A collaborative network to help low-carbon entrepreneurs realise their ambitions with free professional services and advice is set to launch.
Leapfrog – a UK based, not-for-profit collaboration of leading professional services firms – will provide free advice and professional support services to business initiatives with the primary purpose of accelerating the reduction of carbon emissions in the UK and overseas.
Uniquely, entrepreneurs, community initiatives and project developers applying to Leapfrog will have access to a dedicated team of experts drawn from a wide range of professions able to jointly offer business support across areas such as legal advice, fund-raising, project finance and environmental consultancy.
Steve McNab, Head of Environment at law-firm Travers Smith and founder of the Leapfrog pro-bono concept, said: “The idea behind Leapfrog came as a result of our firm trying to find ways to offset our carbon footprint. We struggled to find ways which would engage our employees and didn’t just want to pay someone to offset our emissions and then forget about it.
“By offering our professional skills to projects here and abroad we can actively engage with the emissions reduction process and help overcome the hurdles that entrepreneurs and project developers often face.
“Through our network we have come across a vast array of innovative social-business for emissions reduction and renewable energy development. Yet, not all of these can afford the top-level professional support they need to take their ideas to the scale or level they envisage. All businesses benefit from professional advice. With Leapfrog, we can ensure that the best advice goes to those ventures which deserve it most.”
Will Day, new Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission and keynote speaker for the launch of Leapfrog said: “I am very pleased to be able to support the launch of this new venture. It is clear that we all have a role to play in reducing emissions – in our own homes, in our communities, in our businesses and in the wider choices we make. It is not always so clear how we can achieve this.
“By drawing together such a wide range of expertise, Leapfrog can give support and advice to those entrepreneurs, individuals and communities who encourage and inspire the rest of us to take action. The community projects in particular should act as inspiration and blueprint for all communities around the country, bringing not just emissions reduction but a true sense of community cohesion and unity. It is high time we all pulled together for this most urgent of common causes.”
Leapfrog will focus on three main areas of activity:
• UK based carbon reduction projects
• UK based low-carbon technology entrepreneurs
• International carbon reduction projects
At launch, Leapfrog will be supporting:
• two whole community-based emissions reduction projects – Ashton Hayes ‘Going Carbon Neutral’ and the Bollington Carbon Revolution;
• the formation of the Low Carbon Foundation, the world’s first not-for-profit venture capital fund focused solely on low-carbon technologies;
• the Student Switch Off Campaign, a competition to encourage energy efficient behaviour and practice in all UK University campuses;
• a biomass renewable energy project for the National Trust;
• the delivery of a new generation solar technology company Firefly Solar and;
• Solar Aid, a charitable venture tackling climate change and poverty in Africa with a solar kerosene lamp replacement programme.
Leapfrog’s seven pilot projects are expected to receive around 4,000 hours of professional services, worth around £1 million, which should help them deliver a carbon reduction of approximately 30,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum.
In three years’ time the aim is to have the capacity in the UK for at least 100 projects a year, delivering 60,000 free professional hours (worth c. £12m) equating to a carbon reduction of 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum. A larger pipeline of projects has already been identified for support as the organisation grows.
Dr Belinda Howell, founder of Decarbonize, a low carbon accelerator, and acting CEO of Leapfrog said: “I am delighted to be involved in this unique and exciting opportunity to accelerate the growth of the low carbon economy. Leapfrog will help vitally important community and renewable energy projects to thrive, where they are most needed and least affordable. Leapfrog does this by creatively leveraging the resources and knowledge of business professionals. Steve and the trustees have done a great job in mobilising such a powerful network and putting the architecture of the organisation in place. I’m looking forward to helping Leapfrog scale up and reach its own ambitions of being the definitive platform for low-carbon advisory services.”
Amy Clarke, acting COO of Leapfrog, Managing Director of The Bubble Consultancy and former Head of CSR at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said: "I'm delighted and very excited to be supporting Leapfrog as interim COO. I've long held the belief that we as a business community need to come together far more to achieve greater impact, especially in relation to the climate change agenda.
"Leapfrog, in my view, is a welcome and long overdue conduit through which we can help create real growth in the environmental enterprise sector. It is also a way in which we can recognise and harness the talent and commercial potential of these emerging businesses into our own organisations. It's a win-win situation all round".
Businesses offering support services to Leapfrog will also benefit from their participation. Participants are likely to develop new skills, strategies and methods that can be applied to improve operations within the supporting organisation. Additionally, individuals tend to gain personal satisfaction from active, hands-on involvement in CSR projects that help to tackle real climate change and sustainable development goals.
“The Leapfrog model is designed to directly benefit clients’ low-carbon initiatives as well as the participating companies offering their professional services. It is a win-win situation for both sides,” Mr McNab added. “We want to keep the network as wide as possible and welcome any contact from other professional services firms who would like to participate. Working with other firms on pro-bono activities can increase the impact of contributions and ensure the outcomes are measureable and reportable. Leapfrog projects are put under close scrutiny to check their credentials. This risk management is important for reputational protection on all sides.”
The Delivery Team and Trustees of the Leapfrog charity include senior representatives from: Travers Smith, RSK Group plc, Low Carbon Investors, Lloyds Banking Group, Tripos Consulting, Mason Hardy, HSBC Insurance, BDO Stoy Hayward and many others.
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