Businesses across North America, either willingly or begrudgingly, are embracing green policies. From small-scale changes like trying to cut down on wasted paper, moving work onto the cloud, and improving internal recycling programs, it seems offices are beginning to do their part for the environment. While these policies are a step in the right direction environmentally, some businesses are taking it to the next level. An example of this is Momentum Ventures. A technology company based out of Montreal, Quebec, Momentum Ventures is trying to motivate its employees to make green choices outside of the office by incentivizing these decisions as part of their employee benefit package.
The highlight of this benefit package environmentally is the electric vehicle lease subsidy. Employees at Momentum Ventures are incentivized to consider electric and hybrid vehicles when purchasing a vehicle using this subsidy, which would cover 50% of lease payments on electric and hybrid vehicles. Momentum Ventures CEO Matthew Keezer thinks this subsidy is a solid long-term addition to the employee benefit package, saying “buying or leasing a car is a long-term proposition, so while many employees don’t consider a vehicle purchase regularly, this subsidy will certainly be at the front of their minds when they do.”
In addition to the electric vehicle lease subsidy, Momentum Ventures looks out for those who don’t have or won’t be purchasing a vehicle. The company also covers a large majority of the cost of public transit and bike rental services like Bixi. This motivates employees to take public transit to and from work, a solution that obviously has a positive environmental impact. This perk is also valuable to employees as they can continue to use this bus or Bixi pass outside of work.
Momentum Ventures is also looking to go green in the office, having recently adopted a web-based human resources system. This has resulted in a significant reduction in paper use in the department and has eliminated the need for employees to print and fill out vacation, bus subsidy, and Bixi subsidy forms.
Green policies are slowly creeping their way into modern offices. With perks like Momentum Ventures’ electric car lease subsidy, public transit subsidy, and Bixi bike rental subsidy, employees should have an easy time adopting a greener work-life. Likewise, Momentum Ventures’ in-office changes are forward-thinking and benefit both the environment and the office in general.
