Big business gives free helping hand to low carbon entrepreneurs

Leapfrog, a UK-based group of leading professional services firms and a registered charity, promises to provide thousands of hours of free advice and professional support services to business initiatives with the primary purpose of accelerating the reduction of carbon emissions.

One of the first businesses to benefit from Leapfrog assistance is mobile solar technology company, Firefly Solar, which has carved out a niche for itself selling and hiring its mobile solar panels to outdoor events, such as festivals. Another, Low Carbon Foundation, is the world’s first not-for-profit venture capital fund focused solely on low-carbon technologies.

These and other pilot projects are expected to receive around 4,000 hours of professional services, worth approximately £1 million, which could help them deliver a carbon reduction of approximately 30,000 tonnes of CO₂ per annum, according to Leapfrog.

Entrepreneurs applying to Leapfrog will have access to a dedicated team of experts drawn from a wide range of professions. 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 and BDO Stoy Hayward. They will jointly offer business support across areas such as legal advice, fund-raising, project finance and environmental consultancy.

Leapfrog will initially focus on three main areas of activity: UK-based carbon reduction projects; UK-based low-carbon technology entrepreneurs; and international carbon reduction projects.

Steve McNab, founder of the Leapfrog concept, explained that the initiative would allow businesses that were taking on their environmental responsibilities to gain access to top-level professional support. “All businesses benefit from professional advice. With Leapfrog, we can ensure that the best advice goes to those ventures which deserve it most,” he said.

McNab, who is also head of Environment at legal firm Travers Smith, explained that the idea behind Leapfrog came as a result of the firm trying to find ways to offset its 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,” he said.

By continuing to creatively leverage the resources and knowledge of the UK’s leading business professionals, Leapfrog aims to increase its capacity so that it can support at least 100 projects a year in the UK by 2012. A larger pipeline of projects has already been identified for support as the organisation grows.

Amy Clarke, acting coo of Leapfrog, is a former head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She had this positive message for the UK business community: “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,” she said.

Clarke explained that Leapfrog also offered supporting businesses an opportunity to develop new skills, strategies and methods, as well as harness the talent and commercial potential of emerging businesses into their own organisational structures and cultures.

McNab added that it was a win-win situation for both sides: “The Leapfrog model is designed to directly benefit clients’ low-carbon initiatives as well as the participating companies offering their professional services,” he said, adding: “We want to keep the network as wide as possible and welcome any contact from other professional services firms who would like to participate.”

Will Day, new chair of the Sustainable Development Commission and keynote speaker for the launch of Leapfrog highlighted the trickle-down effect that business backing of the innovative programme would engender: “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.”