We have introduced a Green Bonus for employees to encourage them to leave their car at home and come to work on foot, by bicycle or public transport.
“We just felt the need to do something and make a difference, so introducing the Green Bonus and encouraging our employees to walk or cycle to work seemed like the right thing to do,” says Chaz Brooks, Creative Director of CBC. “But the great thing about it is that the whole team has taken it on board and made it into the success that it is now.”
Previously, all CBC employees had to drive at least 7 miles to the office, since then, the company moved to an in-town location and a Green Bonus has been introduced to encourage CBC employees to walk or cycle to work. Now 3 people walk to work, two cycle 3 miles and two work remotely and visit the office occasionally. This has saved an estimated 13,440 miles a year in car journeys just getting to and from work, not counting the normal business mileage which CBC now does almost exclusively by train as the station is only a 10 minute walk away. So by moving offices and encouraging staff to walk or cycle, CBC is keeping cars off the road by eliminating the need for a daily commute.
“If we don’t drive to work for more than three quarters of the month, we are rewarded with a bonus,” says Andrew Ball, Senior Account Manager at CBC. “At the old offices, staff were given parking allowances, but parking in central Guildford is neither easy to find, nor cheap so as most of us are very sporty anyway, walking and cycling sounded like a great plan to keep fit and have a much more relaxed and stress-free journey to work.”
The Green Bonus is just one aspect of CBC’s environmental-friendly policy, as they also print on scrap and old paper, only turn on half the office lights when needed (not at all in Summer), turn PC’s, printers and kettle etc. off and don’t leave on standby, recycle printer cartridges and give old sample products and spare paper to schools, and send surplus freebie gifts (such as pens) to schools in Africa (taken by hand by local MP to Eritrea).
“We try to be a micro example of a green office where we can,” says Chaz Brooks, Creative Director of CBC. “We strongly believe that even small businesses can and should make an effort to be as “green” as possible; after all it’s the little drops of water that make the mighty ocean.”
