31 October 2007
Green Business Winners move into Environment Centre
Three growing businesses are set to move into Lancaster
University’s Environment Centre (LEC) after winning a competition
to find fresh business ideas with an environmental focus.
LEC launched the 2007 Business Creation Competition earlier this
year calling for creative, realistic, environmentally-focused
business ideas with the potential to improve the planet.
Winners will receive a host of prizes and unique opportunities
including 12 months’ free incubation support and accommodation in
The Gordon Manley Building, the new business extension to LEC,
which is one of the largest environmental research centres in
Europe.
The winners are:
• Kenneth Cheung, 22, from Liverpool, who will produce
liquid organic fertilizers by recycling food wastes. He will also
develop a biological method of eliminating odour problems from
domestic refuse bins. Kenneth, a biochemistry graduate from York
University, said: "I am really pleased and excited that I have been
chosen as a winner of this competition. There are great facilities
and help in the Lancaster Environment Centre. This is definitely a
big opportunity to help establish my business and a step closer for
me to changing the world for the better.”
• Eddie Sammon, 19, and Andrew Glover, 21, Lancaster, who
are establishing Ethical Fuels Ltd - a bio-fuel feedstock
manufacturing and trading business, wishing to produce the
necessary oils required for bio-fuel production sustainably from
algae. Algae can produce significantly more oil per hectare
than traditional “fuel crops”. Eddie is in the 2nd year of his
Business Studies degree in the University’s Management School,
while Andrew graduated from the same course this summer. Eddie
said: “Becoming one of the winners from this competition will
provide us with a working environment where we can work along side
LEC’s researchers, to help us progress with our plans.”
• Becky Toal , 34, from Chorley, will launch Crowberry
Consulting Ltd - an environment, ethics and corporate social
responsibility management consultancy. Becky said: “Winning this
competition will enable my business to grow, develop and offer
bespoke services and solutions for clients in the area of
environmental management, business ethics and social
responsibility. LEC has excellent facilities and networks to help
young start-up companies to thrive in the sustainability and
environmental technology sector. I am thrilled to have my business
chosen for this award, and look forward to a productive working
relationship.”
Dr Chris Holroyd of LEC Enterprise and Business Partnerships
Team said: “We were extremely impressed with the variety of
excellent green business ideas being developed in the region. We
are now looking forward to working closely with these winning
businesses to ensure they maximise their potential, benefiting the
North West economy and making a positive contribution to the
environment.”
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) part-funded the
Gordon Manley Building.
Mark Hughes, Executive Director of Enterprise and Skills at the
NWDA, said: “The winning entrants produced innovative
environmentally-led business ideas which will complement LEC’s
position as a beacon for innovation, teaching and research in the
environmental sciences. These businesses are capable of enjoying
great success and will benefit from working with the university
while in turn supporting the LEC to stimulate economic regeneration
locally and regionally in the Northwest.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Lancaster University
Press Office on 01524 593719 or 01524 594120.
Notes for Editors
LEC is a £25 million research centre which brings together
around 300 researchers and lecturers, all working to find solutions
to major environmental problems from tracking pollutants to
generating sustainable energy. It is a joint venture between the
Natural Environment Research Council’s Centre for Ecology and
Hydrology and Lancaster University.
LEC helps business grow and develop by providing technical
resources for environmental impact management and new product or
service development. It works with companies of all sizes, from new
start ups to global brands, in the environmental monitoring,
environmental clean-up, chemicals, water, energy, agriculture,
horticulture and nuclear industries.
Funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and European
Regional Development Fund, the £8.4m Gordon Manley Building
provides office accommodation for businesses seeking access to the
centre’s prestigious technical resources. It also houses the
Enterprise & Business Partnerships Team, which manages business
interaction on behalf of LEC.
Partners in the Business Creation Competition are Barclays, CLB
Coopers, Enterprise Ventures, Lonsdale & Partners, Rainbow Seed
Fund, Sharp Marketing. For further information on LEC’s 2007
Business Creation Competition please visit
www.lec.lancs.ac.uk/ebp
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the
economic development and regeneration of England’s Northwest and is
responsible for:
• Supporting business growth and encouraging investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and
communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life