Eco‐Cheques 1. Context, background and objective Since March 1 2009, Belgian companies have 1. Context, background and objective been able to offer their employees ‘Eco‐Cheques’. This initiative results from an agreement led by the Since March 1 2009, Belgian companies have social partners at CNT, the National Labour able to offer their employees ‘Eco‐
been Council. Cheques’. This initiative results from an ‘Eco‐cheques’ can exclusively be used for agreement led by the social partners at CNT, the The the purchase of ecological products and services, National Labour Council. such as the installation of solar panels. They are an The ‘Eco‐cheques’ can exclusively be used for employee incentive, similar to the meal voucher system, the purchas
oftherefore ecological products and eare exempt from and social services, such as the inst
allation of solar panels. contributions and taxes. The initiative not only increases the purchasing They are an employee incentive, similar to the meal voucher system, and are therefore exempt power of employees, but also aims to increase from social contributions and taxes. environmental awareness in this target group. The proved be a great success the with The cheques initiative
not to only
increases Belgian employers, being available to more than 1 purchasing power of employees, but also aims million employees from the first year. Beside the to increase environmental awareness in this target group. environmental concerns, companies adopt them as a welcome alternative to pay rises in the current economic climate. 3. Involvement of actors and their role Governmental: initiator of the program organization Business sector: supporter of the program
Employees: beneficiaries of the program 4. Results st
st
If the ‘Eco‐cheques’ attain the expected success, they would be able to modify the buying behaviour of consumers. 9% of the households’ budgets could 9%
be of tdirected he households’ budge
towards ts could more more sustainable purchases. be directed towards sustainable purchases. The scheme has been extended to 2012 so far. 2. Approach
The ’Eco‐cheques’ can be used for purchasing products in the following categories: • Energy saving • Water saving • Waste management • Eco‐design EcoDesign • Promotion of sustainable mobility • Promotion of environmental considerations Annual evaluations of the initiative will determine if new products or services should be added to the existing list. In addition, the social partners will lead a discussion every two years to adapt the product categories to to new new eco‐design ecodesign standards and changes in eco‐innovation legislation. All products which have been awarded with the EU Ecolabel can be bought with the ‘Eco‐chèques’. As to the impact of the Flower, it could bring more As to the impact of the EU Ecolabel, it could bring visibility to the ‘Eco‐chèques’ and vice versa. more visibility to the ‘Eco‐chèques’ and vice versa. Each “Eco‐chèque” has a maximum value of 10 Euros. In 2009, each employee could receive “Eco‐
chèques” of the equivalent of 125 Euros. In the following years, the ceiling raised at 250 Euros. The cheques can be combined to enable larger purchases, such as televisions, but just within 2 years after their emission date. 5. Key challenges •
•
The financial value of the cheques is small Company engagement is needed 6. References http://www.ecocheques.be/
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/news/archives/2009/ju
ly/ecolabel_events_03.pdf
http://www.e‐energymarket.com/news/single‐
news/article/ecocheques‐popular‐with‐belgian‐employers‐as‐
alternative‐to‐pay‐rises.html