OnCourse event with low carbon entrepreneurs
Two successful entrepreneurs who are running businesses at the forefront of low carbon technology will tell their stories at the next OnCourse Innovation Leadership event.
Chris Beattie’s eco-friendly Nottingham courier service and Mo Kelly’s renewable energy systems installation business are meeting a growing demand from customers seeking ways to reduce both their carbon footprint and their energy bills.
Guest speakers at the OnCourse event run by Nottingham Development Enterprise (NDE) on January 21, the two enthusiasts will talk about their personal journeys to success and the challenges facing businesses seeking growth in the low carbon sector.
Pedal Express is a well-known courier service run by director Chris Beattie, who uses pedal bikes, electric and biofuel vans to deliver goods locally and nationally. Since taking over the business in 1998, Chris has turned a cycling hobby into a flourishing business.
“Developing low carbon services or procedures are positive steps that help the environment and reduce future costs”, says Chris whose recent innovations include mobile bike advertising, cycle trailer hire and drinks for cyclists powered by a smoothie blender on a bike.
Chris added: “The main challenge for SMEs is how to stay competitively priced whilst continuing to invest in the future.”
Sustainable technology engineer and specialist Mo Kelly is the managing director of Sasie Ltd, one of the UKs leading accredited installers of renewable energy systems. Based in Bulwell, where he has been running the company for more than ten years, Mo helps homes and businesses draw power from the sun, wind and rain by introducing green technology such as solar hot water systems, micro-wind-turbines and rainwater harvesting.
“Introducing renewables are a massive response to climate change”, says Mo, “but we also need to begin to think differently and innovatively.
“The single biggest want right across the construction sector is the urgent investment in training standards. It has been slow in coming but we need to be prepared. It will be crucial if we are serious about climate change,” he added.
Greater Nottingham Partnership (GNP) is funding the OnCourse Innovation Leadership series, which attracts both aspiring and established entrepreneurs to its events, until 2011.