YouthPropose – Incentivising Sustainability in the Private Sector

This is a proposal made by the Maltese National Youth Council, based on the current review of the European Green Deal.

• Support the creation of another kind of subsidised employment than that which is currently available. The kind being spoken of is dependent on sustainability levels for eligible businesses. In such a system, salaries for a company’s interns are subsidised at a pre-determined rate, with such subsidy being awarded on a range of factors, from the size of reduction of carbon footprint, to the value of the business in question, availability of candidates etc.

• Initiatives are to be created, wherein workplaces in which more than 5 people work on a determinate timetable (Restaurants, Hotels, Offices, STEM jobs, Shops, Supermarkets etc), start to organise shuttle systems so that private cars aren’t used for the work commute at all. Not only have such initiatives and ones similar to it proven widely popular in research, it would also begin to substantially reduce the amount of cars on the roads for commuting purposes – possibly even reduce the very need for a personal car for those whose investment in one is primarily motivated by the need to arrive at their workplace. Not only does this mean that less emissions will be released, but that less vehicles need to be converted to electric quickly, and economies will start to save very notable amounts of finances previously lost in traffic.

• In the evaluation of candidates for tenders or contracts, a far more significant portion of the pre-published point criteria ought to be focused on the environmental impact, with regards to elements such as but not limited to, visual, sustainability, and carbon footprint.

The concept of funding in order to support internships is hardly a new one. Several such programs exist, both internationally and regionally. Most of the time they are created as a means of boosting employment in a select sector, or helping individuals who do not have the capability, most often fiscal, to pursue the career in subject.

The European Environmental Agency has proposed financial incentives and taxes that would be put in place to encourage consumers to buy cars with lower carbon dioxide emissions and other air pollutants such as Nitrogen Oxide and particle matter. This conversation surrounds electric vehicles which have been speculated to be not as green as one would think due to their manufacturing process. Even so, electric vehicles are still a better alternative, especially in countries where there are many old cars contributing even more to carbon emissions. However, our aim should not just be in changing our cars but reducing the number of cars on our roads. Recent initiatives providing free transport for school children have proven widely popular.

Another area where the goals of the green deal may be better forwarded is that of awarding tenders or contracts. Of course, currently there are already regulations in existence that give importance to environmental impact – but it certainly is not proving to be enough.

Check out the previous proposal here.