Three fierce dragons, four brave contestants, and a room full of Nelson’s business and climate leaders gathered at The Boathouse last week for a climate change themed Dragons’ Den.
Contestants had five minutes to pitch ideas to the Dragons who allocated $25,000 of the Climate Change Business Grant to two winning applicants. The grant enables business-led initiatives, activities and projects, which help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
First up was Joel Bowater from Ocean Intelligence, whose Cawthron-backed idea to create an app with more accurate coastal weather data for the Nelson Tasman region, would help seafood farmers and the public reduce emissions by eliminating unnecessary boat trips.
“Climate action doesn’t always require massive infrastructure changes. Sometimes it’s all just about making decisions using the right data,” he said.
Next was Sally Mottram who runs the One Green Bean coffee cart in the Glen. She had applied for $5000 to replace her petrol generator with a lithium battery generator that she could charge using her home solar panels.
“With the lithium battery, my customers won’t have to put up with smelly emissions and noise,” she said.
“My message on climate change? Enjoy life, drink fairtrade, organic coffee and cut down on the use of gas!”
Then Matt Lawrey and Aad van der Poel from Bike Hub Nelson pitched for $25,000 for an e-van they would use to pick up bikes and promote their Trial Me e-Cargo Bike scheme.
“The e-van will allow us to reduce our carbon footprint and the number of trips we take when picking up bikes. It will also be available for other businesses to use. Our aim is to get more and more people investing in zero emissions transport.
“Active transport is a huge part of the answer to the challenge of global warming. What we really need is more cycling infrastructure, so people can literally get on their bike and do something about the climate crisis.”
Finally, Vincent Revell presented his idea to promote Trippr, an app that connects people looking to share long-distance rides between New Zealand’s cities – saving emissions and sharing fuel costs.
“Trippr could see the cost of a trip to Blenheim, for instance, be as low as $15 - $20 in a rideshare, plus people are saving emissions. Regardless of your position on climate change, shouldn’t we just be doing everything we can to look after the planet?” he said.
The winners were One Green Bean and the Bike Hub, receiving $5000 and $20,000 respectively.
Dragon Ali Boswijk was impressed by all the presentations on the night but these two stood out as pragmatic solutions that would deliver a direct reduction in emissions.
“It was a hard decision to make as all the ideas had merit and I hope that last night’s event gives them the momentum they require. In the end, we’ve picked two projects that will make an immediate difference to Nelson’s emissions.”
