To all the employers in the UK who claim to have an environmental conscience, we have just one question - are you willing to put your money where your mouth is? That is exactly what one employer has done in San Diego, California.

The ever-rising gas prices in America - now teetering close to $4 per gallon - prompted CJ Langer, owner of Calibration Consultants in Sorrento Valley, to exchange both his and his wife’s gas guzzling trucks for leaner, greener alternatives in the form of the world’s most famous hybrid car, the Toyota Prius.

Langer is so thrilled with the savings he has made, not to mention the boost for the environment, that he is willing to pay his employees a $2,000 bonus for doing the same.

“I’m that guy that always drives a truck; but that point in time has passed, it’s time to change, it’s time to do something positive as much as I possibly can,” Langer said.

“We have single mothers, we have military dependents that have people overseas right now, it’s about food on the table for them.”

Langer is the first to admit that he’s late to convert to the hybrid car revolution but believes he is out in front in terms of offering a private incentive - he expects around 40 of his employees to take up the offer by the end of the year. Now he is challenging other employers to follow his lead.

“I would challenge some of the big guys - locally and nationally - to come up with similar programs and do the same,” he said.