Best Initiative by a Small or Medium-Sized Business

in association with RBS

WINNER Continental Clothing Company – EarthPositive Apparel

Continental Clothing, a supplier of blank cotton T-shirts and sweatshirts for fashion brands and corporate use, has established a blueprint for low-carbon fashion. The maker of this year’s official Climate Week T-shirt has spent two years developing its EarthPositive range which has a carbon footprint 90% lower than conventionally-produced clothing. Continental analysed and improved every stage of its production process. The clothing uses organic cotton and is made using electricity generated solely from wind power. It is transported without using air freight, with 100% biodegradeable and recycled packaging. Continental’s factory in India treats waste water to ensure a low water footprint, and minimises or recycles other waste. http://tinyurl.com/5rcg9uh

Gnewt Cargo

If you are sending a parcel to a nearby address, why have it taken in a large polluting diesel van to a distant sorting office, only to be brought all the way back again? Gnewt Cargo is a low-carbon parcel service serving the City of London. Its fleet of 13 electric vans and pedal/electric cargo tricycles deliver 1,000 parcels a day to and from locations in the capital’s financial district. The service, launched in 2010, costs no more than conventional parcel delivery. Gnewt aims to make it cheaper than the competition and to cover all of central London. A University of Westminster study found that the service cut CO2 emissions by 62% per parcel. http://gnewtcargo.co.uk/why-us

Referred by the Sustainable City Awards

2degrees

2degrees leverages an online community of 11,000 sustainability professionals from 6,000 organisations in 100 countries. The Oxford company, established three years ago and employing 30 staff, helps solve practical sustainability problems using web technology and facilitation. Working groups focus on particular industries and market opportunities such as waste and transport. The problems tackled are varied and granular, from what to do with chicken blood to how to divert seven tonnes of fire-retardant foam from landfill. 2degrees has clients such as Serco and MITIE who write testimonials about the tens of millions of pounds worth of new opportunities they developed as a result of 2degrees. http://www.2degreesnetwork.com/what-is-2degrees/

Avalon Abseiling

Avalon Abseiling wanted to become the first company to inject cavity wall insulation foam into the external walls of high-rise tower blocks, without using expensive scaffolding. Working with the London Borough of Camden and suppliers of the foam pumps, Avalon designed new equipment for buildings of up to 24 stories, and trained its abseilers for a pilot scheme. This was highly successful, with Camden council concluding that the new technique was safe, viable and 40% cheaper than the traditional scaffold method. In Camden alone the savings would exceed £1 million, and the technique deserves to be considered for use more widely. http://www.avalonpro.co.uk/about-us/

Referred by the Sustainable City Awards