Scottish start-up defies the crunch

From The Sunday Times
June 28, 2009
Launched just before the economic meltdown, Scottish climate change consultancy Ecometrica is flourishing despite the recession

Ian Fraser

A Scottish start-up founded at the height of the credit crunch has grown to employing 18 people, with sites in Edinburgh and Montreal, and secured £500,000 funding in just nine months
Gary Davis, 29, launched the climate change consultancy Ecometrica in September 2008, just before the financial world went into meltdown.
Two months later, he secured his investment from two London-based private investors. He said he is considering opening additional offices in America and China.
The consultancy advises clients including National Express, the BBC, BP and the UK government’s Renewable Fuels Agency on carbon mapping, carbon footprinting and the cradle-to-grave assessment of individual products and brands.
The firm has had assistance from the Edinburgh Pre-Incubator scheme (EPIS), which is funded by Scottish Enterprise and run in tandem with Edinburgh University.
The scheme gives promising start-ups help with both business and academic mentoring, accommodation and £10,000 in interest-free loans.
Ecometrica’s scientific backers also include Imperial College, Oxford University, Lawrence-Berkeley National Laboratory and Nasa.
“It was just what we needed to get on with it,” said Davis. “It took us three months to get the business ready to the extent we felt able to put it to potential investors.”
He said the consultancy’s backers are “private individuals with an interest in biodiversity and carbon mapping”.
Davis, Ecometrica’s operations director, worked at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management (ECCM), a consultancy where he specialised in quantifying greenhouse gas emissions.
Managing director Richard Tipper, also previously with ECCM, has advised organisations including the UK and Mexican governments, the OECD and the United Nations Environment Programme.
“We want to change the way people and businesses think about their activities” said Bertrand Revenaz, managing director of Ecometrica's North American division.
“People need to under-stand how their habits affect climate change and the environment.”