The 2013-14 Sustainable City Awards launched at the beginning of September and this year the core theme is Entrepreneurship.

Over the 13 years I have been running the awards, I have been privileged to see  some wonderful examples of businesses and social entrepreneurs seizing opportunities to increase the sustainability of their enterprises.

The UK is looking for innovative and determined individuals who can create long term value which will benefit society, the economy and the environment. 

In 2014 the Mayor of London's key theme will be sustainability, prompted by the challenges that cities will face in accommodating rapidly increasing populations. By 2050 according, to UN estimates, 70% of the world’s nine billion people will live in cities. They will need housing, energy, sanitation, food, transportation and employment, and all of these will have to be supplied in a resource depleted, warming world. 

We need entrepreneurs who can deliver solutions to the problems cities face, not only to ensure that our cities remain great places to live work and do business, but to ensure that the UK gains a slice of what will become the growth market of the twenty first century.

Here are some of previous winners, who have inspired me.

Green Tomato Cars 

Green Tomato Cars were the Overall Winner at the Sustainable City Awards 2009/10 and were also Highly Commended in the Sustainable Transport category and the Tackling Climate Change category.

Green Tomato Cars was launched in 2006 with the ambition of changing the perception of ‘green’ businesses. By using exclusively low emission vehicles and offsetting its carbon dioxide emissions, Green Tomato Cars has become the most environmentally friendly taxi company in the UK. In order to stay ahead of the game and to improve its environmental performance, the company has trialed a host of innovations including advanced computer software, smartphone applications and shared rides. With a fleet of vehicles, transporting tens of thousands of passengers a month, for a small business they have made a real impact. Green Tomato Cars are an inspiration for other private hire firms to follow.

GnewtCargo

GnewtCargo was the Winner of the Sustainable Travel and Transport category in  2010/11.

GnewtCargo specialises in urban ‘last-mile’ delivery of goods for third parties in London, operating from ‘micro consolidation centres’ that increase efficiency within the City. It used an all-electric fleet of cargocycles and minivans, offering significant cost savings on deliveries due to electric vehicles being exempt from congestion charging and immune to rises in fuel prices. The combination of the traffic beating cargocycles and the capacity of minivans has enabled Gnewt to shape its service to suit their clients.

This method of operating results in significant air quality benefits through the reduction in carbon emissions and congestion in Central London. Gnewt creates fulfilling jobs within the local community, and where possible, they try to employ the long-term unemployed. GnewtCargo demonstrates impressive innovation in facing the challenges of a densely populated capital city, but more importantly have provided huge environmental and social benefits for the residents and workers in London.

​Thrifty Couture

Thrifty Couture was the Overall Winner in 2012/13 and the Winner of the Greening the Third Sector category.

Thrifty Couture takes unloved clothes and creates covetable and affordable fashion. Sustainability is integral to the project. Its main aim is to create a sustainable business, commercially as well as environmentally, by training and employing the young unemployed and retired residents in fashion. It is run by the young, the old and the very old and provides apprenticeship training for unemployed 16 to 24 year olds from Inner London as well as refreshing the skills of retired residents. Exchanging knowledge and skills through outreach programmes and workshops supports inter-generational and intercultural relationships. Both the community and the environment are currently reaping the benefits of this project with a unique combination of entrepreneurship and innovation.​

​Get More Bikes

GetMoreBikes were shortlisted for the 2012/13 Tackling Climate Change and Air Quality categories.

GetMoreBikes was launched in 2012 to offer a full bike repair and maintenance service for riders, employers and fleet owners across London. The number of journeys undertaken in London daily between zones 1 and 2 alone is 500,000 and growing. The number of professionally qualified mechanics cannot meet this demand and the rate of training mechanics is not keeping up with the increase in bike use. GetMoreBikes addresses this problem. It aims to create sustainable businesses in cycle building, maintenance, repair and refurbishment in London. It aims to train unemployed 16 to 30 year-old residents to professional qualification level, and to support them in creating their own sustainable business. It aims to contribute to reducing carbon emissions in central London, and generate better health for Londoners. GetMoreBikes has recently teamed up with ATG Training, the country’s leading provider of Cycle Mechanics training and qualifications.

If you are, or know of an individual or organisation who may be a contender, do please check our www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/sca for details on how to apply.