The founders of ShipGreen, Tim Buchanan and Jason Sperling, have no problem thinking big. They are out to change the world, but not just to get rich doing it.
ShipGreen gives e-commerce merchants a tool which easily integrates with their shopping cart in order to offer buyers a way to purchase credits to offset the CO2 created by shipping their orders. ShipGreen calculates shipping emissions in real-time based upon the origin, destination, shipment weight, and other factors. ShipGreen then uses the funds to manage their offset projects around the world. It’s an easy and cost-free way for merchants to associate their brand with being green, as well as to help do some good in the world. Think of it as “green as a service.”
“Shipping customers are uniquely positioned to create incentives for improved performance in the shipping sector because they can require that their goods be transported with the least possible impact on the environment. There were a few companies out there who offer some sort of green shipping option, but there wasnt any easy way for a business to help customers address their shipping emissions.” – Founder, Jason Sperling
So far, early merchants such as YogaMates.com who have adopted ShipGreen are seeing nearly 80% take rates from their customers. That’s pretty impressive.
Imagine purchasing a $1,500 computer online and being given the opportunity to add a buck in order to offset the shipping emissions that you’re generating. That’s an appealing offer, and ShipGreen makes it easy for both merchants and buyers. ShipGreen customers can either pass the CO2 credit costs on to their customer, or can sponsor the costs directly. Either way, there’s no need for them to implement and manage an entire CO2 credit program on their own.
“Al Gores film An Inconvenient Truth gets the credit for lighting a fire in my belly.”– Founder, Jason Sperling
ShipGreen is obviously a nice solution for businesses that want to help reduce their overall impact on the environment but that don’t want the headache and overhead of managing all of the associated details. Beyond apathy, the alternative is for businesses to simply contribute directly to selected offset projects. But ShipGreen helps businesses to easily shift that burden to the consumer rather than doing it all on their own.
“You know, it is an incredible time to be alive were faced with impending doom and, I think, incredible opportunity. I tend towards idealism and so I am hopeful that ShipGreen can be a model of sustainability. That means both social good and financial reward. Our goal is to parallel concepts such as the triple bottom line, of a business being measured by its ability to achieve profit AND benefit people and the planet.”– Founder, Jason Sperling
The Arvada-based company has been self-funded to date, but has now begun to explore the possibility of raising money. The company is seeking potential investors who share their values and vision of the future.
