These ecocheques were established in Belgium by the Collective Labour Convention (CAO) No. 98, which was concluded on 20 February 2009 at the National Labour Council, and are still in force today.
Ecocheques are received by Belgian employees to spend on ecological products and services. It is good for employees, because it is an extra something received on the top of their salary, and good for employers, because there are no taxes or social charges to be paid for this contribution to the employee´s total income.
Ecocheques are issued by private companies, such as Monizze or Edenred. Employers who want to grant eco vouchers to their employees must order them from one of the issuing companies – employers pay these companies and the companies send the vouchers to the employees.
Each employee receives a voucher every year that can be used altogether or in different purchases over two years. For example, in a purchase made in a supermarket where organic products are acquired together with non-organic items, the client can pay separately for the organic products with a voucher. The quantity of the voucher varies depending on the salary, to a maximum of 250 € per year.
Shoppers and service providers are not obliged to accept ecocheques, but most of them do; it is a well-established practice in Belgium and recognised by society. Ecocheques are a good way of promoting the consumer’s ‘eco-awareness’, because, once people have become used to buying organic products with their cheque for free, they may want to buy the same product and/or others beyond the quantity received in their ecocheque.
According to Monizze, ecocheques in Belgium are currently granted by more than 83,000 employers to more than 1.24 million employees.
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