Green franchising Eco-friendly opportunities

21st century businesses need not only to be financially sustainable, but also ecologically sustainable too. The Franchise Magazine invites three franchisors to establish their green credentials

Franchising renewable energy
Charles Hill, Chief Executive of BioDepot

BioDepot has developed a unique green franchise opportunity for management franchisees looking to make a difference to the world and make a sensible profit at the same time. This concept has been designed to meet the growing demand for renewable energy, managed waste solutions and reduction in carbon emissions throughout the UK, Europe and the rest of the world under the banner: 'Think Global...Act Local'. The BioDepot business is based on the 'cradle to grave' cycle of cooking oil:

• Sale of new cooking oil to commercial kitchens

• Collection of waste cooking oil

• Production of bio-diesel from waste oil

• Sale of bio-diesel

BioDepot's operationally and logistically sound, low carbon footprint eco-business model focuses on establishing bio-diesel production facilities at a local level, close to both feedstocks and customers. Even the new cooking oil which BioDepot supplies is produced from sustainable plantations and, naturally, all BioDepot vehicles are themselves powered by the biodiesel produced.

BioDepot's cost effective micro-brewery strategy means that a BioDepot can be readily set up wherever feedstocks exist, instead of establishing vast refineries requiring huge volumes of feedstock and finished product to be transported for hundreds or even thousands of miles which actually causes more damage to the environment than is saved by the BioDiesel produced. By locating our modular depots close to existing supplies of feedstock and customers, significant reductions in sourcing and distribution costs are also obtained. The Bio Micro Breweries produce BioDiesel to strict ASTM 6751 and EN14214 standards which contains no petroleum, is non-toxic and is biodegradable. BioDiesel burns clean, which results in a significant reduction of the types of pollutants that contribute to smog and global warming and emits up to 85 per cent fewer cancer-causing agents.

The BioDepot proprietary plants are modular in nature and have been designed, after consultation with the UK Environment Agency, with the aim of producing high quality BioDiesel in the most cost effective and efficient manner utilising world leading filtration technology and quality manufacture (including ISO9001 & CE certification). The Bio Micro Breweries are fully automated being 'driven' from a central control point via BioDepot's proprietary software, thus requiring only a small team to run and are installed on a full turnkey basis as part of the BioDepot package.

The company aims to establish 50 BioDepots in the UK. Exclusive BioDepot Management Franchise territories are available for a franchise fee from £35,000 plus VAT.