Sebastián and Andrés Luongo’s intention when developing allGreenup, the app that encourages an environmentally-friendly lifestyle was to develop an initiative that would positively impact the environment and, at the same time, be a business..

The platform connects users and companies within a sustainable context by measuring individual’s environmental impact and providing access to benefits offered by companies in exchange for environmental care activities.

Sebastián Luongo, partner and co-founder of allGreenup, says that to increase citizen participation in caring for the environment, they initially considered paying people to recycle, but they understood that this would not be profitable and instead decided to generate incentives. So, in 2013, they designed the first application and, taking advantage of existing recycling points, in June of that year they launched a pilot project in partnership with the municipality of Lo Barnechea, an initiative which aroused the interest of a private investor who financed them.

Business Model

AllGreenup operates on a points system on the basis of actions performed by its users, such as cycling, carpooling, reading content or taking part in environmental events, such as Earth Hour; these actions are validated by checking in during the activity.

In its 18 months of operation, allGreenup has gained 40,000 users in Chile and more than 200 member companies, generating more than 532,000 sustainable actions, resulting in a reduction of 436 tons of CO2 and 224 tons of recycling.

For small and medium-sized businesses, the app offers an opportunity to connect with a target audience and to perform additional activities without any associated cost.

For large companies, Luongo explained that "in short, the brand offers a benefit and people generate positive actions in the area of environmental care. They are given the opportunity to move from words to actions”.

The executive points out that the first campaign organised in this area was near Paris and involved an activity in which people were invited to travel by bicycle and participants were rewarded based on the kilometres travelled. They are currently working with six firms in this area: Vital, Phillips, Uber, Linio, Ferouch and Caliterra.

AllGreenup’s second line of work relates to closed communities, an alternative that offers companies an internal communication channel using the same application, and which is complemented by a website. This option improves the score of companies that are in the process of obtaining LEED certification, as it is validated by the Green Building Council (GBC).

"We implement the same platform within companies which use it to inform their sustainability policies and engage their workers who download the application and access exclusive benefits, as well as specific content," said Luongo.

Measuring the impact

Every action that the app allows you to perform has a methodology for measuring its impact. For example, when walking, running or cycling, the number of kilometres is calculated and compared with the polluting gases emitted when performing the same action in a car. The same method is used when carpooling, by estimating the emissions if each person used their own car.

In the case of recycling, the calculation is based on a family’s average consumption, by measuring the impact of recycling this consumption of plastic, glass, cans, etc. This, is based on experiments at recycling points - which are georeferenced - and the people taking part.

Projections

"These projects are born to be scalable, it is their nature and no platform is able to survive in only the Chilean market; so, our strategy has always been to be able to take it abroad," maintains the co-founder of allGreenup.

Currently, the company has a presence in 11 Latin American countries and the United States; however, they do not yet offer all the services that are available in Chile, so the goal for 2016 is to consolidate their presence in the region. In Buenos Aires, where they have 15 rewards in place, they have already signed an agreement with the city government to implement the platform.

Luongo says that they are currently looking for private investors to raise capital to contribute to the consolidation of the firm in the region.

AllGreenup has received rewards from TIC Americas, in the Eco-Challenge category organised by the OAS, ContactChile, ProChile, and the Facebook Creative Accelerator, which gave them advice and resources on its platform. Recently, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) invited them to take part in the Demand Solutions event, where they will be able to introduce themselves to investors and the body itself in late September.

For more information go to: http://www.allgreenup.com/home/

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