EDENRED

Ticket EcoCheque — a reference program to promote responsible consumption

Press release
December 17, 2019

Ticket EcoCheque — a reference program to promote responsible consumption

While protecting the environment is a growing priority for people in Belgium, purchasing power still remains the key factor influencing their buying decisions.

Edenred has marketed eco-vouchers under the Ticket EcoCheque banner in Belgium since 2009. They are now regarded across Europe as a reference program to stimulate purchases of ecofriendly and sustainable products.

The idea for eco-vouchers came directly from the virtuous circle created by other employee benefits such as restaurant vouchers, a space in which Edenred is the world and digital leader with its Ticket Restaurant solution.

Today eco-vouchers are distributed by more than 86,000 businesses across Belgium, mainly in card form, to 1.7 million employees, providing them with a tangible boost to their purchasing power. Eco-vouchers can be used across a network of over 10,600 points of sale in Belgium to buy ecofriendly products and services in a wide variety of areas, ranging from food to transportation and from home furnishings to leisure activities.

Arnaud Erulin, Edenred’s Chief Operating Officer Europe, Middle East and Africa, commented: “Edenred is proud to have played its part, alongside all the other stakeholders in Belgium, in setting up and rolling out eco-vouchers. Eco-vouchers have been so successful because they are an effective way of guiding consumption patterns and making sure that the additional purchasing power granted to employees by employers or public authorities is plowed back into the local economy and creates new jobs. Our Ticket EcoCheque solution now provides an optimized digital experience for businesses, their employees and our retail partners. We aim to continue making enhancements to establish long-term foundations for this ecofriendly and cost-effective tool, ten years after it was first launched in Belgium, and to explore ways of replicating it across Europe.”

Eco-vouchers, an innovative tool that reconciles greater purchasing power with an environmentally responsible approach

For consumers:

Eco-vouchers provide a purchasing power boost of up to €250 per employee per year, and nudge consumers towards greener products and services.

• More engaged consumers: according to a study by the University of Hasselt and Indiville commissioned by VIA, the Belgian association of meal and eco-vouchers issuers, over half of the employees in Belgium who have received eco-vouchers from their employer in 2019 report paying greater attention to environment-related factors when shopping, irrespective of the payment method used.