Staff car clean-up

Company cashback scheme drives out the gas guzzlers If you want a hefty cheque from the company, go get yourself a new car. Worth thinking about? Where’s the catch? Well, you do have to choose a fuel-efficient model. Oh, and you also have to be working for business software providers Hyperion. The company’s new offer to its employees is restricted to cars that do at least 45 mpg. That efficiency is, however, within the range of a growing number of small petrol and diesel cars, as well as the more innovative fuel-electric hybrids. And, if your chosen car meets this criterion, Hyperion will cough up £2,600 (or US$5,000) towards the purchase price, so long as you’ve worked for the company for at least a year. What’s more, you can buy a new car under the scheme once every four years. Switching from a 20 mpg to a 45 mpg car can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as three tons per person per year. The Drive Clean to Drive Change scheme is being touted as the first of its kind, and Hyperion is keen to share its experience with others through its newly formed Companies for Clean Air Consortium. Godfrey Sullivan, president and CEO, says that “we are not necessarily going to change the world through this initiative, but we aim to get people thinking about change”.

27 January 2005