Shiply wins £90,000 in green competition

Online auction site Shiply has scooped a £90,000 prize by finishing joint-runners-up in a green credentials competition, having proved it has cut CO2 emissions by 1,600 tonnes.

Out of 300 entrants, Manchester-based Shiply was awarded €100,000 (approximately £90,000) after signing up to participate in the Dutch Postcode Lottery Green Challenge 2009.

Companies were required to submit a business plan that offered an innovative and commercially viable product that can directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In an eight-minute pitch, Shiply managing director Robert Matthams told judges his online transport marketplace matches people needing to move goods with transport firms undertaking that journey.

He went on to explain that since June 2008, by making use of empty capacity, the company has cut CO2 emissions by 1,600 tonnes, which also helps to reduce traffic congestion.

Shiply has over 5,200 transport companies signed up and over 40,000 users (consumers and businesses) representing some 60,000 shipment requests.