84. SKOOT

Founders: Greg Gormley and Mark Stringer
Year founded: 2019
Website: skoot.eco

‘Would you like to offset this purchase?’ Whether booking a holiday, or doing your online shopping, you may have seen this pop-up as ecommerce sites strive to help consumers compensate for emissions and reduce their carbon footprint.

It’s a different story for in-person sectors like restaurants and cafes, however. Here, there is no checkout page, meaning eco-conscious bricks-and-mortar firms have struggled to demonstrate sustainable impact, compromising their ESG commitments.

Enter SKOOT Eco Group. The startup is on a mission to deliver “in-the-moment affordable solutions” to in-person businesses. In practice, this lets them empower customers, clients, guests, and fans to help the Earth during everyday activities. 

Business owners add a flexible Eco-Contribution charge to customer receipts, inviting the customer to make an optional, on-the-spot contribution to a tree-planting scheme that can offset the equivalent emissions of their meal or hotel stay. It’s as simple as the process for adding a tip.

Currently, SKOOT has made its roots in the UK hospitality sector, which produces around 32,000,000 tonnes of carbon per year. But the idea could certainly cross into other sectors, such as delivery services or even gardening. 

And, while greenwashing is a concern for the carbon offsetting sector, SKOOT buries those worries with its transparent approach. Ranked in the top 5% of B Corps for Governance and Transparency, the company says it has planted over 750,000 trees and removed an estimated 10,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere so far.

SKOOT has already raised £1.1m in funding and partnered with Oracle to bring its service to 350,000 venues globally. By 2028, it aims to be live across all continents (bar the Arctic ice caps). 

Forget, “did you tip?” In five years time, you’ll be asking “did you SKOOT?”