Ecomodo.com is very proud to announce that they picked up the Best Use of Online Media award in the Green awards 2010 last night. Despite being a start-up social enterprise, they have beaten national retailers and local authorities at a fantastic ceremony held at the Natural History Museum, London.
Ecomodo has a simple goal – to get communities lending and borrowing to make better use of the all the stuff we all have sitting idle, such as tools and party, sports and hobby equipment. Ecomodo took a 2 pronged approach to achieving this goal. They are building awareness of the concept to bring it into the public consciousness and drive uptake, and they have provided an online tool at www.ecomodo.com to facilitate lending and borrowing transactions.
Lending and borrowing is good for people, pocket and planet. It encourages social engagement, saves people money and maximises the utility of the resources we already have. The carbon impact of people following their dreams, pursuing their interests and doing the boring jobs can be greatly reduced if people borrow instead of buying. The need for this is illustrated well by the amazing fact that the average drill is used for only 12 minutes in its lifetime. The total lifecycle impact from the collection of raw materials, manufacturing and distribution, to disposal is unacceptable when the purchaser was probably within a few metres of an idle drill in a neighbour’s shed.
Ecomodo is improving lives through social engagement and access to resources, and offering a brand new way of fundraising for good causes. This new service will play a part in changing the shape of our future economy. It will demonstrate that commercial viability and good can go hand in hand.
Meriel Lenfestey, co-founder of Ecomodo said “Ecomodo stands apart from other online campaigns because it not only conveys a message, but also provides the capability to drive actions. It’s a practical tool which enables everybody to walk the walk.” In response to the award Meriel’s partner Tracy Currer said “It’s a real honour to be recognised by such an esteemed panel of judges from organisations including the WWF, The Carbon Trust, UNEP and Saatchi & Saatchi.”
Wayne Hemingway MBE, in handing out the award said, the judges chose Ecomodo because it is a genuinely useful, creative concept, exquisitely designed with great potential to drive change. He added “If you haven’t seen their website you must check it out”.
The Green Awards motto of ‘creativity in sustainability’ best explains their commitment towards recognising and rewarding the most creative and effective efforts to communicate green messages. The Awards also honoured Sir David Attenborough with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award, for his commitment towards the cause of biodiversity presented by Sir Paul Judge President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Aside from the inspiration that is Sir David Attenborough, the night’s speakers gave an enlightening insight to an audience of sustainability, marketing and media professionals.
The Rt Hon Chris Huhne Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from DECC (Department of Energy & Climate Change) gave a rousing speech on the eve of his visit to Cancun recognising that the challenges presented by climate change were no longer just the remit of governments but businesses had a joint role to play in finding inspiring solutions.
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Watch Chris Huhne speech
Watch David Attenborough speech
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