Fynch Mobility, an impact-driven software company based in Utrecht, has received a REACT-EU Subsidy to further scale its Cloud Mobility Platform.
CO2-reduction and convenience
Fynch’s platform helps companies reduce carbon emissions from mobility.
To achieve this, Fynch has developed a unique approach consisting of a combination of rewards and convenience. The Fynch app, which is central to the platform, rewards employees for sustainable and active mobility choices and removes the administrative burden from the process of declaring trips and home office days. The app is smart and independently recognizes whether the user is walking, biking, traveling by public transport or by car. Fynch’s unique rewards program consists of its own Fynch Coins and can be expanded to include variable kilometer reimbursements. Employees for example receive a higher kilometer reimbursement for trips by bicycle or electric car. Fynch configures the client’s mobility reimbursements and calculates the amount of travel and home office reimbursement each month after which it is processed directly into the employer’s payroll system.
Assessment
The assessment committee was particularly impressed by its potential impact on traveler behavior. Mobility accounts for 27% of CO2 emissions in the Netherlands, more than half of which is accounted for by employers. If we keep doing what we always did, you get what you always got. A change in behavior is crucial to meet the target in the Climate Agreement, and Fynch has developed a proven effective approach for this, based on scientific principles (OBM). Complementing this, the committee was impressed with the potential for the reward mechanism to stimulate the local sustainable economy. The Fynch Coins can be redeemed by sustainable entrepreneurs in Utrecht. In this way, Fynch brings sustainable supply and demand together.
Business Case
The business case for the employer is central to the development of the Fynch Platform. “CO2 emissions reduction and behavioral change are common topics of discussion in Dutch boardrooms, however, without a good business case no change is implemented. This is the reason why we reduce emissions across the axis of travel reimbursement. Regularly, companies have an old-fashioned and time-intensive declaration process and lack the incentives that ensure more sustainable behavior. Here lies the business case for Fynch. We remove the friction and susceptibility to error from the process and enable the employer to reward sustainable behavior. This saves a lot of time and aggravation for the employer and employee. Time which can be used to quickly earn back the investment in Fynch,” says Joris Smulders, CEO of Fynch.
Legislation
From Jan. 1, 2024, employers with more than 100 employees in the Netherlands are required to record employees’ business and commuting kilometers. This Reporting Obligation Work-related Mobility of Persons stems from the Climate Agreement and has a goal of 1.5 Mton CO2 reduction by 2030. If not prepared properly, this can cost employers a lot of time and money. In addition, the tax authorities impose the necessary requirements for travel and home office administration; for example, employers may only provide untaxed reimbursement if the trip or home office day actually took place. The burden of proof for this lies with the employer. Fynch solves both challenges at once by putting registration of trips and home office days on auto-pilot. Companies using this include Volvo Group Netherlands, Arcadis Netherlands, Censo Energy Services and BCD Travel.
Over REACT-EU
In response to the COVID-10 pandemic, EU government leaders decided to establish an “EU Next Generation” recovery program. Part of this is the REACT EU program, through which the EU promotes a green, digital and resilient recovery of the regional economy.
