An innovative new employee benefit scheme that allows workers to reduce their carbon footprint by directly cutting industrial emissions rather than using traditional carbon offsetting schemes is being used for the first time by leading equities exchange group NYSE Euronext.
The new scheme is managed by
Carbon Retirement, the UK carbon management firm that specialises in 'retiring' emissions through the
EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). It will allow
NYSE Euronext employees to cut industrial emissions directly rather than offsetting carbon emissions through more traditional means, such as planting trees or
renewable energy projects.
How the scheme works
To accomplish this, Carbon Retirement will buy up EU emissions allowances (EUAs) equal to the carbon emissions of NYSE Euronext’s employees from the
EU ETS. As there is a specific amount of carbon emissions allotted to companies by the EU ETS, buying EUAs in such a way ensures these carbon emissions won’t be released into the atmosphere. This is referred to as 'retirement'.
"NYSE Euronext is leading the way with its green employee benefit scheme by offering employees the opportunity to make a genuine and measured contribution to mitigating climate change by calculating and offsetting their emissions through us," Jane Burston, director of Carbon Retirement, said. "As the scheme also gives users advice on how to reduce their carbon footprint, NYSE Euronext’s employees will be well placed to reduce their environmental impact further."
Truestone Employee Benefits
Truestone Employee Benefits partnered with the companies to develop this scheme, which allows employees to help prevent carbon emissions before they happen. Other green benefits offered through the scheme include vouchers to encourage greener shopping and an organic vegetable box package.
Due in part to the development of the scheme, NYSE Euronext has been nominated for the 'Most effective benefits strategy for organisations with fewer than 1,000 UK staff' award, run by Employee Benefits Magazine.
"As a company, we are committed to improving the environment and to leading our industry by example, and this is one of a range of initiatives we are taking to reduce our carbon emissions as a company," David Peach,
Human Resources director at NYSE Euronext, said. "We are pleased that Carbon Retirement is able to enable us to take this one step further, offering options to reduce carbon emissions directly to the employees who make up the company."
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