Climate Change – A Matter of Employee Wellness?

As many of us are aware, climate change impacts our physical health. More recently, the term “eco-anxiety” has emerged as an alarming new reality. Borne out of concern for the long-term impacts of climate change, a new study has revealed that “eco” or “climate anxiety” has become a real mental health concern for almost half of our youth worldwide.

According to a recent Gallup poll, younger generations have also shown they want to work for organizations with ethical leaders that truly care about their well-being.

Being Part of The Solution

With employee well-being and retention at the forefront of their decision, one Ohio business decided to help their employees “go green”. Community Energy Advisors (CEA), began offering renewable energy as an employee benefit to promote sustainability and wellness. Rick Davidson, Principal and Co-Founder of CEA, noted, “It was a simple decision really. We want our employees to feel empowered to achieve their sustainability goals and sometimes it feels impossible to know where to start. By purchasing renewable energy through Viridi’s program, we were able to “green up” some, if not all, of our employees’ home energy use.” Providing renewable energy for your employees can complement other employee benefits and recruiting strategies to attract and retain talent while also promoting your company’s commitment to advancing a cleaner grid, cleaner air, and a cleaner planet.

For companies wanting to make a positive change, offering the Viridi Wellness Program as an employee benefit can be cost-effective and provide immediate impact.

How does it work? It all starts with a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC). A REC represents energy produced by a renewable resource like wind, solar, or hydro. When 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of power is generated by a renewable resource, 1 REC is created, and that REC represents and tracks the renewable energy once it enters the grid. Coincidentally, the average household in the U.S. uses a little under 1,000 kWh of electricity per month. Therefore, by purchasing and allocating 1 REC per month to each of your employees, you are effectively ensuring those households are using renewable energy. Click here to learn more about how RECs work.

If you are interested in offering this benefit to your employees, click here to view our online enrollment form.