Climate change is upon us. Resources may be scarce, ecosystems may be threatened, and the situations are being dreadful but here is a list of 5 UK businesses that are doing their bit to save the planet.
Celtic Renewables
Based in Edinburgh, Celtic Renewables is the first company to create biofuel from whisky by-products. Only 10% of what flows out of a distillery is future whisky: the rest is mainly draff and pot ale. Celtic Renewables combine these by-products to create high-value renewable products, including biobutanol. The whisky industry produces an estimated 1,600 million liters of pot ale and 500,000 tons of draff each year. That’s a lot of alternative fuel.
More details: www.celtic-renewables.com
Greenhouse PR
Greenhouse PR focuses on PR with a purpose. The independent agency focuses on companies and NGOs which are out to make positive change. They’ve run campaigns on launching the UK’s first lentil harvest; cleaning up baby food ingredients, and advancing the smart energy grid. And as a certified B Corp, Greenhouse PR practices what they preach.
More details: www.greenhouse.agency
Green Tomato Cars
Green Tomato Cars are out to clean up the Big Smoke. Having been the first taxi operator to use the Toyota Prius way back in 2006, they are now pioneering fully zero-emission corporate transport with the UK’s largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell EVs. As London’s eco-friendly taxi service, the company has a fleet of 600 hybrid vehicles which together complete 10,000 journeys a week. They also plant almost 200 trees a year as a community initiative.
More details: www.greentomatocars.com
Leon Restaurant
Leon Restaurants pride themselves on sustainability. They focus on seasonal, local produce; limit meat on the menu; and are in the process of reducing their plastic use. Leon takeaways are served in compostable packaging and the company replaced plastic straws and cutlery this year with biodegradable alternatives. What’s more, over one-third of the menu is vegan, and over two-thirds of dishes are vegetarian.
More details: https://leon.co/
Pavegen
Pavegen has created a smart flooring solution that converts footsteps into electricity. As people walk across the Pavegen system, the weight from their footsteps compresses electromagnetic generators below, producing 2 to 4 joules of off-grid electrical energy per step. It may not sound like much, but imagine Pavegen tiles in the world’s busiest buildings and transport hubs.
More details: pavegen.com
