Member Article

Mayor recognises low carbon and smart city tech with green prize for young entrepreneurs

Young entrepreneurs in low carbon technology and smart city innovations are to be recognised by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, in a business pitching competition.

The competition, which is taking place today (Tuesday) at City Hall, will see students pitching their green business ideas for a chance to win £20,000 and the title of Mayor’s Low Carbon Entrepreneur 2016.

Student teams will have five minutes to pitch their green business ideas to a panel of judges, which this year includes Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Matthew Pencharz and Niels Kirk chairman of the award’s sponsors Citi.

This year’s competition, which is the fifth to take place, has attracted more than 250 applications from 27 London institutions, with only ten of the best ideas selected for today’s grand finale.

Innovations up for today’s prize include a transport app that helps people reduce their exposure to air pollution, insulation technology made from feather waste, and a smart plug which helps homeowners monitor energy usage, amongst others.

Johnson used the competition to highlight the capital’s green credentials and said: “London is leading the way in green technology and this competition can help kick start students’ sustainable ideas into business ventures.

“It’s vital that we support young enterprising people in setting up innovative businesses to make positive change and boost the capital’s thriving green economy.”

One of the competition’s judges is previous winner, Arthur Kay, whose business BioBean uses coffee bean waste to heat homes.

He added: “Early support from City Hall was vital in making bio-bean a reality - it is a great privilege to come back this year as a judge and see some of the fantastic low-carbon ideas London’s students have come up with this year.”