive Ken Harris cover that much ground?

He gets on his bike.

Ken uses a bike to catch up with the activity and staff around the port, and to attend meetings in downtown Wellington.

Cycling works at work

He sees many advantages of using a bike at work.

"Cycling suits me. It works at a human level. For example, it's easy to have the equivalent of a corridor meeting, say our vehicle import yard, or to make joke with the team loading a ship, if you are already out in the fresh air with them."

"Cycling is easy and enjoyable exercise, and it's consistently faster to get around city streets. Of course not paying for petrol and parking is a plus. There's no parking hassles and Wellington's drivers are very courteous," he said.

Postive reactions

Ken said he's not out to prove anything when he turns up at a meeting on his bike.

"I am a very mainstream and not trying for a reaction, so usually the bike is not noticed. When noticed however, the reaction is always positive. Although cycling in bad weather can seem a bit crazy!"

Ken started cycling six years ago after borrowing his sister-in-law's bike. He was soon convinced of the benefits, and when he was appointed to CentrePort in 1998, he persuaded the board that buying him a bike was a better investment than a car.

"The only company vehicle I have is a bike. That investment has been a good one both for me and CentrePort."

Avoiding car trips

Although he has never calculated the savings, Ken estimates more than a thousand car trips have been avoided, saving thousands of dollars of parking fees over the past five years.

According to the AA, a three year-old two-litre car costs $9610 per year to run.

That adds up to a positive result for all three aspects of CentrePort's Triple Bottom Line report: financial, social and environmental.

Updated | 23 Mar 2007.

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