Construction firm fines staff with high carbon footprints

Engineering consultancy WSP is introducing a carbon quota scheme for its staff, complete with fines for anyone who exceeds their allowance.

The firm has already conducted a successful trial, which reduced the overall carbon footprint of the participants by 10%. It now plans to extend the scheme to cover 3,000 employees worldwide, according to a report in The Times.

Of the 80 employees who took part in the trial, three-quarters were rewarded but a quarter, including managing director Stuart McLachlan, were fined.

McLachlan had bought a bike and started cycling the 12 miles from his Richmond home to WSP's central London office - but he received a fine of £100 after flying to his holiday home in South Africa.

One member of staff cut his footprint by buying a smaller car, while another stopped blow-drying her hair. She said: “The big incentive is not the prospect of earning £100 but in trying to ensure that you don’t have to pay out.”

When it rolls the scheme out globally, WSP will set different targets for each country to reflect national average emissions. In Britain the target this year is 5.5t, one tonne above the national average for home energy and personal transport. The target is likely to be much higher in the US.