Investing in Green tech is the order of the day and we found these four startups from 2020 that are can still make a difference.
One is the web browser Ecosia. You know, we spotted this on our iPhones a few months ago and it’s a pretty decent alternative to Google. Ecosia is an environmentally friendly search engine that plants trees every time you make a search.
You know what? We’re going to challenge the team at Greenermobiles.com to give up Google (everyone’s on here), Bing (who even uses it anyway?) and Duck Duck Go (the ‘privacy’ search engine) for a week and report back to you on how it goes.
Two is Human Forest, a bike-share service, of which there are several in London. Human Forest is one of the e-bike offerings, of which, we’ve seen their competitor Lime out and about. They only launched in 2020, not sure if that would produce higher or lower levels of rider-ship, but they seem to have been doing well.
It’s actually free to use Human Forest bikes, and they “imagine a future of free sustainable mobility for everyone. By opting to make their daily journey on a HumanForest e-bike, Londoners signal their commitment to reducing carbon emissions and improving our city’s air quality” – Human Forest
Three is Igloo, a green energy startup with a pretty cool name if you ask us. Igloo only use renewable energy to power your home. It’s their aim to get people onto green energy tariffs, encourage more consideration around energy use habits and promote home insulation. They also promote the use of air source heat pumps, which are more than four times more efficient than a regular gas boiler.
Four is SKOOT, a ride sharing app with a difference that raised £1.6m in funding last year. The idea is that rather than getting a random person in a car to take you places, it connects friends who drive with friends who need a lift to cut down on needless car journeys. SKOOT friends.
SKOOT will plan the journey, collect payment from passengers for petrol and running costs, without invalidating your insurance. Apparently, because “[t]here is no profiteering therefore no changes to insurance eligibility as it doesn’t affect an individual’s Social Domestic and Pleasure car insurance policy”, it’s all good.
Check out their comprehensive FAQ page, which should answer any questions you may have.
Check out these four environmentally friendly tech startups if you want to help change the direction our planet is going in right now. We’ve also created a master list of environmentally friendly apps curated by type.
If you want to know the effect your current lifestyle is having on the environment, check out our carbon calculator.