[coolclouds]

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Below is a news from today's TOI Bangalore edition. Good move towards a cleaner environment.

ePaper Lite - Times of India Publications


GIVING A GREEN PUSH
SAP India to pay staff for green commute

Those Buying Reva Will Get.6K/Month Car Allowance

Mini Joseph Tejaswi TNN

Bangalore: In what is perhaps a first for corporate India,SAP Labs India has unveiled a unique and generous green car policy under which employees would be able own an electric car at a subsidized cost and get an attractive allowance to own and run it.
The policy,which is in collaboration with Mahindra Reva which makes the Reva electric car,offers as much as Rs 6,000 a month as car allowance,free car battery charging service on the campus,a dedicated parking slot right at the entrance of the campus,an extended battery warranty of 36 months instead of the standard 24 months,free routine maintenance,service on the campus and charging points at owners residences.
V R Ferose,MD of SAP
Labs India,said all employees who have completed six months with the company would be eligible for the scheme.The employees need to pay only Rs 1,350 towards the EMI (36 months); SAP Labs will pay Rs 6,000.The subsidy of Rs 62,000 to Rs 82,000 offered by the Union ministry of new & renewable energy (MNRE) for the purchase of electric vehicles will be passed upfront to employees.This brings down the cost of Reva cars by 20%.Employees will be offered loans at 12% to pay the cost of the car.
Chetan Maini,chief of technology and strategy,at Mahindra Reva,said SAP Labs had shown the way forward to the corporate sector.
For SAP,the German enterprise software applications company,the scheme is expected to significantly help achieve its global sustainability vision of reducing its carbon footprint to the level of 2000 by 2020.In 2007,SAP's global carbon footprint (green gas emissions ) peaked at 550 kilo tonnes;the target is to bring it down to the 2000 level of 300 kilo tonnes.

[avisidhu]

Kudos to the initiative by SAP Labs. If more and more companies join this initiative, and car pooling too is done alongside, this can have a significant impact in terms of pollution reduction and reducing the carbon footprint.

Besides, Reva should not be a bad option for inter city travel in cities like Blore where too high speeds cannot be attained.

Do we same some Team-BHPians who own this car? How satisfied are they with the product?

[speedmiester]

Absolutely brilliant move, this will make Reva a viable option for people who would have never thought of buying one.
Hope more corporates roll out such plans for their employees.

[2500cc]

I saw few Revas parked in their premises yesterday, in fact this is very good initiative from the corporate. I wish all of the corporates come out with this kind of initiative to reduce the carbon footprint and also reduce the pinch on their employees pockets. Good going SAPpy

CHeers,
Rajesh

[rohanjf]

Wow! SAP Labs has charging bays for electric cars anyway. So, those who go for the car won't even have to spend money on electricity (at least on weekdays)!

I think this scheme is available only for SAP Labs. I am in SAP India, so I cannot avail this offer :-(

PS and OT: I am in SAP Labs office these days. So we have so many BHPians in Labs eh! Spot my car then; furnace red Palio Stile SDX with Live to Drive sticker on the rear windshield.

[download2live]

Charging points for Reva are common in many companies. Infact in Forum Mall kormangala also I think charging point is given.

But 6k per month is News.
Good move.

Any bond to be signed for availing the offer?
Asking cause it happens in IT companies.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by download2live

Charging points for Reva are common in many companies. Infact in Forum Mall kormangala also I think charging point is given.

But 6k per month is News.
Good move.

Any bond to be signed for availing the offer?
Asking cause it happens in IT companies.

This is similar to the normal Car Lease policy provided by the company to eligible employees. I am not revealing more just in case some clause prevents me from doing so.

Between, the company only provides the Reva option for 30 employees, who are chosen via a lucky draw in case there any many applicants.

[asr245]

Hmm. I often wonder, how 'green' are these so called 'green' cars anyway? You buy a Reva drive it for 50 to 100kms a day (even less with an ineffective AC - form what I hear) and then use up electricity to charge it which usually comes from a coal burning-CO2 producing thermal power plant somewhere. Plus the lead batteries are anyway an environment hazard (or are they lead free?).

So is it really 'green'?

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Between, the company only provides the Reva option for 30 employees, who are chosen via a lucky draw in case there any many applicants.

This would defeat the entire purpose,wouldn't it?
It will be nothing but a marketing campaign for SAP labs with no real value.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Between, the company only provides the Reva option for 30 employees, who are chosen via a lucky draw in case there any many applicants.

Sounds like a marketing gimmick to me.

[Tommie]

Does SAP offer free electricity recharging point also at the parking lot ? I do not have an option to recharge at my apartment's basement car parking.

[scuderiamania]

Originally Posted by asr245

Hmm. I often wonder, how 'green' are these so called 'green' cars anyway? You buy a Reva drive it for 50 to 100kms a day (even less with an ineffective AC - form what I hear) and then use up electricity to charge it which usually comes from a coal burning-CO2 producing thermal power plant somewhere. Plus the lead batteries are anyway an environment hazard (or are they lead free?).

So is it really 'green'?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0WNZU3Q_8g

go through the second part of the video. You will find your answer.

@speedmiester and spitfire- Come on guys! Yes I agree that this is probably a gimmick. But look on the bright side. It manages to put out a few more green cars in our cities. Something is always better than nothing as far as I am concerned.

[ghodlur]

Thats a good move by SAP labs. I wish even my company thinks on those lines. I wish being in SAP even I would be eligible for such discounts.

My company does not vene think of car pooling being in Oil and Gas Industry.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

@speedmiester and spitfire- Come on guys! Yes I agree that this is probably a gimmick. But look on the bright side. It manages to put out a few more green cars in our cities. Something is always better than nothing as far as I am concerned.

I agree that it is a start and it is a very commendable move. But 30 cars is a small number. I do believe this number should have been higher.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

@speedmiester and spitfire- Come on guys! Yes I agree that this is probably a gimmick. But look on the bright side. It manages to put out a few more green cars in our cities. Something is always better than nothing as far as I am concerned.

Me too agree here as a company alone cannot take the whole responsibility. Just imagine if it inspires others to do so