[new business opportunity?<g>]--" England's Greener And Pleasant Land
businessweek.com
Think of them as personal eco-trainers. So-called carbon coaches are helping Britons who want to learn how to live greener. For a fee of $300 to $600, advisers assess a family's energy usage and recommend ways to reduce it—everything from adding insulation and using halogen bulbs to installing a rooftop system to recycle rainwater.
Business is booming for the dozen or so green advisers, most of them based in the south of England, where they largely serve cash-rich, time-strapped customers. "I've had so many calls from interested clients I haven't even had to do any marketing," says Donnachadh McCarthy, founder of London's 3 Acorns Eco-Auditing and author of Saving the Planet Without Costing the Earth. McCarthy, who says he conducts at least two home audits a week, is also getting requests from companies.
Green coaching is about to get a boost from London Mayor Ken Livingstone's Green Homes program, which will roll out later this year across the capital as part of a wider initiative to combat climate change. The new service, announced on Feb. 28, will sell home energy makeover tips to Londoners for about $400 a session. There seems to be more than enough eco-demand to go around. Former engineer Dave Hampton, who runs Carbon Coach, based in the Thames-side town of Marlow, is planning to set up a side business in training others for the trade.
By Kerry Capell " |
