Turning a traditional cycling race into an eco-friendly game for everyone

Challenge goal

Cycling initiatives first appeared at Jeppesen - now Boeing - back in 2012. For many years, we ran different cycling challenges, but there was always a problem with effectively counting rides and encouraging less sporty people to take part.

We wanted to promote an eco-friendly lifestyle because our employees really like these kinds of initiatives and often suggest organising workshops themselves, for example about plastic in the ocean or natural cleaning products.

We wanted to turn a traditional cycling race into an eco-friendly game for everyone. That is why we decided to collaborate with Activy, and that collaboration continues to this day.

We see many positive aspects of the initiative. Apart from the obvious ones, such as increased bike use - expanding the bike parking area and shower facilities - there are also less obvious benefits. Employees get together and arrange joint rides; we do not even need to encourage them. Thanks to the competition, we have additional integration in the company. - Marta Gołyszny, Data Analyst

2024 edition

This year's edition of the Boeing challenge turned out to be another success. As many as 452 active participants took part, covering an impressive 416,359.8 kilometres together.

Engagement in each of the 6 editions remained consistently very high, and 239 people can be proud of achieving a 30-day activity streak.

Following the example of previous editions, the company decided to introduce even greater variety in activities: in addition to cycling, there were other "on wheels" categories - including rollerblading - as well as "on foot" activities and workouts.

The challenge was also enriched with themed content about cycling and the Olympic Games, adding inspiration and motivation for participants.

The prize store should not be forgotten either, as it became a regular part of the challenge. Participants could win sports gadgets that encouraged them to take action even more.

2019 edition

Most employees already knew the app from the previous year's competition organised by Gdańsk - the "Cycle Kilometres for Gdańsk" campaign - so there were no problems installing the Activy app.

We promoted the competition in the office through posters and reflective vests, which we gave to every employee. But the greatest activity took place in our internal Facebook group, where employees motivated one another and exchanged tips.

Challenge progress

The cycling challenge lasted as long as 6 months, and the highest engagement was already visible at the beginning. In May, compared with previous years, many more people cycled, and we saw regular city cyclists joining in.

For some participants, attractive prizes were a strong incentive. Especially for the competition, we designed cycling kits, T-shirts, bike accessories, panniers, and water bottles.

Players could redeem rewards in the in-app store, and points earned for completed rides became a virtual currency. This meant everyone had a chance, not only those who covered the most kilometres.

The Activy challenge clearly became a topic of conversation in the office. In the kitchen, people could be heard talking about who was leading the ranking. The app awakened both a spirit of competition and collaboration among employees. We competed with one another, but at the same time we knew we were riding together for a meaningful cause.

The charity goal was very important, and for me it was the main motivation to ride. Checking my results also motivated me. I had not used any apps like this before, and I liked having this kind of virtual diary of my rides and being able to check statistics. - Ewelina P., participant

Results

Thanks to the game mechanics, points for rides and streaks - the number of days with bike rides - and not only kilometres, different types of participants could compete in the challenge: athletes and city cyclists alike. Employees arranged joint rides, which led to natural integration.

Thanks to the engagement of 139 people, we managed to save 27.5 tonnes of CO₂, which is equivalent to what 350 trees absorb over 10 years.