London Business Wins £40,000 Climate Change Innovation Prize
2010-02-18 14:09:44
A London based business with an innovative idea for tackling climate change last night won an award of £40,000 from Shell Springboard, a programme designed to promote the growth of the low carbon economy in the UK.
Shiply.com received the financial boost for developing an online marketplace for transporting goods which has saved over 2,985,881kg of CO2 since it launched in June 2008.
When transport accounts for approximately a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, it’s hard to ignore the fact that 25% of lorries run completely empty of cargo and over 50% run only part-full. Shiply.com matches people needing to move goods with transport companies going there anyway. By enabling consumers and businesses to make use of this spare capacity, Shiply.com dramatically cuts down on CO2 emissions, increases the profitability of transport companies and saves the consumer up to 75%.
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Robert Matthams from Shiply.com with his "ebay for shipping goods" website |
Just as eBay is an online marketplace for buying and selling goods, Shiply is an online marketplace for transporting goods. Users simply list items they need to move - free and with no obligation - and then receive low cost bids from thousands of feedback-rated transport companies.
The business idea was stumbled across by twenty-five-year old Robert Matthams whilst he was still studying at the University of Manchester.
Since launch, the company has saved over 2,985,881kg of CO2, which equates to the carbon emitted by 4,910 flights from London to New York. With over 7,000 registered transport companies, 115,000 customers and 3 million website users, Shiply.com is now aiming to raise awareness of the carbon-saving solution it offers across the UK and Europe.
The Shell Springboard programme, which has awarded over £1.3 million to 35 UK small businesses since it launched in 2005, this year celebrates its fifth anniversary. The programme encourages a positive business response to the challenge of climate change by providing a no-strings financial boost to ideas for innovative products and services that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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L to R: Robert Matthams (Shiply.com) & Duncan Mcleod (Shell) |
Robert Matthams, founder of Shiply.com said: “We really believe our service can make a difference in the fight against climate change and it’s incredibly rewarding that such a well established programme as Shell Springboard has also recognised its potential. The funding and recognition we received tonight will allow us to press ahead with our ambitions for the Shiply expansion and maximum carbon savings.”
Duncan Macleod, Vice-President of Future Fuels, Shell UK said: “Over the last five years, Shell Springboard has given £1.3 million to thirty small businesses like Shiply.com with innovative ideas for climate change. It’s fantastic to see that the UK’s entrepreneurs continue to respond to the challenge of climate change and Shell is very happy to continue to provide some real support. We wish Rob and his team every success in moving forwards.”
Shiply.com competed against eight businesses from across the UK on 17 February 2010 in Cambridge and will now compete to be named as the overall UK winner in London on the 2nd March.
Cryomation and Trendform from Ipswich and Brighton also received awards of £40,000.