B Corp UK has launched a corner shop-inspired space that aims to raise awareness of eco-friendly brands rather than sell them.
The pop-up store concept, dubbed Good News, will showcase 300 ambient, fresh, chilled and frozen products from over 100 UK brands that are B Corp certified, including Cook, Tony’s Chocoloney, Vita Coco, Dash Water, Ella’s Kitchen and Pukka tea.
The aim is to teach consumers how they can ‘buy better’ by shining a light on the products that have “sustainability and community at their core”. No products will be sold to consumers, however, in a bid to shift the focus to “purpose over profit”, it added.
The project has been developed in partnership with communications company Freuds.
“More of our customers are seeing the B Corp logo as a stamp of credibility,” said joint CEOs of Cook, Ed Perry and Rosie Brown. “They want to shop ethically, and the B means a brand is walking the walk, not just talking the talk when it comes to ethical business.
“We urge people to challenge brands as to why they’re not B Corps.”
Good News will also feature a free-of-charge vending machine from Healthy Nibbles that uses social media as its currency, a payphone with a hotline to Freuds for free PR advice, and a good-cause lotto with social impact and community-driven prizes.
There will also be a box of “fresh air” behind the till instead of a cigarette cabinet.
B Lab UK executive director Chris Turner said: “After two years in a virtual world, to see this brought to life in the real world is particularly exciting – a physical anchor that our community needs to bounce back and hopefully the start of something special.”
Good News is being built with upcycled materials and any product waste will be donated to The Felix Project, where it will be distributed to local community projects and those in need.
It has launched on Rathbone Place in central London and will be open from 1 to 31 March, Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm.
Source: The Grocer UK
A type of flooring that uses 75 per cent less concrete than the current standard has been invented by researchers at the universities of Bath, Cambridge and Dundee, who say it could make a “major difference” to the construction industry’s carbon footprint.
The UK-based researchers from the ACORN project (the name is short for Automating Concrete Construction) use a thin-shell vaulted shape for their floor rather than a conventional solid slab – a change that requires substantially less concrete to carry the same load.
The multidisciplinary team has completed a full-scale demo of the floor, built inside a Cambridge University Civil Engineering Department facility, and hopes the innovation will be adopted by the construction industry to reduce its carbon emissions.
“Since concrete is the world’s most widely consumed material after water, and its production contributes more than seven per cent of global CO2 emissions, the easiest way for construction to begin its journey to net-zero is to use less concrete,” said ACORN principal investigator Paul Shepherd from Bath’s Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering.
“That has been the driving force behind this project, which we hope could make a major difference to the impact of construction.”
Flooring innovation makes use of concrete’s strengths
As Shepherd explains, any thick flat slab flooring bends as people walk across it – and the bending strength of concrete is not very high, requiring steel reinforcement.
Conversely, concrete is good at resisting compression, which the vaulted shape takes advantage of. As people walk across the vaulted floor, the weight flows down the arch structure, squashing the concrete, which can bear the load without reinforcement.
To create a level surface, the arch shape is covered by standard raised flooring panels.
ACORN has developed a manufacturing method for its flooring, which begins with bespoke software that optimises the shape for a given building design. It then communicates with a robotic system that adjusts an adaptable mould to form the desired shape and sprays concrete into the mould in layers.
Using this method, the vaulted floors are made in a factory and then transported to the site for assembly.
“Our work builds on the shoulders of giants like Frei Otto, Heinz Isler, Candela and Nervi in that we use shell action to be hugely material efficient,” Shepherd told Dezeen.
“But we have developed a means of manufacturing the shells off-site, alongside a digital system to aid their design, optimisation and fabrication, and importantly one that could be scaled up to mass production as a ‘kit of parts’.”
Demo shows minimum 60 per cent reduction in emissions
For ACORN’s project demo, the studio manufactured the floor in nine pieces that are assembled with reversible joints, enabling future disassembly and reuse.
As well as using 75 per cent less concrete than an equivalent flat slab, ACORN calculates that the prototype achieved a carbon emissions reduction of 60 per cent. It says that the carbon savings should increase as the process becomes even more optimised.
It also counts on the manufacturing process becoming quicker in the future with the existence of specialised facilities. As it is, each of the nine pieces in the ACORN model took 30 minutes to make, and the floor took one week to assemble.
The demo floor measures 4.5 square metres and is situated inside the NRFIS Laboratory of Cambridge University’s Civil Engineering Department.
ACORN aims to reshape use of concrete in construction
The prototype was developed by an interdisciplinary team of structural engineers, mathematicians and manufacturing experts, and involved partners including engineering and construction company Laing O’Rourke.
The aim of ACORN is to improve sustainability and productivity within the construction sector, largely by tackling the problem of concrete, which it says is being used hugely inefficiently.
Currently, concrete production accounts for more than seven per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, leading to calls for architects to stop using it.
There have been recent innovations that could help to reduce concrete’s environmental impact – including an emissions-free cement production process from MIT and different formulas incorporating ingredients such as nano platelets from carrots – but they may not be usable within the window of time there is to avert catastrophic climate change.
Author: Rima Sabina Aouf
Source: https://www.dezeen.com/2022/03/04/concrete-vaulted-floor-suggests-path-to-cutting-carbon-emissions/
Luxury car maker Aston Martin has signed an agreement with Britishvolt as it develops a gigafactory to produce batteries for electric vehicles at its plant on the Northumberland coast.
The memorandum of understanding is part of Aston Martin’s plans to launch its first battery-powered vehicle by 2025 and is a further boost to the plans for the gigafactory at Cambois, near Blyth.
A joint research and development team from the two companies will design, develop, and industrialise battery packs, as well as working together to maximise the capability of special high performance cells being developed by Britishvolt for use in high performance Aston Martin electric vehicles.
The collaboration with Britishvolt will be complementary to Aston Martin’s partnership with Mercedes-Benz Group AG, in which the German carmaker is providing hybrid and electric drive systems in exchange for more shares.
The agreement with Aston Martin is Britishvolt’s second with an automaker this year. It signed a similar preliminary deal with sports-car maker Lotus in January.
Automakers typically have to accept trade-offs between different battery-performance characteristics, such as energy density and power. Britishvolt is developing cells for high-end vehicles that will minimize these compromises.
Orral Nadjari, founder and chief executive officer at Britishvolt, said: “For a prestigious marque such as Aston Martin, staying true to its world-renowned brand of ultra-luxury, high-performance vehicles, whilst transitioning to electrification, means insisting on customised, sustainable battery cell technology that pushes the boundaries of performance. Britishvolt is excited to be collaborating with Aston Martin, helping accelerate that switch to electrification – I believe we make formidable partners.
“This collaboration once again highlights the value of working hand-in-glove with customers to co-develop and manufacture tailored, sustainable, localised battery cells, allowing vehicle makers to deliver superior products. Technologies that reset the benchmarks.
“We are excited about the prospect of an all-electric Aston Martin powered by Britishvolt’s low carbon, sustainable battery cells. Collaboration like this is the only way forward for a successful energy transition.”
Construction work to create a gigafactory on the former coal yards at the old Blyth Power Station is due to start in the next few weeks. The plant is due to open in 2024, with hopes it will create 3,000 direct jobs and another 5,000 in its supply chain.
Funding from the Government of “tens of millions” led to £1.7bn backing from finance groups Tritax and abrdn, while Britishvolt is also hoping to raise another £200m to support its plans.
Source: Bloomberg
Metito Holding Limited, one of the leading global providers of water and alternative energy management solutions, has secured a $120 million sustainability-linked loan.
HSBC Bank Middle East acted as the coordinator, initial mandated lead arranger, and bookrunner for the issuance of this loan.
This transaction was also supported by Ahli Bank of Kuwait UAE with $40 million and Commercial Bank of Dubai with $20 million.
“Metito is a pioneer in the water treatment industry, and we are proud to be supported by HSBC and the wider consortium through this sustainability-linked loan which we believe will strengthen our ability to grow across our target markets,” said Talal Ghandour, Metito Chief Investment Officer.
Source: Arab News
The trial was part of the UK Research and Innovation-funded Milford Haven: Energy Kingdom project. It was successfully implemented by a collaboration of partners – Port of Milford Haven, Passiv UK, Wales & West Utilities, Kiwa UK, Worcester Bosch, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, and Pembrokeshire County Council.
The trial combined a hydrogen-fuelled boiler with an electric air-source heat pump alongside smart control technology and it was conducted in a commercial building at the Port of Milford Haven, the UK’s largest energy port.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, emissions from home heating and hot water need to be cut by 95% to meet 2050 UK net zero targets, and hybrid heating technology will become increasingly important both for commercial and domestic customers.
Hybrid heating systems can flexibly switch between using renewable electricity when it’s available, and green gases such as hydrogen at other times. Using clean fuel in this way will enable the full decarbonisation of heat while ensuring cost and carbon emissions reductions are prioritised.
For many existing homes and businesses, hybrid heating systems offer an affordable and practical way to decarbonise heating. Research suggests that almost 50% of UK properties are not suitable for standalone heat pumps due to their poor thermal properties and other limitations.
For example, many of the UK’s aged housing stock would need disruptive and expensive energy efficiency improvements such as wall and floor insulation and new radiators to be effectively heated by a standalone heat pump system. Hybrid heating systems are a cheaper, and less disruptive alternative that can be fitted as a quick and direct replacement to a typical boiler system.
In this demonstration, Kiwa UK delivered bottled hydrogen to the Worcester Bosch boiler to simulate periods when renewable electricity was unavailable to run the heat pump, or when a temperature boost was required. The smart controls were designed by Passiv UK and integrated with the system seamlessly, automatically switching between the air source heat pump and the hydrogen boiler. Every 2 minutes the system assesses GB energy generation mix and renewable electricity availability on the local grid, and requests the boiler to run on hydrogen when unavailable. Hydrogen is a clean fuel that produces zero carbon emissions during combustion.
The hydrogen boiler installed as part of the hybrid system was developed by engineers at Worcester Bosch during the last 3 years as part of the BEIS-funded Hy4Heat project, designed to help the country achieve its target of Net Zero emissions by 2050.
Steve Edwards, Commercial Director at the Port of Milford Haven, said:
Having already established itself as the UK’s Energy Capital, the Milford Haven Waterway is now at the centre of a renewable energy revolution, with huge potential to become the low carbon energy capital of the UK, safeguarding thousands of local jobs and creating thousands more new ones.
“To get to Net Zero, we must deliver Net Zero power, transport and heat and we have all the necessary components here on our doorstep in Pembrokeshire to act as a vital cluster of national significance”.
Wales & West Utilities, the gas network for Wales and southwest England are one of the project partners.
Matt Hindle, Head of Net Zero and Sustainability said:
We’re committed to playing our part in helping communities across Wales and south west England go green. Between 2021 and 2026 we’re investing £400m to prepare our network to transport green gas like hydrogen and biomethane.
“Hybrid heating systems can be easily retrofitted to existing housing stock, without costly changes to radiators or internal pipework, keeping disruption to homes and communities to a minimum. This trial has demonstrated how they can work with hydrogen in place of natural gas.
“The UK Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy acknowledged that hybrids could play a transitional role in the 2020s and 2030s but contained no targets for their manufacture or installation. The 2020s must be a decade of delivery for Net Zero and we’d urge government and policymakers to include hybrids in incentives and support schemes like the Clean Heat Grant, encouraging installations of hybrids to help towards achieving the 600,000 heat pumps per year target, alongside ongoing support to develop hydrogen for heating.”
Cllr Cris Tomos, Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet Member for the Environment, Welsh Language and Public Protection said:
“The council is proud to lead the Milford Haven: Energy Kingdom project which is positioning the Milford Haven Waterway as a frontrunner for the production, distribution and use of hydrogen. The projects heating and transport demonstrators demonstrate what can be achieved through collaboration with our partners and Pembrokeshire can use these innovations as we work to become a net zero carbon authority by 2030.”
Source: Business News Wales
Tarmac has successfully trialled the use of ultra low-carbon concrete on part of the HS2 route in the Chilterns.
The manufacturer worked with the Align consortium – a joint venture between Bouygues Travaux Publics, VolkerFitzpatrick and Sir Robert McAlpine – which is delivering the central section of Phase One of HS2. The project used up to 90 per cent ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) to reduce carbon emissions.
The low carbon concrete was used for the floor slab and parts of the walls for a pre-cast factory which will supply components for a new viaduct on the project
The mixes, designed to Align concrete specification, exceeded expectations in both fresh and hardened properties, and showed that the new concrete can be produced in normal concrete plants and placed via mixer truck and by skip with tremie pipe.
Recent research by a number of concrete manufacturers has shown that low carbon alternatives can replace common Portland cement in a number of areas, significantly reducing carbon emissions from the material.
The tarmac concrete combined the very high GGBS with an alkali activated cementitious material conforming to BS EN197, which is the standard for cementitious materials allowed to be used in ready mixed concrete.
The footprint covers all aspects of the concrete production and supply with no carbon off-setting applied, delivering an actual footprint of 133kg/square metre CO2e. This represents a saving of 220 tonnes CO2e for every 1,000 square metres produced.
Tarmac head of commercial engineering solutions Robert Gossling said: “Against the backdrop of the climate emergency, this project underlines the clear benefits which can be unlocked when clients and contractors collaborate, in this case engaging to help understand and accelerate the adoption of this new low-carbon concrete solution.
“Together we’ve shown this new concrete is fit for purpose in slabs and walls, with good repeatability and works with standard production and construction methods. This product is a great step along the industry zero-carbon route map, and the demonstration will help accelerate adoption of this new concrete.”
Source: Construction News
As IKEA opened its first small UK store today – in Hammersmith, West London – owner Ingka Group announced a £1b investment into the capital over the next three years, reflecting its long-term commitment to becoming more convenient and accessible to its customers.
Ingka Group says it will invest in new and existing ways to shop and bring people together, including new services, city-centre stores, developing existing stores and new fulfilment and delivery capabilities.
Peter Jelkeby, country retail manager and chief sustainability officer, IKEA UK and Ireland, says: “Everything we do starts with our customers. Over the next three years, we will continue to transform as we respond to their needs and dreams, today and tomorrow. As one of the most innovative and exciting markets in the world for retail and ecommerce, we will step up our omnichannel investments in London with a simple goal – to become more customer centric, so that people can shop with us for a better, more sustainable life at home, whenever, wherever and however they choose.”
At a quarter of the size of a traditional store, IKEA Hammersmith offers 1800 products to take away and another 4000 on display. The full range remains available for delivery, alongside in-store planning services that support customers in designing bespoke solutions for more complex spaces.
With a focus on accessibility, the store has been designed around the needs of those shopping in city centres. It is IKEA’s first cashless store in the UK.
This opening will be followed by IKEA’s move onto Oxford Street in autumn 2023, with planning for the unique space under way, and other locations under consideration.
IKEA UK will also continue to focus on improving the customer experience, investing in existing stores and expanding its service offering and fulfilment network. In December, IKEA will open a new distribution centre in Dartford, expanding its fulfilment capacity by +20%, unlocking 24-hour deliveries and meaning 60% of deliveries into the capital will be zero emission from day one.
In a first-of-its-kind click-and-collect service for furniture items, Collect Near You Lockers, a collaboration between IKEA UK, Shift and Access Self Storage, mean deliveries will be made available to customers living within a 45km radius of a locker. Two pilot sites are live – if successful, the rollout will see 20 sites added across London by the end of the year.
“Whilst London is the initial focus of our city-centre approach, our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people,” Peter continues. “All of our efforts centre on creating happy customers, and we will learn from our London approach, whilst continuing to develop plans for other city-centre locations as well as the wider UK and Ireland, to bring our offer even closer.”
The development of the Hammersmith store was enabled by the acquisition of the Kings Mall by Ingka Centres in 2019. Since then, the space has been transformed into a lively community destination, Livat Hammersmith.
Cindy Andersen, MD, Ingka Centres, comments: “Today’s official opening of Livat Hammersmith is an exciting step on our journey in shaping next-generation meeting places that go far beyond shopping. We know that our visitors and the wider community want more spaces in which to meet, shop, live and work, which are fun, human and enable more sustainable living. Livat Hammersmith will offer just that. This new vibrant offer, designed to reflect modern, inner-city lifestyles with more regular visits and fewer journeys by car, provides a place where everyone feels welcome and is encouraged to come more often to explore amazing experiences while supporting the local community and the planet.”
Source: Furniture News
Company pays £17,600 to Bradgate Park Trust’s Jubilee Woodland project.
- Enforcement Undertaking accepted to address breach of environmental legislation
- Local environment and public to benefit from the Environment Agency’s response to company’s failure to meet packaging recycling obligations
Leicestershire’s Bradgate Park Trust’s Jubilee Woodland project has received a financial boost after the Environment Agency accepted an Enforcement Undertaking (EU) from Leicester-based Trafalgar Scientific Limited.
The payment is part of an EU offered by the company for its failure to register as a packaging producer and take steps to recover and recycle its packaging waste under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007.
Trafalgar Scientific Limited is now complying with the regulations and has made a payment of £17,600 to the Bradgate Park Trust’s Jubilee Woodland project, along with taking other actions to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The Jubilee Woodland project aims to advance the education of the public in the appreciation and care of the environment; plant more trees for the purpose of CO2 sequestration (removal and storage of CO2); protect biodiversity of the woodland and create a walkway through the park.
Trafalgar Scientific is a supplier of laboratory and microbiological equipment to both public and private sectors across the UK which includes items such as air samples, petri dishes, laboratory protection wear and DNA testing kits.
Jake Richardson, Senior Technical Officer for the Environment Agency, said: We’re pleased that Trafalgar Science is now working in line with the regulations.
Enforcement Undertakings enable businesses to address historical non-compliance under the Packaging Regulations, through a series of actions that ensure future compliance and a financial contribution to a suitable environmental project.
The aim of the Packaging Regulations is to reduce the amount of packaging waste that enters our landfill sites by requiring obligated businesses (producers) to contribute financially towards the recovery and recycling of packaging waste.
The Environment Agency is increasingly using this method of enforcement for cases to restore or enhance the environment, improve practices of the offending business and ensure future compliance with environmental requirements. However, we will continue to pursue prosecution where appropriate.
James Dymond, Director, Bradgate Park Trust, said: The funding from the Enforcement Undertaking will be used to plant a new area of parkland tree planting in a field adjacent to our Hallgates car park. This will also include fencing, new hedgerows, field margins and interpretation.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/leicester-company-s-recycling-failure-leads-to-charity-payment
The UK’s first hydrogen-fuelled waste collection vehicle was revealed today in Aberdeen, in a move which continues to accelerate the city’s thriving hydrogen economy.
While typical waste trucks are powered by diesel and petrol, the new waste truck will use green hydrogen from existing refuelling infrastructure in Aberdeen.
The truck will start collecting waste and recycling around the city from early March and will be the first hydrogen-powered waste truck to become operational in the UK. It will initially cover wheeled bins in Garthdee, Kincorth, Bridge of Don, Newhills, Woodside/Hilton, Mastrick, Milltimber, and Rubislaw before moving to mixed recycling and bulk bins on other routes.
These journeys will not only result in estimated emissions savings of over 25kg CO2e/litre across a year, based on a diesel truck on similar routes, but will also collect data which will allow further rollouts of hydrogen-fuelled waste trucks in the future.
Councillor Jenny Laing, Aberdeen City Council Leader said: “Enabling truly ‘green’ transport is a key deliverable in our plan to deliver Aberdeen’s Net Zero Vision and our own plans to replace our vehicle fleet with alternative fuelled vehicles.
“Adding a waste truck powered only by hydrogen is another important step forward and builds on the zero emission buses and other public sector vehicles that are already here in the city.”
Aberdeen City Council city growth and resources convener Councillor Ryan Houghton said: “Our work has been ground-breaking and the people of Aberdeen can be proud that our city is proving to be a catalyst for demonstrating how public sector fleet can be decarbonised, setting an example for other regions in the UK and beyond.
“The launch of the new waste truck comes hot on the heels of the new joint venture company with bp to deliver the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub, and all of these projects cement our position as a pioneering, climate positive city and an important step forward in our hydrogen journey.”
The hydrogen fuel cell waste truck is one of seven which will be deployed across seven pilot sites in northwest Europe, including the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Germany. Each truck will be tested in a range of environments from rural areas to city centres, demonstrating that hydrogen waste trucks provide an effective solution to reduce emissions from road transport.
The arrival of the waste truck follows a host of major hydrogen announcements by Aberdeen City Council in recent months, including the world’s first hydrogen double decker buses becoming operational, new funding secured for hydrogen projects and most recently, the appointment of international energy company, bp, as strategic commercial partner for the development of the transformative Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub.
The waste truck is being part funded by the Interreg North-West Europe Programme as part of its HECTOR project – Hydrogen Waste Collection Vehicles in North West Europe. Selected as the project’s lead partner, Aberdeen City Council will add this waste truck to its growing fleet of 85 hydrogen powered commercial vehicles, including hydrogen powered buses and public sector vehicles.
Each European deployment site will aim to continue operation of the trucks after the end of the project in June 2023 and, as the vehicles are operationally proven, will gradually replace conventionally fuelled trucks.
The chassis was manufactured by Hyzon Motors, a global leader in fuel cell electric commercial mobility which provides end to end decarbonisation solutions through its industry-leading zero-emission technology. The refuse collection vehicle is being manufactured and supplied to Aberdeen City Council via Geesinknorba, one of Europe’s largest providers of innovative refuse collection vehicles and compactors.
Craig Knight, Co-Founder and CEO of Hyzon Motors said: “Aberdeen is leading the UK’s transition to clean transport, and Hyzon Motors is proud to provide zero-emission solutions to realise these ambitions today.
“By delivering the UK’s first hydrogen-powered waste truck, Hyzon demonstrates its intention and readiness to supply the region with fuel cell electric vehicles to further our singular mission of decarbonising global freight.”
Dave Hughes, Managing Director of Geesinknorba Limited, added: “Geesinknorba Limited is delighted to provide Aberdeen City Council with its first hydrogen powered refuse collection vehicle.
“Geesinknorba is a forward-thinking manufacturer who is at the forefront of providing zero emission and carbon neutral collection solutions and like Aberdeen City Council, is passionate about reducing the impact of collection equipment and protecting the environment we all share. It is our mission to drive sustainability. We have worked closely in collaboration with Hyzon, the world-renowned hydrogen repower specialists, to provide the chassis on which we have mounted our Li-On Power Pro technology and this ensures zero carbon emissions when in daily operation which benefits the environment and the residents of Aberdeen City.”
SOURCE: Hyzon Motors
Zeelo – the leading smart bus platform for organisations that serves over 1.8 million passengers per year on their daily commute to work and school in the UK, North America and South Africa – has pledged to provide Net Zero bus travel across its services in just eight years. The company is Europe’s only bus transport service that is already 100% carbon neutral, having offset the entirety of the carbon emissions of its bus journeys, including the dead leg, through a partnership with Climate Partner, which offsets 3.5kg of CO2 emissions per ride (12,000 tonnes per year) by planting trees in Uganda and building wind farms in Bulgaria.
Sam Ryan, CEO of Zeelo and former Head of Product at Addison Lee, who founded car-pooling app JumpIn in 2014, commented: “Offsetting carbon emissions is not enough. We need to commit to switching as many of the buses and coaches across the world to electric vehicles if we want to make a measurable environmental impact as an industry. At Zeelo we want to pave the way by encouraging our partners to be the first to switch to electric.”
Mass Transport is a US$1 trillion industry that contributes to 23% of our global CO2 emissions. Cars, followed by trains, emit the the highest volume of CO2 per kilometre per passenger, and most buses and coaches across the UK operating network emit 1.5x less than trains on average, and are 6x more efficient than cars[1], even though UK bus fleets are largely diesel engine vehicles.
“In the UK, over 15 million people out of a working population of 26 million travel by car to work for journeys of less than 5 miles, which is hardly an efficient, or even affordable, mode of transport for many who live in areas poorly served by public transport,” adds Sam Ryan. “A modal shift alone from driving cars to riding buses already represents a 78% reduction in carbon emissions per traveller per kilometre. This is because an average bus will move 46 people in a single vehicle compared to 30 cars on the road moving on average 1.5 passengers per car. Imagine the carbon savings if all these people had green bus transport. That’s close to 12 million cars taken off the road with perhaps 200,000 buses. Now imagine if all those buses were electric.”
In the UK there are over 2000 independent coach and bus operators, each with an average of 18 buses in their fleet and a bus utilisation rate of just 35%. This leaves 65% slack and an opportunity to optimise bus utilisation with better designed routes for private customers through existing and experienced family-owned bus operators across the country. Through its Net Zero pledge which forms a key part of Zeelo’s 2022 ESG Policy, the company is offering to guarantee minimum-value, long-term contracts to all its bus operator partners who agree to switch to electric fleets by 2030.
Zeelo’s 100 corporate clients across the world, including Ocado, as well as 5% of the UK’s independent schools, are willing to invest into electric bus fleets as part of their carbon emission reduction targets. Zeelo, meanwhile, is designing The Pathway to EV Bus Transport[2] to ensure the transition follows key milestones across the next eight years, and has pledged to support all bus operators that have signed-up to the pledge to both source and be able to fund the cost of purchasing EVs, and related equipment, within the timeframe.
Zeelo has an asset-light business model, and partners with over 200 family-owned bus operators across the world to deliver private clients (corporates and independent schools) with regular, reliable, optimised, carbon-neutral and Covid-safe bus services for the daily commutes of frontline workers and students. These services were critical during lockdowns and led the company to report a ten-fold increase in revenues from March 2020 through to Feb 2022. Zeelo secured an additional $12 million in VC-backed funding closing its Series A in August 2021.
About Zeelo
Zeelo is a smart bus platform for organisations. The global tech company is modernizing daily bus commutes for frontline workers and students so that they can get to work and school in a faster, smarter, and much greener way. Zeelo serves over 100 large businesses and independent schools and moves nearly 150,000 riders each month across the world. Zeelo’s tech-optimised bus routes not only reduce carbon emissions by 78% by replacing 30 cars for every bus journey, but also offset 100% of each Zeelo bus journey. Its innovative transport management software system comprises a SaaS platform, proprietary routing algorithms and multiple consumer apps that ensure people located in transport deserts have a regular, subsidised bus service for their daily commute wherever they are based. Headquartered in London with over 130 employees across the UK, North America, South Africa and Spain, the company was founded by Sam Ryan, Barney Williams and Dani Ruiz. The cofounders previously sold their pioneering ride-sharing app JumpIn to Addison Lee in 2014.*
[1] Calculation based on CO2 emissions per kilometre, per passenger/traveller.
[2] Project-management framework led by Zeelo to measure and attain incremental transition to EV by its bus & coach operator network partners.
SOURCE Zeelo.co
