- Chris King (center), owner of Green Car & Courier, celebrates his $10,000 award as winner of the Greater Knoxville Business Journal’s 2010 Business in the Green contest at the News Sentinel on April 19, 2010. Joining King are sponsor representatives (from left) Greater Knoxville Business Journal editor Amy Nolan, KUB vice president of communications and environmental stewardship Susan Edwards, Efficient Energy of Tennessee vice president of sales and marketing Harvey Abouelata, and Thermocopy chief financial officer and executive director of sales and marketing Mark DeNicola. King plans to add bicycle courier service for downtown Knoxville businesses with his winnings.
Businesses will soon have an energy efficient and environmentally friendly way to make their deliveries – via bicycle.
Green Car & Courier plans to launch a bicycle delivery service for downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee after winning a $10,000 competitive grant through the Greater Knoxville Business Journal’s Business in the Green program.
In its third year, Business in the Green encourages businesses and nonprofit organizations to propose a green initiative that will have measurable results on their energy use, the environment and their operations, either saving their organization money or creating a new revenue stream.
Sponsors of Business in the Green are Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB), Thermocopy and Efficient Energy of Tennessee.
Chris King, founder of Green Car & Courier, accepted the check Monday as the winner at a special Knoxville Chamber Earth Day a.m. Exchange attended by nearly 100 businesspeople at the News Sentinel.
King believes the service will provide businesses, including law firms, banks and architectural firms, a fast, money-saving environmentally friendly choice for courier services. He also hopes to work with a grocery store and restaurants to provide delivery services for their customers. People living and working downtown should expect to the see bicycles by this summer, he added.
King founded Green Car & Courier in 2007, and has since grown his fleet to include two sedans, four vans, two shuttle buses and a limousine, all converted to run on biofuels, propane or natural gas.
Also announced at the event was the relaunch of GoGreenET.com, an online resource and showcase for businesses seeking to become more environmentally friendly while also improving their bottom lines.
More information about Business in the Green can be found in the May 2010 issue of the Greater Knoxville Business Journal, which includes a special section highlighting local green products and services. The special section can be downloaded as a PDF at http://www.gogreenet.com.
