A COMPANY that offers an environmentally friendly way of delivering parcels is calling on people to get behind a share offer as it prepares to launch in Reading.
Pedal and Post says it is a zero-emission cargo bike delivery firm. It uses pedal power to get packages to businesses and homes, and has been operating successfully in neighbouring Oxford.
It is now looking to expand.
It says that anyone investing £1,200 in its share offer would enable 150 parcel deliveries a year – the average number that a UK household receives. And by reducing the number of deliveries to the door made by vehicles, it will reduce air pollution and congestion in the process.
The investment would give ownership of 0.05% of the company, fully offsetting an average household’s emissions.
Pedal and Post forecasts increasing the number of parcels it delivers eight-fold over the next five years, so the initial investment would offset the negative impacts of the parcel deliveries of eight households by 2028, assuming forecast volumes are achieved.
Deliveries undertaken by Pedal and Post’s cargo bikes have greenhouse gas emissions 92% lower and nitrous dioxide emissions 100% lower than diesel vans.
Jamie Hartzell, the Chair of Pedal and Post, said: “Home deliveries are really valuable in our busy lives, but we can’t always choose how our parcels are delivered. Investing in a zero-emission cargo bike delivery company gives an opportunity to reduce the costs to the taxpayer, cutting congestion and cleaning up our air.”
Pedal and Post argue that the Department for Transport research found that “33% of all urban deliveries could be done by cargo bikes or e-cargo bikes”, and delivery companies are considering how to ensure the ‘last mile’ of delivery is made via zero-emissions vehicles such as electric vans and cargo bikes.
The firm says it is already working with established delivery companies such as DPD, Yodel and Riverford to handle their smaller packages.
Lisa Ashford, CEO of Ethex, an ethical investment platform, said: “Consumers should be pressuring the delivery companies to switch to zero emissions transport for the final mile of delivery.
“They can also make investments backing innovative and pioneering companies that are using cargo bikes to cut emissions. By helping to build businesses like these they can achieve lasting change.”
The share offer details are at: www.ethex.org.uk/invest/pedal-and-post
