Reaching carbon neutral at the end of 2021 was important for us as a company. But we knew there was more we could do. So we decided to better understand how our team can help decrease our collective carbon footprint.
After doing some research, we landed on a framework of incentives for our employees that we believe will expand our positive impact on the environment. The goal was to assist and incent employees to change how they consume energy in various ways including:
- Energy for the home such as electricity and heating
- Transportation – electric vs conventional cars
- Purchase of carbon offsets
After discussing what would be the best approach to move the needle, we made the following incentives for all employees in 2022:
- $1,000 annual bonus to all team members who get their home electricity from a 100% renewable source.
- $1,000 annual bonus for home heating provided by geothermal or an electric heat pump if drawing off 100% renewable electricity.
- $1,000 annual bonus for ownership/lease of an electric car as their primary means of transport.
- 100% match on any team member purchase of carbon offsets up to $1,000 per year.
This is just one more step, but there is still much to do. Starting with helping our clients reduce their technology carbon footprint.
In our previous post, we review our planning and decision process around buying carbon offsets to make Valtira a carbon neutral company.