A group of students, who launched a green pedicab service during their university’s Fresher’s Week, have scooped a top environmental award.
The four undergraduates from St Andrews University have been revealed as the winners of the npower Future Leaders competition, which asked teams of students to run green sustainability projects around their campuses.
The group, known as Team Penguin, provided students with a sustainable alternative to short taxi rides by offering a free pedicab service from the centre of St Andrews to the university’s halls of residence during Fresher’s Week. The project also raised funds for Macmillan Cancer Research through passenger donations.
The project aimed to increase awareness of growing student carbon footprints.
It has been applauded by a variety of companies and politicians including Friends of the Earth, Virgin Travel, Zac Goldsmith MP and Tony Blair’s office.
Watch the team’s winning campaign video here
The four students will now be treated to a trip to the Arctic Circle after winning the contest.
Mark Preston, team leader of ‘Team Penguin’, said: “We can’t believe we’re off to the Arctic in March! It’s an absolute trip of a lifetime and one which we think will be a real challenge.
“We worked extremely hard on our campaign which has reached over 5,000 people with our sustainable message and have raised vital funds for Macmillan Cancer Support through passenger donations.
“But the hard work doesn’t stop there – we’re now looking to expand our project to use pedicab services to transport university cargo and replace university transport vans, in the hope that we can leave a lasting legacy of our project.”
Paul Massara, npower's Chief Commercial Officer, said: “I would like to congratulate Team Penguin for their commitment and enthusiasm in delivering sustainable projects which will make a real difference to their university campus.
“The npower Future Leaders Challenge has offered a platform to develop specific skills to help them in their future careers. I am positive that their projects will continue to develop and that they will have inspired others to consider how they too can make a difference.
“We developed the npower Future Leaders Challenge to find undergraduates with passion and drive - and I believe we have unearthed that passion and also found real climate change champions in this competition.”
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